Gartner Video: Trends in Customer Service 2010

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Think this is worth checking out. In a short video, Michael Maoz, Research VP and Distinguished Analyst for Gartner discusses service trends for 2010, including how the focus of service is going toshift from cutting costs to generating revenue, and how service needs to be integrated with all parts of your business.

Key Trends in Customer Service 2010
Michael Maoz, Research VP and Distinguished Analyst for Gartner
Gartner Video (3:14)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Gartnervideo#p/u/3/-OZdQ3GlFoc

Strategies for 2010 Field Service Success

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

In their recent report, State of Service Management: Forecast for 2010, the AberdeenGroup put forth a number of recommendations for service operation success.

Firms that have followed these recommendations have experienced marked increases in service productivity and customer satisfaction. These improvements in performance go right to their bottom line, with an average service profit margin of 34%. Below is a listing of some of the key strategies for field service success, paired with ways you put those recommendations into practice.

RECOMMENDATION #1
Conduct regular and frequent measurement of customer satisfaction as a tool for improving service performance.
This is the one key metric that must be improved to ensure any prospect of continues survival in an otherwise highly demanding service performance environment.

Capture service performance in real-time
A step beyond sending out an email or paper survey, Metrix provides the capability to administer a survey on-site at the customer location via a mobile device. Customizable, these surveys can be used to gather actionable data in real-time.

RECOMMENDATION #2
Offer multi-tiered Service Level Agreements and service contracts
SLA’s are not merely a means for administrating service contract paperwork – they are also a tool that may be used for multiple purposes, including generating a steadier stream of predictable service revenues and building a more profitable pricing model for maximizing the contribution if service the company’s bottom line over time.

Easily manage evergreen, self-renewing and tiered-service contracts
Many companies shy away from more complex contract offerings such as meter and self-renewing contracts because they are more complicated. With Metrix, you setup contract based on rules. These rules may define coverage types and response times, part and labor coverage as well as OEM warranty coverage. Contract rules can also define renewal terms, current and future contract pricing as well as contract entitlements. Simply define the rules, and the system takes care of the rest, creating a way to bolster revenues with minimal effort.

RECOMMENDATION #3
Develop stronger Business Intelligence/Analytics capabilities
Business Intelligence/Analytics are useful tools in supporting service organizations ranging from sharing of key service performance metrics, to tracking customer satisfaction, to tying individual compensation to overall service performance.

Insight into Action
From performance dashboards to reports with minute detail, Metrix Analytics provides you the information you need to make fast, accurate decisions..

RECOMMENDATION #4
Integrate real-time customer and product specific information with back office systems
Putting information in the hands of the technicians greatly increases first-time fix rate and shortens the service-to-cash cycle.

Get critical information anytime, anywhere
Metrix mobile enables real-time interaction between the technician in the field and the office. Through their mobile device a technician can:

• Receive schedule updates
• View customer contact information, SLA’s and service history
• Record work performed
• Track parts used
• Capture signatures
• Search knowledge management system for best practices information
  

Providing workers with the appropriate mobile tools for work order management as well as access to service knowledge allows real-time schedule adjustment, capture of service history and greatly increases productivity and first-time fix rate.

State of Service Management 2010

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Aberdeen recently published a new report: State of Service Management: Forecast for 2010. This report reveals field service trends for 2010, as well as identifies the management strategies, best practices and solution technologies used by best-in-class companies to attain the highest performance level in customer satisfaction, customer retention, annual service profit margin, and annual change in workforce productivity.

Best-in-Class firms revealed the following performances statistics:

95% customer satisfaction rate
93% customer retention rate
34% annual service profit margin
25% workforce productivity increase over the past 12 months

We created a key findings site where you can download the whitepaper, as well as review Aberdeen’s recommendations for achieving similar results, along with suggestions for implementing them.

Go to the key findings site

Metrix Closes Successful 2009

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Today we marked the close of a successful 2009 business year, with licensing revenues up 37% over 2008. Fueled by the launch of Metrix OnDemand, Metrix’s hosted solution, new enterprise customers and installed base upgrades, Metrix has continued to thrive despite the downturn in the economy.

“We are very pleased with how Metrix has grown, especially in Europe, and are excited about our strong pipeline for 2010,” said Larry Laux, President and CEO of Metrix. “We are committed to continuing to provide a comprehensive solution that provides a considerable ROI for our customers. That’s what has made Metrix the gold standard in field service management, and why Metrix has prospered, while some of our competitors have experienced losses and downsized.“

Launched in early 2009, Metrix OnDemand, Metrix’s software-as-a-service product, has been embraced by both small and mid-size companies as well as large enterprises who are looking for alternatives to the limited field service functionality of ERP suites.

“The response to Metrix OnDemand has been fantastic, and is a good fit for companies who want all the benefits of automating field service, without impacting the budget or adding risk,” said Tom Bowe, VP of Product Development at Metrix.

Metrix Completes Successful Customer Conference

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Last week we hosted our annual customer conference near our headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. Among other topics, the conference featured an in-depth look at Metrix Service 5.2, which was released at the conference.

Also highlighted was Metrix Mobile 2.3, and lots of best practices information on how to leverage Metrix to optimize your service organization. The attendees were also given an opportunity to share their thoughts on what features and functionality they would find useful in future releases.

However, my favorite thing about the conference was seeing everyone interact, sharing ideas and strategies.

By all accounts the conference was a success – we have already started planning for next year.

