Pleasanton, California – Feb 1, 2022 – ServiceMax, Inc., a leader in asset-centric field service management, today released the results of joint research report with Worldwide Business Research (WBR) that uncovers how CSOs are addressing the most pressing challenges in field service. The report underscores the growing prevalence of the service department as a center for revenue growth and the Chief Service Officer (CSO) as a leader in driving the organization’s approach to customer experience. The report also uncovers the most pressing challenges facing field service today, including customer service, self-service, and remote service support.
CSOs Are Focusing on CX and Revenue Growth
WBR surveyed 100 field service leaders across the US and Canada; more than two-thirds work at companies with greater than $1B in revenue. When asked about their goals for 2022:
- 42% claim the primary focus of their CSO is helping to lead the organization’s approach to customer experience (CX), while 39% claim their CSO’s primary focus is helping to lead the organization’s approach to revenue growth.
- 43% have begun to shift their focus to turning service into a source of business growth but are still in the early stages.
In truth, both focus areas may be intertwined. The customer experience is becoming an increasingly important vehicle for revenue growth. With many customers now prioritizing self-service and remote service capabilities, organizations that can offer predictive maintenance programs are in a better position to secure business for their service offerings.
Customer Engagement and Remote Service Remain a Challenge
Largely due to the pandemic making it necessary for many organizations to prioritize self-service and remote service, service organizations have made significant progress in the implementation of new service models over the past two years. Customers have taken to these modes of service and are demanding more innovative iterations of them in the future.
Still, these new modes of service remain a challenge. Among the respondents:
- Only 29% are successfully leveraging service to drive strategic differentiation, none of the organizations surveyed have entirely servitized their business.
- The most significant challenges facing service organizations are call center challenges, support challenges, customer engagement, and self-service (together comprising 33%), as well as remote service support (27%).
“In recent years, field service departments have demonstrated that they are an essential opportunity engine for the business. Whether CSO’s are focused on customer experience, revenue generation or both, recent advancements in technology adoption will play a key role in whether a service organization is able to meet accelerating demand,” said Amit Jain, Chief Product Officer, ServiceMax. “It is crucial for service organizations to make the right technology investments, especially when it comes to self-service options and proactive services like predictive maintenance, if they want to reach revenue goals in 2022 and beyond.”
The complete First Annual Chief Service Office Report by WBR and ServiceMax can be downloaded here.
About ServiceMax
ServiceMax’s mission is to help customers keep the world running with asset-centric field service management software. As a recognized leader in this space, ServiceMax’s mobile apps and cloud-based software provide a complete view of assets to field service teams. By optimizing field service operations, customers across all industries can better manage the complexities of service, support faster growth, and run more profitable, outcome-centric businesses. For more information, visit: www.servicemax.com.