Take the leap: think about managing time like a product company manages inventory, "stocking" services and managing demand in real-time.
Conditioned by Internet technology, consumers expect better response than most service businesses can deliver. That's because customer demand fluctuates while resources are relatively fixed. Even so, service businesses have been slow to leverage services automation technology that could smooth out the peaks and valleys in demand. This is proven technology that has been decades in the making, including software that has transformed the distribution and sales of physical goods and driven the skyrocketing growth of the airline industry.
The best way to deliver services effectively is to view time as inventory and then track it and manage it in real time. Services automation technology leverages real-time computing to automate a service business. It models time as inventory, allowing you to manage your service offerings, much like the airlines manage flight reservations. Like the airlines, it also leverages the Internet for 24-7 self-service scheduling and personalized marketing.
Because services automation technology is based on real-time computing, visibility into business practices and operations is greatly enhanced. Using a computer "dashboard" to view operations, you can synchronize business activities at multiple locations, simplifying the management of complex activities and multiple third-party resources as well as regulation-driven processes. The chaos that stems from cobbling together paper-based systems and offline databases is transformed into orderly, systematic practices. Routine tasks are automated, business processes are institutionalized, and the customer experience is consistent across locations.
What's more, the ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions generates a level of competitive viability impossible to attain without services automation technology. Use it to capture seasonal and demographic trends, track customer preferences and scheduling patterns, and gauge the effectiveness of marketing programs.
Xtime customers use our services automation solution to:
Drive revenues
- View service operations online, across multiple locations, in real time
- Immediately flag service offerings and resources that are routinely under or over-subscribed
- Dynamically price offerings to realize their full market value by offering discounted prices during non-peak usage
- Use real-time, services or classes-sold data to sell proactively
- Cross-sell by generating automatic prompts about other service offerings or classes
- Capture customer profiles, preferences, and service history
- Respond quickly to shifts in customer demand and market dynamics
- Leverage web and email capabilities to market your services
- Gauge the effectiveness of marketing programs with results reporting
- Use business analysis capabilities to optimize the service mix
- Integrate service operations data into your business information systems
Reduce administrative costs
- Automate time-consuming tasks, such as confirmations and reminders
- Manage and adjust the mix of service offerings in real time
- Book facilities, equipment, and people resources automatically
- Reduce customer no-show rates using email confirmation and reminder features
- Reduce costly billing errors by offering self -service credit card/purchase order payment options
- Let customers self-schedule service by offering 24x7 self-scheduling via phone, email, or web
Transform customer relationships
- Provide better, and more personal, customer service by liberating staff from routine tasks
- Customize email confirmations and 24-hour reminders to keep relationships with customers personal
- Customize service offerings to different customer segments
- Transform first-time customers into repeat customers by improving the overall quality of service
