How mobile technology can help pool and spa businesses

by arslan_ahmed | September 18, 2023 6:00 am

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By Rachael Pritz

The past two pool seasons have emphasized the importance of having mobile software solutions to thrive in today’s business environment. With resources stretched thin, business software should be accessible on any mobile device to support staff and provide better customer service. Mobile technology solutions are now abundant and those specifically designed for the pool and spa industry will undoubtedly make this coming season less stressful. Mobile solutions can help with every aspect of a business—from retail and service to billing, accounting, and even water testing.

Mobile functionality

Maximizing the use of mobile functionality is helping businesses survive today’s labour shortages. Luckily, mobile applications have taken over, and now everyone uses them in their daily lives, making technology easier and accessible for users. A business should be capitalizing on the power of mobile apps to alleviate the stress of labour shortages, while improving a customer’s experience with their company. Many mobile apps are available through business software packages or as stand-alone tools.

It is important to think specifically about how these apps can help a business which is experiencing labour shortages. The questions to ask are: How will mobile technology help a business’s retail store? How will mobile apps help the service and lab technicians who do water testing? And what role will it play in the accounting and billing department? There are specific benefits mobile technology can offer to each department, by providing immediate access to information, saving time, allowing quick transactions, and completing tasks more efficiently. Once a business owner adds up all the time saved and the support apps provide to existing staff, they might find themselves seeking out this technology to quickly install it on all their staff’s phones. The following are some examples of specific ways in which mobile technology can help each department in a business.

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A place in retail

When a retail store starts getting busy and lines start forming, everyone feels stressed. This is where mobile apps can really help, as everyone has their smartphone on them wherever they go. Businesses can provide better and faster service with a “line buster” feature for customers on the store’s mobile app. This feature allows staff to look up the inventory in real-time and get instant access to customer history and profiles from any location. Staff can use a tablet, integrated magnetic strip reader, or even a pocket barcode scanner to complete sales transactions, process credit cards, and email receipts from anywhere in the retail store operation. Consumers are beginning to expect mobile shopping, as a result, these mobile apps can help increase customer service levels and close more sales.

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   Services for technicians

Service technicians are extremely busy opening pools, testing water, replacing parts and equipment—they should not have to deal with the additional steps of bringing paperwork back to the home office or make calls back and forth to ask about equipment in inventory. By using a “live service” feature on their smartphone, technicians can operate more efficiently in the field by easily using their mobile or tablet for everything they can do at their offices. This can save time by allowing service technicians to easily view scheduled jobs, along with the customer’s information through a digital form; alongside other information such as equipment profile, job notes, directions, and pictures on record.

With the live service feature, technicians have immediate access to all the updates completed at the office and the office is instantly up to date with their tasks. This gives service technicians the ability to eliminate service forms, record pool or spa water test results, take payments at the jobsite, look up inventory, and even perform physical inventory tasks on service trucks—all through a phone or tablet. Some of these software programs even tracks hours with a “time clock” feature.

Mobile service software also gives technicians the ability to share electronic “door hangers,” which are before and after pictures of their services. Service apps with water testing integration features provide technicians the ability to save the results automatically in their software for record keeping, and they can even add it to a customer’s post-visit electronic door hanger.

Payment options

This feature offers the convenience of paying online or from a mobile device. Pool and spa professionals are investing in online bill pay systems as it allows them to send invoices by email, saving them the cost of envelopes, stamps, labels, paper, and ink, but also saving them money on labour costs and reducing the time it takes to bill and collect payments.

Service billing

Mobile technology is also having a profound effect on a pool service company’s ability to fluidly adapt to their client’s needs and expectations by giving them instant access to customer contact information, equipment history, purchase history, and more. In a world that is becoming increasingly more “data” mobile, consumers are under the impression that companies, regardless of how big or small, can access their records and communicate even quicker.

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This is where mobile service features are essential for billing clients. Mobile service modules help pool companies provide an elevated level of service by ensuring technicians can instantaneously send detailed information back to the office and directly into the customer’s order. This includes information such as job status, job materials, chemical readings before and after, time spent, and any special notes for the customer. Most importantly, service technicians can initiate the necessary steps to ensure fast, efficient, and accurate service billing.

Saving time means saving money. Using mobile service eliminates paper and duplicate entries. Field technicians can look up their schedule, access customer profile information to save on a return trip, add items directly to the order, and generate the accounts receivable (AR) so office staff would not have to add items.

Billing online

One should not forget about new mobile technology options which allow in-field personnel to take payments on the jobsite. By using a mobile device, the project team can accept payments directly—they can be made up to the actual amount, minus any outstanding costs and previous billings. To ensure optimal cash flow, having a “pay bill online” feature is also a key component in today’s pool service invoicing software.

With this feature, service invoices become part of a reliable billing process and make it easier for customers to pay for their pool services. Today, service companies are investing heavily in online payment systems as it allows them to send invoices via email and eliminate unnecessary costs and delays. This feature can also reduce labour expenses by eliminating the time it takes to invoice and collect payments in person. An electronic payment option is convenient, hassle-free, and perfect for streamlined, touch-free business transactions.

Apps for water testing services

Pool professionals and service technicians are now taking advantage of mobile water testing technology. When a service technician is on-site to test a client’s pool water, they also have time to look around the entire pool and check the equipment. In doing so, this gives them an opportunity to speak to the client about upgrading their pumps, heaters, filters, etc. More importantly, they can help the pool owner determine why they might be experiencing a chronic water problem or staining issue which may have more to do with the pool’s physical equipment and cannot be fixed with chemicals alone.

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There are many options for mobile water testing apps where technicians can test the water, record the results, and input a complete profile, including photos of the pool, the pump room, and its backyard surroundings. This profile can then be used as a service lead for selling additional services and products in the future. Although there is an initial investment to purchase these mobile water testing devices, the potential revenue from these sales leads can quickly cover the initial cost. Further, technicians can also charge a premium fee for a mobile water testing service.

Integrating mobile water testing with business software programs has become more streamlined with industry specific technology. These systems offer complete integration, and also have a mobile service system which automatically links the pool business’s in-house customer database with their water testing information and history—which can all be entered from the field through a mobile app. Being able to provide staff with real-time updates and immediate access to important water testing information, as well products owned, pool and spa size, stored images and schematics, previous water problems, equipment profiles, personal information, directions, and more, gives businesses the tools to create sales opportunities and contributes to an overall exceptional customer service experience.

Embracing mobile technology

The use of mobile apps has made it easier to deliver exceptional service, even during busy seasons when insufficient checkout resources at peak times often lead to long lines, frustrated customers, and lost sales. By using mobile apps in retail, service, water testing, billing and accounting, each member of a team will be able to streamline the processes so fewer people can get more done in a day. Rather than struggling to try and fill job vacancies during a busy season, the use of mobile apps might be the ideal solution for pool and spa businesses to support their existing staff to resolve issues and improve the customer experience.

Author

Rachael Pritz has been active in the pool industry for more than 20 years, which has provided her with an all-encompassing expertise in the trade. She worked at a local pool store while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With her technical skills and industry knowledge, she joined the launch of RB Retail & Service Solutions in Pittsburgh in 2003. For more information, visit rbretailandservice solutions.com/pool-and-spa/[6].

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/general/how-mobile-technology-can-help-pool-and-spa-businesses/

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