6 Features You Must Have in Maintenance Tracking Software

It is estimated that by the year 2020, customer experience will have overtaken both price and product as the key brand differentiator. This means that focusing on customer service is not only crucial to a brand, but it will soon be the most important factor in deciding ultimate success or failure of one business versus its competitors.

As a consequence, understanding what goes into an effective customer service strategy now needs to be a priority for every business manager. And, in the current climate, a huge part of any effective strategy is using all of the latest customer relationship management (CRM) technology.

Modern CRM solutions are versatile and all-encompassing. Mostly cloud based, these platforms ease the amount of busy work that employees have to carry out, as well as actively helping them to make smarter business decisions. Through linking up departments such as sales, marketing, commerce, analytics and more with customer service, companies are able to gain a better understanding of each customer and thus reach them more effectively.

One area of the customer experience where this kind of technology has really changed the game is in field visits. Through field tools like scheduling and maintenance tracking software, remote customer visits can now be properly monitored and held to the same standard as customer interactions online and over the phone. Furthermore, using CRM software, companies can link up their field techs with their call centres and other customer service reps to make# sure that that they all present a unified customer experience as well as a consistent brand voice.

Simply having some kind of base level software for maintenance tracking however, is not enough on its own to provide the results expected of a top company. It is important to be discerning in choosing a CRM platform, in what is a competitive marketplace. So to aid in making that selection, here are six features that are essential in maintenance tracking software.

1. There are tools for scheduling and work order creation.
   
   This is an absolute minimum requirement. Scheduling and work order creation should be quick and intuitive, providing automatic updates and scheduling that is synced across all devices and systems.
2. It helps increase work completion rates.
   
   The main purpose of introducing new tools — whether it is tracking software or not — is to improve efficiency. Therefore, if a CRM platform is to be successful, there must be a noticeable difference in productivity. Most effective maintenance contract tracking software will do this, as it provides a means to automatically collect and sort work orders and manage customer profiles. This allows field techs to go about their daily work without having to constantly check in — they have access to everything that they need as soon as they log in.
   
   When systems provide automatic case management, it removes a lot of the busy work that reps would otherwise be in charge of — automatically sorting cases by department and assigning them to the best agent for the job. This significantly lowers the amount of time between when a work order is requested and when it is fulfilled.
3. It provides preventative maintenance tracking software.
   
   A good CRM solution will also provide a means to keep a history of past visits and equipment. Maintenance tracking software like this will ping the relevant people when certain equipment is getting old or a customer is due a visit, allowing techs to carry out preventative visits that will be much better for the customer. Tracking these visits with a maintenance software  also provides a place of reference for customer service reps when customers call in with questions.
4. It has full mobile capabilities.
   
   Full mobile compatibility is an indispensable feature of a modern CRM platform. This means that it is cloud hosted, integrates with all relevant programmes and functional across all major devices. There are numerous benefits of mobile maintenance tracking software, but here are a few of the main ones:
   
   • Field techs have all relevant customer information on their device.
   
   • They can also look up any further information to answer customer questions and give quotes for parts if necessary.
   
   • Schedules can be updated in real time and field service agents are notified immediately.
   
   • Mobile offers the possibility of 24-hour service, should a company decide to provide that.
5. It is reliable.
   
   Of course, all of this increased efficiency is quickly nullified if the CRM system is prone to glitches and outages. Before committing to one platform, it is important to give it a trial and check for full functionality across multiple devices and to make sure that there is an option for free 24-hour tech support.
6. It helps boost the bottom line.
   
   Ultimately, the most important thing is that you end up with a system that will truly help your business. For your maintenance tracking software to be truly successful, it needs to be actively contributing to the bottom line. If it does all of the above things then it is likely already doing this. About 74 per cent of consumers have spent more money due to good customer service. So if you are using a fully functioning CRM platform, your business will reap the benefits.
   
   The importance of profitability also means that your software should be cost effective. Make sure that you pick a package that fits your company’s needs, without going overboard.

Already, 83 per cent of consumers require some degree of customer support while making an online purchase and in just a few years, 89 per cent of businesses will compete mainly on customer experience. Customer service is a serious business and a serious business needs good customer service.