Growing a Partner business is tough. Very tough. And growing an organisation outside its local home market is something that requires skill, cash flow, planning, focus, risk and access to significant resources – both financial and human resources.
Field Service has a vital role in supporting Partners as they scale and grow outside their initial geographic market. Here we examine how Field Service can help partners with scale, predictability & value.
Scale
1. Geographic scale
Growing to address a wider market, secure that new revenue and opportunity is a function of reach, resource and planning. Field service can provide the resource to enable Partners to provide services, across a much wider geographic area than before, safe in the knowledge that they act as an extension of that partner organisation to provide support service and customer excellence to that client on behalf of the Partner.
2. Resources on demand
The issues of employing staff ahead of revenue and profits is a perennial issue for any expanding business. And for Partners expanding what they do, where they do it and with whom they do it, having access to a pool of skilled and available resource “on-demand” means a resource to perform tasks. They are not on the balance sheet cost of maintaining that headcount waiting to perform that task – risk has shifted away. However, they still have access to that resource to generate revenues and profitability without the fixed cost.
3. Complementary skills
For Partners that have already made the leap to expand, have resources focussed in that extended area, those resources are likely focused on higher revenue and profit jobs – those that can be charged out at a higher rate or generate strong profitability. Yet, there will still be demand for other skilled resources to effectively “fill in the gaps.” Resources that might, for example, install an SD-WAN appliance to the specification prescribed by this expensive technical resource enable them to deploy the customer service over the top – complementary, aligned and available.
Predictability
4. Guarantees around resource availability
As Partners expand, start to win new clients in those new markets, there is a constant need to make sure that they deliver service to the client when they say they will – at a time that both parties agree. Field Service should provide guarantees around resource availability so that there is a certainty for the Partner and the client alike. Being confident that a resource is available to perform a task on a given day dramatically improves the overall level of customer experience and supports partners as they start to scale, generate revenues and build profitability.
5. Service Quality guarantees
Providing a quality experience is at the heart of how Field Service can support Partners as they scale. But rather than just giving guarantees that resources will be available, Field Service needs to go further and provide quality guarantees around the standard of work performed on a client site. It is no good securing a resource to go to a client site, only to discover that the quality of their work was inferior. Availability and quality need to be closely aligned, so that client expectation around “service” are not just met but are exceeded.
6. First Visit resolution guarantees
Where clients have issues that require an onsite support call out, it is easy to understand that there is a heightened level of tension as the client looks to the Partner to provide certainty of when a given issue might be resolved. Partners are working closely with Field Service. It makes sense for the Field Service partner to offer First Visit resolution guarantees – guarantees that effectively underwrite that the job will be completed when the technician gets to the site. They will make sure they do not leave the site until the issue is resolved and the client satisfied that everything is in order.
It isn’t difficult to see that it makes sense to give certainty to clients (and Partners in turn) that resources will be available. They will do a quality job when they turn up to the site and will not leave the site until everything is resolved and the client happy – a compelling way to support Partner growth by delivering service excellence.
Value
The notion of price and value are closely aligned, with many Partners wanting to deliver maximum value at the fairest price for their clients to support business growth. However, all too often, clients have a reverse expectation and consider price to be an essential indicator. The value delivered a secondary benefit, and yet when they go for the cheapest option, and the result is an overall poor level of customer experience, that view of these two elements are forgotten. Yet, Field Service can help even here by providing value that supports both Partners and clients.
7. Fixed Price call-out options
Value for clients can be demonstrated in several different ways. Yet, a Field Service partner can do much to add value for a Partner too. In turn, they are offering value to their client by giving the client a fixed price call out. There is no uncertainty about costs associated with how long the job has taken; this fixed price option delivers immediate value, certainty and predictable customer experience and minimises general anxiety.
8. Subscription or Cloud billing options
It does seem odd for Field Service to consider offering subscription or Cloud billing options as part of how it adds value to Partners, but this change in how Field Service bills for its services are what Partners are looking for as they scale out.
In a market that is increasingly being defined by the move to subscription, cloud or Managed Services, it is only natural that Field Service organisations embrace a different commercial model. Giving Partners a simple way to back-to-back what field service does, marry it up with their Managed Services billing models, and help support cash flow, revenues, and profitability to enable growth.
It isn’t difficult to see that Field Service has several important ways to support Partners as they scale and grow their organisations. In many ways, for a Partner to consider expanding its organisation without a Field services partner alongside them seems unwise. And given that Field Service businesses can deliver predictable access to skilled and complementary resources, provide guarantees around availability and quality.
This is all backed by aligned to customer-centric billing models. It seems self-evident that the role of Field Service in supporting Partner and client growth is undeniable.
What to understand how BEST is helping partners scale, you can contact us here. Or feel free to download our White-paper below.
