6 Steps to Build Your Field Service Brand

2018-04-20

How recognizable is your brand at the moment? Yes, we all want our colors and logos to be as well known as Coke or Apple’s, right?
But providing field service is a unique niche. You can’t place your products on store shelves, so what do you do? Is effective branding even possible?
It may be easier than you think. With your employees constantly out in the field, you have dynamic ways of sharing your brand all over your community.
Want to get started? Use these steps as a checklist to make the impact you want.

Step 1: Start with a Definition
You know you want people to know about your business but you must be more specific.
Your brand is not simply your logo, your colors or your slogan. Your brand is a message of what you stand for. In field service, this should ideally be about what you want to offer your clients:

• Do you want to promote timeous services?
• Will you always be professional?
• Is friendliness something you prioritize?
• What quality of service will you deliver?
• How should clients feel after your field agents are done working?

Think about seeing your favorite fast food brand’s colors while driving. It makes you feel excited and hungry, right? Now imagine you can promote your brand so well that customers start smiling when they see your logo on a pamphlet or building.
What do you want them to smile about? That’s the brand and values you want to promote.

Step 2: Can Field Agents Do Your Brand Values?
When you know what your brand stands for you need to turn it into actions.
Your field agents may be passionate about your vision, but the only tools they have to build the brand with, are their actions. They don’t have time to do verbal marketing, but their daily activities can be a more valuable tool. That’s the benefit of field service branding:

• Being on time for appointments shows that you respect your clients
• Providing advice on maintenance means you want to save the customer money in the long term
• Using quality equipment confirms your value of providing the best service in town

Can you see small actions can send powerful messages?

Step 3: Do What You Expect to See
But it’s not only your agents that need to incorporate these actions into their daily tasks. What about you?

• Office bound employees will follow the example they see from managers. They will talk to customers the same way you do.
• Field agents don’t see your example every day, but can deduct the company’s priorities easily. If you often cancel meetings with them, they may assume it’s acceptable to do the same with clients.

A branding campaign needs the full support of your entire management team. If they don’t champion the project, it won’t have a long term effect.
Are you living your company’s values every day?

Step 4: Turn Your Employees into Brand Ambassadors
Now that you know what you want people to think of your business, it’s time to get the word out. So empower your employees.
Clarity helps to ensure job satisfaction, because employees have clear goals to reach. When employees feel secure in what’s expected of them, they feel happier in their daily tasks and they’ll deliver higher quality workmanship.

Office Personnel
Office personnel must understand the vision and values. Any interaction with suppliers or clients must happen within these guidelines. You want respect from all role players in your business.

Field Agents
Your field agents need training in how to display your brand values in their daily tasks. Never assume someone will know how to do it. That’s why your list of actions is so important.
Statistics show that most field agents want to keep employers and clients happy. But if they don’t know what’s expected of them, they can’t do this.
And don’t forget to use the power of visual communication. While office employees only speak to clients on the phone or via email, your field agents can carry your brand across your entire area so more people take note of you:

• Let them dress in branded clothing. This is about sharing your colors, but also showing your professional approach.
• Add branding to vehicles so people get used to seeing your brand.

Important: Remind field agents to act according to your values whenever they wear or drive branded items. Their actions reflect on you and can have positive or negative impact:

• Driving over the speed limit in a branded vehicle shows disregard for others.
• Stopping to help someone whose vehicle broke down communicates a caring company culture and brand.

Your employees can be powerful assets, so ensure they know what’s expected of them.

Step 5: Harness the Power of Technology
You can make it easier for employees to live your brand values if you embrace technology. Software, apps and tools can help:

• Manage schedules better so workers are always on time
• Improve communication to limit misunderstandings
• Use state of the art tools to improve workmanship

This goes hand in hand with training your field agents to act out your values every day.

Step 6: Don’t Forget to Go Online
Another asset is the exciting world of social media. What better way to share your brand and values? Most people use these platforms every day, so this is where you should market yourself.
Once again, it’s not only about your logo, but what you stand for:

• Ensure your content contains your logo, colors and contact detail.
• When engaging with people online, be courteous.
• Share images and videos about your field work. This puts your values into action.

Why are your values so important? Because that’s what will make clients trust you so they’ll develop into loyal customers. And loyal customers will spread the news about your brand.

Last Thoughts: Important Considerations
A few tips to keep you on track throughout your branding process:

• Measure your impact regularly. Getting feedback from clients will show whether your values are applied on site.
• Don’t see branding as sales marketing. You’re communicating your values, not your services.
• Pick a value that sets you apart from competitors, so they know why they must pick you rather than someone else.

Can you see these tactics benefit customers, keep employees satisfied, promote your brand and can improve sales? Everybody wins when you do branding right.