Consumers can be tough cookies to crack. It’s easy for customers to bail on loyalty and test out your competitors. Did you know that most people would say that after just one bad experience they will switch to a competitor? And those that don’t will usually only go through a couple bad experiences before they call it quits. As a business owner or fleet manager, it’s clear that customer service must stand as one of your top priorities. Otherwise, your bottom line and reputation will be at risk.
When people interact with your business they will likely do so in multiple ways. For example, contact with customers could include providing an update on when a delivery or service is expected to arrive. With multiple touchpoints for just one transaction, you have multiple opportunities to either make a good impression or ruin a relationship. This is important because most Americans walk away from an intended transaction because of poor service.
Don’t Let Poor Customer Service Ruin you
The potential for one bad experience to hurt your business knows no end. Most of us will discuss a bad customer service experience with friends or family. A lot fewer will discuss a good one. With word-of-mouth marketing, social media, review sites and shrinking patience from consumers, delivering great customer service can give you a competitive advantage in sustaining or growing your business.
Fleet managers need to understand that commercial motor vehicles and truck drivers are extensions of the business. When a truck breaks down, one of several things could happen. Not only could you be late for a service call, you could lose customers and wind up with major damage to your reputation. In some sectors, this can be a business killer.
The question is how fleets can enhance their customer service outcomes in an advanced technological age. Have you considered a fleet management solution? Fleet management solutions can help eliminate time-wasting tasks gumming up the works in your fleet so you can focus on the bottom line and delivering better customer service outcomes. But how exactly can a fleet management solution help improve customer service and strengthen your business?
Better Back Office Operations
Did you know that you can use fleet management systems and GPS tracking systems to create better customer service outcomes? No matter what type of trucking companies you operate, you are going to need to communicate with your customers, truck drivers, vendors, and a whole lot of other people along the chain of business. Having a centralized location for communication is critical.
Even more, communication systems can be used for other aspects of the business in useful ways. Visibility over how long a truck driver is in detention or hauling a load, and how that information aligns with timecards or time billed, is crucial. Combine those capabilities with things like GPS and you have a big picture view of fleet operations.
Knowing where your trucks are using the actual GPS data allows you to provide complete transparency for your customers. It also keeps you from pulling your hair out as you try to keep tabs on your operation. Should a dispute arise, you have time-stamped locations that can help prevent problems or a hit to your reputation. The key is keeping your customers happy.
Smart fleets combine assets like geofencing with GPS technologies. What’s the benefit? Well, this combination allows fleet managers to set customizable boundaries for their truck drivers. Accounting will be happy because this can help prevent inflated bills by curbing misuse of company time.
Better Workflows for Better Service Outcomes
As a business owner or fleet manager, you wear many hats. The less time you spend tracking down drivers or trucks, the more you can focus on supporting key operations within your company. Lord knows, many a fleet manager will lament a lack of time to do a good job. But the time is there, you just must find it. You can do this with the help of technological assets.
As technology develops, a fleet’s success can have a direct impact on the accomplishments of every other department in the company. Innovative trucking companies know they can use technology to their benefit. Leaving options off the table is not an option in a competitive environment. A fleet management solution can better connect a trucking company together. Better communication results, for field employees to administrative staff, HR, safety, and accounting.
Did you know that a misaligned workflow is one of the top reasons trucking companies miss efficiency targets? There is a lot going on, from servicing vehicles to routing assignments and hitting the road. How well does your fleet coordinate all these bits and pieces?
Take a fuel card as just one example. Fuel cards should be a no-brainer when it comes to saving money and better tracking where money is going, yet many fleets still do not us them. A fuel card program integrated with GPS tracking, for example, allows businesses to monitor where and when every purchase is made and by which driver. This provides a far greater level of accountability and truck drivers actually appreciate it.
Integrate Preventative Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is crucial to limiting vehicle breakdowns and keeping more vehicles on the road, so you can take care of your customers. We are talking about customer service, after all. Having an accurate read of vehicle health is key to helping keep vehicles in top condition. Broken down trucks was never good for anyone.
Utilize sensors, telematics, and fleet management systems to monitor engine data and real-time metrics. Sync them up with shop tools that can help you better schedule preventive maintenance rather than relying on truck drivers to remember. Not only can this help reduce breakdowns, but it can also reduce the time the vehicle is out of commission if it comes to that.
Integrated systems also alert you to issues you might not otherwise catch and give your shop technicians a better idea of when to replace your vehicles or specific parts. Take an engine monitoring system as one example. It can provide systematic engine alerts and help reduce the amount of time you spend doing vehicle paperwork. In the end, this will lower your costs by preventing major breakdowns or worse, accidents.
The cost of downtime isn’t just about the cost of repair parts and shop labor, it’s also about how many jobs that vehicle could have handled while it was in the shop. How many runs did that truck driver miss because they were a victim of unintended downtime?
If you also need to rent a vehicle to keep up with demand while a vehicle is in repair, you’re now digging into your bottom line. Having a better handle on vehicle health can help ensure fewer service disruptions by keeping jobs on schedule and customers satisfied.
It is Always About Safety
Reputation risk is difficult to measure, but still, CEOs across major companies agree that it’s a critical area businesses must manage, especially in today’s world of online reviews and viral complaints. In a Deloitte survey of more than 300 executives, 87% said that reputation risk is more important to manage than other risks to their business. From a drop in revenue to loss of brand value, a negative reputation can have serious consequences for your bottom line, and it is the last thing an executive board wants to deal with.
Your truck drivers are the face of your company when they are out on the road or on a job. Safe and friendly driving may seem to go unnoticed, but fatal accidents and even minor collisions certainly do not. Unsafe driving can quickly tarnish your company’s public image. Taking advantage of telematics data, fleet management, and GPS systems can help improve overall driving behavior. What’s not to like about that?
In the end, novel new fleet technologies allow companies to better coach drivers on activities such as speeding or hard braking. The overall transparency telematics data can bring to your operations, such as more accurate billing, can also have a positive effect on a company’s reputation.
Major companies agree that technology solutions can provide excellent resources for reputation risk management. In the same Deloitte study mentioned a moment ago, a majority of executives surveyed cited investments in technology and data gathering as the two top areas of focus for reputation risk management.
These CEOs, and other business owners, strive for efficiency. A more efficient operation means more time to focus on satisfying customers and attracting new ones. When word-of-mouth marketing can make or break your company, doing everything you can to provide reliable service to customers should always be a priority. Are you utilizing technology to improve your customer service outcomes?