What are the positive outcomes you can expect with remote support software?
Most businesses considering employing remote support software associate this technology with increased efficiency. As well as increased time savings on critical tasks (that subsequently translates to saved capital and resources). But remote support software is very much a three-dimensional service. Depending on your business model, it can offer many of advantages in different departments of your business. And each can work to differentiate you among your competitors and help increase customer retention rates.
Ready to dive into the top 10 positive outcomes you can expect from using remote support software? Before we do, let’s briefly discuss what remote support software is, exactly. And what positive outcomes you can expect.
Remote Support Software Explained
Remote support software, otherwise known as remote-first service, entails leveraging augmented-reality enabled technology to more easily accomplish a set task or series of tasks in a shorter period of time.
So how can this apply to your industry? Well, a number of ways. For instance, for a utilities company (as we discuss in this article on how utilities can reduce their carbon footprint), remote support software has the potential to grow your business thanks to fewer unnecessary truck rolls, fewer dispatches of incorrectly chosen equipment, increased ability to connect team members in a short period of time, and easier remote communication. Those are the primary benefits remote support software offers this industry. And there are other secondary advantages that you should consider when considering this technology.
No matter your industry, it’s important to evaluate the leading and secondary benefits that this technology could offer your business model. Along with their symbiotic roles in aiding your long-term goals. So that’s what we’ll be diving into now. Here are the top 10 positive outcomes you can expect from remote support software (and how exactly they work!).
Increased Customer Retention Rates
Remote support software has the ability to increase customer retention rates through two means:
- Improved customer support
- More immediate customer support
By using a shared screen, complete with video, customer service personnel are able to provide a more communicative, interactive experience. This reduces customer frustration and increases the ease of understanding. This way, customers can resolve issues faster with more detailed, clear insights from your employees. While, if an issue is not able to be taken care of on a call, agents are subsequently able to better inform on-site technicians, who will be well-prepared to troubleshoot the first time round.
The end result? Customer complaints are resolved more expediently, with fewer mishaps or miscommunications. All this translates to happier clients, increased customer loyalty, and improved customer retention rates.
Improved First-Time Fix Rates
Did you know that the Aberdeen Group estimates that 33% of service work orders require a second trip?
That means almost ⅓ of calls need to happen twice. But the thing is: approximately 50% of those second trips are entirely avoidable. For instance, the same study finds that half of those second calls are needed due to:
- A lack of experience
- Limited access to information
- Wrong diagnoses
So how can you increase workers’ access to information, reduce wrong diagnoses, and make up for a lack of experience? Well, you can:
- Facilitate easier transfers of information
- Connect on-the-ground workers with remote experts
- Connect stakeholders in a project from different locations, all through remote assistance software.
Thus, these previously unilateral decisions can be made multilateral, informed calls that are able to better diagnose the problem, and in turn, expedite the timeline to a solution.
Better Labor-Efficiency Ratio
When a technician or repairman doesn’t need to physically enter someone’s home to resolve an issue, that means their commute and preparation time is effectively eliminated. Which means they have more time in their days to focus on their specialty: fixing your customers’ problems.
In this sense, then, with remote support software you’re effectively able to get more results out of your current existing labor force, which means less hiring, improved turnaround times, and more bang for your labor buck. It’s a win-win.
Streamlined Projects Through Real-Time Information Transfer
Thanks to the augmented-reality component of remote support software, it can feel as if all of your remote stakeholders are in the same room. This is due to its interactive abilities (such as being able to draw on screen, see hand gestures, etc.
As a result, information flows more easily, collaboration is made seamless, and reporting is more effective. This increased ease of communication can be useful for anything from sharing medical report test results to discussing data collected from oil samples. Whatever project you’re working on that requires highly effective patterns of communication, remote support software can help.
Effective Remote Training
Famous mathematician Paul R. Halmos is famously quoted as saying, “the best way to learn is to do; the worst way to teach is to talk” – and there may be some truth to this saying. It appears that the best way to commit something to long-term memory is to actively engage with the activity or material. Not passively listening to an explanation about the same content.
So if you want highly-trained, competent technicians, customer service agents, salespeople, and so on, it follows that the most efficient, expedient way to train them to a quality standard is to have them do and practice a lot. But in recent times, with shortages of certain professions, this is a lot easier said than done. That’s why remote assistance software’s ability to connect professionals and trainees from all over the country (and even the world), is an indispensable resource. It can grant your employees that extra edge, and get them generating ROI for your business that much quicker.
Immediate Audits/Equipment Inspections
Sometimes, safety audits and equipment inspections can pose a hamper on productivity for your business. Especially when you need to arrange an inspection from a professional who may have to travel an hour or two to visit your facility, it can be difficult to find a mutually convenient time, and as such, you can face half a day’s worth of lost productivity (at worst), or lower efficiency levels (at best).
Instead, remote visual assistance offers the ability to more easily and more conveniently connect an expert with your on-site tech. This way, you can ensure you are safety compliant and able to catch any issues immediately (or even before they come up), while also maximizing your productivity levels and product outputs.
You might also be interested in ways you can use remote assistance software to remotely qualify a new supplier.
Production Line Optimization
Remote virtual support software offers the ability for research and development engineers to support factory engineers by: reviewing production line first batches, helping fine tune for full production, and ensuring optimal functionality for all given operations.
Most importantly, having experts connect with other team members at the click of a button means reduced delays and easy patterns of communication that result in increased efficiency across departments and production lines.
Fewer Miscommunications/Errors
Mistakes happen. That’s (unfortunately!) unavoidable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reduce the number of errors that your business confronts.
And the best way to begin eliminating recurring, costly mistakes is by improving communication between team members, departments, and even customers. For instance, did you know that only 7% of communication is verbal? This means that we lose so much in written format. All those reports we pour so much time into don’t count for as much as we think they do when we’re not able to conceptualize the bigger picture of a point.
On the other hand, 38% of a message is communicated through tone and voice, while the remaining 55% is communicated through non-verbal communication (like hand gestures). The takeaway here? Improve communication, reduce errors, and allow workers to view the bigger picture by leveraging remote assistance software.
Saved Carbon Emissions
If your company has carbon emissions goals, then you may want to take advantage of remote assistance software to help you reach your carbon neutral goals. You may also know your customers care about the environmental impact of the suppliers they are using.
This is thanks to the reduced service dispatches, lowered number of wrongly ordered and shipped parts, as well as the increased levels of first time fix rates. All these factors taken together mean that service-based companies can significantly move toward their climate-friendly commitments. All this while still saving time, capital, and resources which benefit the business long-term.
Close More Sales
The importance of understanding your prospects’ pain points, as well as their particular challenges, is of utmost importance when pitching new business. And it is simply the case that the more information your sales representatives have, the better equipped they are to close these opportunities.
As such, remote support software offers the chance to virtually ‘visit’ the site of a business before proposing the product that is the best fit for your prospect. This is excellent (and less formal) preparation for an in-person visit, which will close the deal. All in all, remote support software presents the ability to slot in seamlessly to both your CRM and business development departments. All while offering a faster sales cycle and higher close rate.
Interested in learning more about the positive outcomes remote support software can offer your business, based on industry?
Check out our checklist and facts to consider!
Alternatively, get in touch to schedule a free, no-obligation demo. You’ll learn about how Help Lightning’s remote first service technology could drive results for your business.
