One of the things we love about our large customer base is that we can use anonymous product data to find helpful benchmarks.
One we recently looked at was the top features our largest customers are using. No surprise here, these tend to be features that really support scale by improving organization and customer service through growth.
1. Service report emails
If we could name a #1 feature for customer delight, it would be service report emails. You can set Skimmer up so it automatically sends a full recap of service– including pictures– to your customer.
Not only do these reports keep your customers in the loop, but they also make your company look professional and high-tech. It’s such an easy way to add another level of service for your customers. We’ve also heard that these emails have saved customers 2-5 hours per week by decreasing customer inquiries about their service.
2. Tags
Tags are a really easy way to add customer information and segment your customer base. They let you group customers by type, including:
- Geography: City, neighborhood, subdivision, county
- Body of water: Pool, spa, water feature
- Equipment type: pump type, filter type
- Lead source: Online, referral, word of mouth
Once your customer records are tagged, you can communicate with specific groups of customers. For example, you can remind people that it's time for a certain type of filter clean, or reach out to customers who have a specific type of water feature. This will save you loads of time when it comes to communicating with subgroups of customers.
We recently had a solid post + thread in The Pool Deck with some great tips and tricks for using tags. Check out the post and the comments for loads of inspo on this one!
3. Service texts
Service texts are a one-two punch of time savings and great customer service. This feature lets you send notifications via text message directly to your customers. Plus, it’s only 2.9 cents per message, or roughly $15 for 500 messages.
There are currently 3 types of service text available in Skimmer:
- On My Way: This is triggered when a tech selects "on the way" to the next stop.
- Finished Service: This is triggered when a tech selects 'finish' on a stop. This can either be a routine pool service or a completed work order.
- Skipped Stop: This is triggered when a tech skips a stop and is unable to service the location.
These automated messages keep your customers up to date on their service and saves you from having to answer a bunch of “where’s my pool guy” messages. They also save your techs time because they don’t have to call ahead to let a customer know they’re on their way. Bonus: service texts are one-way, which lets your techs focus on their work vs texting back and forth with the customer.
4. Shopping lists
In addition to Skimmer’s universal equipment database, you can also create and manage your own list of products. You can add these to shopping lists, mark them as installed, and bill for them. And because this product list is unique to your company, you can assign extra information to items, such as category and price.
You can manage and track shopping list items from the web or mobile
But the best part is that installed items/parts in a shopping list can automatically be added to a customer invoice, so you never forget to bill for items again.
5. Work Orders
Work orders in Skimmer are a great tool for scheduling services or repairs outside of regular pool cleanings and maintenance. Each work order type has its own set of checklist items, added items, and general rules.
We’ve also heard from pros who use work orders to create SOPs for different kinds of work. They make work orders for things like service quotes, heater installs, and other one-off jobs so that those bodies of work are done the same every time.
6. Billing
Billing sucks because it’s so important but takes up SO much time. That’s why you need to be using Skimmer Billing. Not only does it save your back office team loads of time, it also helps you get paid faster which is essential for growth.
With Billing, you won’t need to print and mail invoices to customers or wait for techs to return to the office with cash or checks. It lets you send electronic invoices, collects payments, and automates most of your most tedious billing workflows.
You can request, collect, and manage payments all in one place, issue invoices, track payments, and send payment reminders without switching software. Invoices can be paid quickly via credit card, ACH, Google Pay, or Apple Pay directly from Skimmer, and you can offer customers the convenience of AutoPay for routine service. And yes, it also lets you log, track and report on cash and cheques because we know some customers will never change.
PLUS when you use Skimmer Billing, you also get a range of reports to track and manage your financial performance:
- Invoicing Reports: Examine the status of invoices, what you’re billing, and the breakdown of your sales.
- Payment Reports: Review all your income, including online payouts and manual payments
- Customer Reports: Assess your customer accounts, balances, and aged receivables
- Sales Tax Reports: Shows the taxes you owe based on sales taxes you collect.
If you’re interested in getting started with Skimmer Billing, this article provides a step-by-step walkthrough of how to connect Stripe an enable payments.
Are there other features that have been game-changers for your business?
Let us know in the comments below 👇
Ps. If you’re interested in some non-product tips for scaling, check out our blog recap + on-demand webinar all about Proven Paths to Scaling Your Pool Service Business.