BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
WHY SOFTWARE IS KEY
In Growing Your Business
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Jay Worth of SingleOps explains how software can benefit green industry companies and offers suggestions on how to get started.
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n January 2020, Salesforce released its “State of the Connected Customer” report. It stated that 75 percent of consumers expected a business to use technology to deliver a better customer experience. A survey from Oracle showed 77 percent of consumers felt that inefficiencies in their service experience “detracted from their quality of life.” Also, 84 percent of businesses that improved the experience for their customers saw an increase in revenue. The research is explicit: You should be using software.
The Benefits More professional proposals, generating proposals faster, tracking job histories, improved job scheduling functions, automated communication and reporting are among several benefits of software. In addition, your customers expect you to use this. The tools are available. You have adopted the usage of the internet, email and cellphones. Why would you still use old-fashioned methods to send pro-
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posals and manage job scheduling? In short, if you’re not using software to help you keep track of proposals, questions from clients or to send work orders to your field labor, you’re missing the mark in 2022.
What To Look For Think about the service lines that you currently offer. Which are you trying to grow? Which are most profitable? If your focus is design/build, look for software that allows you to propose large planting jobs and hardscaping. If you run a lawn care business, focus on something that caters to recurring visits. For tree care companies and full-service landscapers, you want something that quickly does both recurring jobs and one-off job proposals. Here are some items that you should consider. Time tracking: Do you need to keep track of the hours spent on the jobsite? How about the ability for crew members to clock in and out? Scheduling: How easy is it to schedule work in the software? What about if you
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have a cancellation: Can you rearrange without throwing off the whole day? What about batch rescheduling (in case you get rained out for an entire day)? Automation: What things will the software do for you automatically? Following up on outstanding proposals or communicating with customers can save you many hours per week. Implementation: From “signed contract” to “using the software daily,” how long does that take? Customer support: Take a look at some reviews. Talk to people you know who are currently using the software and ask what their experience has been. Is the customer support team responsive when there’s an issue? Product improvement: What is that company doing to improve the product? How are they listening to their customers about what they need from the software?
Jay Worth
Marketing Manager SingleOps
