0%0%0%0%0%The other effective part of using video chat to solve job site problems is that it’s easier to involve the sales and installer teams, said Brian Diamond, owner and president of Quality Home Exteriors. “Sales is going to look at that problem different than the installers,” he said. “They know the customer.”
Diamond also recently began using video chat (Skype for business), but he said he’s already noticed that it’s saving time — and reducing callbacks. “Now we can look at a tough situation and come up with a solution that’s not only right on the tech side but also on the sales side from an aesthetic point of view,” he said.
As a plus, letting customers know the firm is using video chat has upped its cachet. “Customers like the idea. They dig the tech thing,” he said. “If they know they’re working with a company that’s innovative on the tech side, it gives them more confidence that we’re not just an old-style roof slinger.”
Despite all these benefits, Beldon said most contractors are making the mistake of not using video chat. “You should embrace it. Anyone with a smart phone can start doing it,” he said. “It will allow you to do more with less people. It’s instantaneous. You make a decision and move on.
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It’s an age-old contracting problem: An installer is on the job site and runs into an issue with fit or finish. Not sure how to resolve the problem, the installer either tries to do a quick fix to stay on schedule or is forced to delay the project to get a supervisor’s eyes on it.
Either way, this scenario can lead to jobs getting backed up either due to ‘fixes’ that need to be re-fixed or lost time due to the logistics of getting a supervisor on site. But some contractors have discovered a better way that’s available at no charge to anyone with a smart device: video chat.
Just as the name implies, video chat allows two or more people to converse with each other using sound and image. There are a number of options available from Skype to FaceTime to other third party apps. But they all serve to solve that age-old contracting problem, and research shows video is becoming crucial to business.
The Pew Research Center found that more than 21% of all cell phone users have used video calling or chat services. Skype alone boasts more than 300 million active users per month for personal and business meetings. Gartner’s recent study estimated that 100 of the 500 largest global businesses will introduce video-based chat by 2018 for customer-facing interactions, according to information from SaleMove, which focuses on in-person and online customer experience.
Brad Beldon knows first-hand why video is becoming so big for businesses. “We use it every single day,” said Beldon, CEO of The Beldon Group of Companies. “It just gives you ability to be there without being there. To me it’s a game changer.”
Beldon has used video chat to change the game in three key areas:
1. Safety inspections. Beldon’s inspectors use video chat to spot check job sites. Every morning, Beldon gets a video report showing the latest inspection right from his own office. Using remote video he can also pull up a picture of a jobsite roof at any time to see what’s happening. Since workers don’t know when they’re being watched, it makes them more likely to follow safety protocols, he added.
2. Meetings. For meetings, Beldon said video chat adds back in what’s been lost with teleconferences — body language. “Video chat gets us all more engaged,” he said, adding that he just had a videoconference with people on two continents and three different countries, “and it was crystal clear. You can tell if someone isn’t buying in.” Beldon prefers to use a service called Zoom for meetings, which is better for meetings with multiple people. The service costs about $10 per month per user.
3. Job site problems. Beldon has just begun using a more robust video chat solution for job site problems. He’s using USB cams on site that beam the video to 55-inch TVs on wheels. For example, if a gutter machine malfunctions, the installer can video chat images of each roller back to the office for an expert to see. “It takes a lot of expertise to isolate which roller is creating the problem. This allows us to actually hold a camera right over the roller and the person diagnosing it can see it on a 55-inch screen,” he said. “It’s been really effective.”
0%0%0%0%0%The other effective part of using video chat to solve job site problems is that it’s easier to involve the sales and installer teams, said Brian Diamond, owner and president of Quality Home Exteriors. “Sales is going to look at that problem different than the installers,” he said. “They know the customer.”
Diamond also recently began using video chat (Skype for business), but he said he’s already noticed that it’s saving time — and reducing callbacks. “Now we can look at a tough situation and come up with a solution that’s not only right on the tech side but also on the sales side from an aesthetic point of view,” he said.
As a plus, letting customers know the firm is using video chat has upped its cachet. “Customers like the idea. They dig the tech thing,” he said. “If they know they’re working with a company that’s innovative on the tech side, it gives them more confidence that we’re not just an old-style roof slinger.”
Despite all these benefits, Beldon said most contractors are making the mistake of not using video chat. “You should embrace it. Anyone with a smart phone can start doing it,” he said. “It will allow you to do more with less people. It’s instantaneous. You make a decision and move on.
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