Introducing Metrix OnDemand

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

Metrix unveiled our new hosted solution at the Field Service 2009 show last week. Metrix OnDemand delivers all the features and functionality of Metrix Service, but without the cost, burdens, or risks of implementing software or hardware.

Licensed on a per-user, per-month basis, Metrix OnDemand becomes a variable expense, rather than a fixed cost at the time of purchase, allowing companies to realize all the benefits of automating field service, without impacting the budget.

Read our press release
Learn more about Metrix OnDemand

Four Ways to Increase Service Revenues by Improving Contract Management

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

With product revenue decreasing, service managers are being pressured to meet the dual goals of cutting costs and increasing revenues. One of the best ways for companies to accomplish this is by doing a better job of meeting the service obligations under contract, and by placing more customers under contracts, leading to a higher and more predictable revenue stream.

In a new benchmark report titled Service Contract Management: Winning Strategies for Managing Customer's Expectation, the AberdeenGroup reported that companies that effectively manage their contracts experience significant competitive advantages, including:

26% increase in service revenue
90% contract renewal rate
28% increase in SLA agreement/contract compliance

These companies employ a number of strategies and capabilities to achieve these results. REan on for four key recommendations from Aberdeen on your company can improve contract management.

RECOMMENDATION #1
Automate key service contract processes
Lack of technology to help automate the management of contracts is cited as one of the biggest challenges to putting customers on long-term contracts.

Fully automated contract management
Automate contract pricing, renewals and approvals. Metrix contract management will help your company create, execute, revise, monitor and administer service contracts from initial quoting and pricing to automatic renewal and billing.

RECOMMENDATION #2
Expand contract service portfolio
Having a wider portfolio of offerings, especially meter contracts and self-renewing contracts, improves contract renewal rates.

Easily manage evergreen, self-renewing and tiered-service contracts
Many companies shy away from more complex contract offerings such as meter and self-renewing contracts because they are more complicated. With Metrix, you set up contracts based on rules. These rules may define coverage types and response times, part and labor coverage as well as OEM warranty coverage. Contract rules can also define renewal terms, current and future contract pricing as well as contract entitlements. Simply define the rules, and the system takes care of the rest, creating a way to bolster renewals with minimal effort.

RECOMMENDATION #3
Integrate contract management with service execution
Every year, an estimated 10%-12% of service revenue is lost due to poor management of service contracts.

Stop service “giveaways” through improved visibility
The Metrix contracts module is fully integrated with all other aspects of the field service solution, including scheduling/dispatch, parts management and reverse logistics. Metrix Mobile gives field techs real-time visibility into contracts, and allows for cross-selling/up-selling opportunities.

RECOMMENDATION #4
Measure service performance against contract obligation
Without this information, you will not be able to successfully attain improved level of SLA compliance, and therefore will find it difficult to incorporate expanded contract offerings.

Gain greater visibility into contract performance
You don’t know how you are doing unless you can measure it. With Metrix all the data you need is available, providing information you can act on.

Want to learn more? Download the whole report, or go to our Key Findings site for a summary of the report's statistics, strategies and recommendations.

Lagging First-time Fix Rates Killing Mid-Size Business Profits

By Emily Lehnen
Senior Marketing Manager

According to research from the Aberdeen Group, mid-sized companies were significantly less likely than larger firms to resolve an issue on the first visit. This results in longer asset downtime for the customer, and can result in missed service level agreements. The costs associated with the missed SLA’s, as well as the secondary dispatch can wipe out an organization’s service profit margin.

What if instead companies could save $3.74 million?

There are technologies, such as mobile field service software and optimized scheduling that can dramatically increase first-time fix rate. But mid-sized businesses, which lack the vast coffers of their larger counterparts, sometimes look at technology options like the ones outlined above and question their affordability and impact on the bottom line.

ROI Calculation
Let’s consider a mid-sized business with 100 technicians who complete the industry average of 4.8 work orders per day.

100 technicians
x 4.8 work orders per day
x 250 working days per year
= 120,000 service calls/year

The Aberdeen study indicates that 40% of these services calls (48,000) would require at least a second dispatch. Research from the Aberdeen Group estimates that the cost per dispatch is $241.

48,000 service calls
x $241 cost per dispatch
= $11.6 million spent annually on secondary dispatch

Aberdeen found that companies who employ field service scheduling and mobile service software experience a 32% increase in first-time fix rate. This would reduce the number of service calls needing a secondary dispatch by 15,360, a cost savings of approximately $3.74 million.

When you look at all the numbers above, the question in your mind should change from, “Can I afford it?” to “Can I NOT afford it?”

Metrix Unveils Latest Release of its Industry-Leading Field Service Management Software

By Tom Bowe
VP of Product Marketing and Engineering

Metrix recently released version 5.1 of its field service management software. Beyond adding new functionality, this new version cuts implementation by 20%, simplifies integration with existing back-office systems, and features tools that allows users to easily modify the interface.

By leveraging state-of-the-art development tools like Microsoft .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008, and combining it with Metrix’s 30 years of service know-how, Metrix Service 5.1 contains an impressive number of new features.


• Real-time traffic updates with turn-by-turn driving directions.
• Expanded reverse logistics and third-party repair optimization.
• Drag-and-drop configuration tools to rapidly modify the user interface.
• Enhanced role-based security and SSO support through Active Directory.
• Flexible validation rules to eliminate data-entry errors and extra key-strokes.
• Meter-based pricing and billing automation for pay-per-click service contracts.
• Product recall management including engineering change orders and outbound calls.
• Dynamic customer surveys to improve service quality, compliance and responsiveness.

Read the press release.