Deliver an Incredible Online Booking Experience with Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan

The Why Behind the ServiceTitan + Schedule Engine integration

ServiceTitan and Schedule Engine share a similar mission, as they both were founded by contractors for contractors, and offer software solutions to help streamline business operations for the trades. In August, Schedule Engine joined the ServiceTitan family of companies.

Meet ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan users see a 15% revenue increase on average, year over year.

• Increase revenue

• Automation and efficiency

• Amazing customer experience

“We’re an all-in-one solution that helps residential and commercial contractors manage every level of their business, from dispatching, call booking, scheduling, to executing marketing campaigns, calculating ROI, financing, payroll, QuickBooks, and so much more,” says Jackie Aubel, webinar host and Senior Content Marketing Manager at ServiceTitan.

Meet Schedule Engine

Schedule Engine users book four times more jobs than other leading online scheduling tools.

• Online Booking: appointment booking that delivers work orders straight to your ServiceTitan dashboard, day or night. 

• Live Services

  • Live Chat: an always-on service offering industry-trained agents who engage customers, answer questions, and book actual appointments.

  • Live Voice: 24/7 live support for daytime overflow or after hours, with industry-trained agents always on call to answer questions and book appointments.

With customer convenience in demand and top-of-mind, Schedule Engine makes online booking simple, no matter when customers need to schedule an appointment. 

“Homeowners can schedule an appointment easily with a few clicks from their smartphone or their computer (even if it’s 10 o’clock at night or over a holiday weekend),” Clark says. “Regardless of channel, regardless of time, regardless of avenue, Schedule Engine can help book appointments for every contractor around the clock.”

And Schedule Engine’s integration with ServiceTitan enhances both systems for contractors, so all calls get answered, more jobs get booked, and your entire team knows exactly what’s on the schedule for the week ahead.

Here’s how ServiceTitan + Schedule Engine works for contractors, in simple terms:

Customer books a job

Your customers go online to find an available time slot and book a job through the Schedule Engine booking widget on your website.

Job arrives in your ServiceTitan dashboard

The platform works with ServiceTitan to automatically create complete work orders in your operations dashboard.

The online scheduler seamlessly plugs right into your website with just a few lines of code, Clark explains, and the system can be configured to your company brand so it asks the same questions your CSRs ask customers when they call your business.

“It’s that perfect bridge between your website and ultimately helping convert, not just leads, but jobs directly into ServiceTitan dashboard, waiting to be dispatched,” Clark says. “Then your technicians can do what they do best, help your customers in need, and keep your business growing.”

How Apex Midwest leverages Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan to book more jobs online

Prior to joining Apex more than a year ago, Micheletti worked in the fitness and gym industry for 17 years. She says marketing for the home services industry is very similar to the fitness industry, as success is largely determined by the customer’s experience with your brand. 

“It’s like signing up for a class or booking your personal training session online,” Micheletti says of Apex’s partnership with Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan. “It doesn't take away from the experience of a class, or when the technician gets there and has that one-on-one experience, but it gives customers options, making it easy to use our services.”

The convenience and flexibility of Schedule Engine’s online booking services serves Apex Midwest well, especially as a larger company with multiple locations ranging from rural to more metropolitan markets.

For instance, the following brands under the Apex umbrella achieved some amazing results:

• Whipple Service Champions — Over 2,200 Schedule Engine bookings since August, averaging more than 750 per month 

• J&A Service Experts — 71% of all Schedule Engine jobs booked in October came in after hours 

• Integrity Home Solutions — 60% of all October bookings are net new customers through Schedule Engine 

• Academy Air — Live Voice, 5,475 calls handled, with 1,090 booked appointments in the first two months

“Customer experience is the core of our business,” says Micheletti, who creates marketing for 12 different Apex brands. “Their experience is going to keep them coming back and create a loyal customer for us.”

Utilizing Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan is about meeting customers where they are, when they need your home services, and with multiple options that best serve their needs.

“Most people, myself included, don't really think about their home to-dos until late in the evening,” Micheletti says, which means after hours for most service businesses. “And although automation can be scary, it's not really losing the personal touch because it's an extension of your business that allows homeowners to schedule based on what they need.

“When they schedule and know it's taken care of, it provides instant gratification and an instant peace of mind. ‘I have an expert coming out to take care of this problem,’” she adds. “It really adds to the customer experience, as opposed to them not feeling satisfied and continuing down the road to call someone else.”

Offering a multichannel approach (call, live chat, or book online) at any time of day simply gives customers more choice, better convenience, and an overall superior customer experience.

“I really view scheduling as an extension of our call center,” Micheletti adds. “Whether it's an overflow during the day or an after-hours service, it’s all driven by providing great customer service. Having those multi-channels really helps us enhance what we can deliver to the customer.”

How to Streamline Operations During and After Business Hours While Improving the Customer Experience

“Leave no job behind” with Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan means customer calls are answered by live, industry-trained agents 24/7, or when you choose to fill in the gaps for your CSRs during busy times, after hours, on weekends, and during the holidays. Questions get answered, calls get booked, and verified jobs based on your availability get uploaded to your dashboard for dispatching.

Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan offers:

• Convenience

  • Intuitive online scheduling technology is simply a “must-have” for any trades business to provide a better customer experience

• Streamline Operations

  • Always-on technology reduces workload on you and your service technicians, CSRs, dispatchers.

• Capacity Planning

  • Supports ServiceTitan companies using legacy capacity planning or adjustable capacity planning

Clark says convenience always wins with today’s home services customers, who live in an on-demand society where they can book everything from a haircut to a dental visit quickly and easily online.

“The easier we can make it for our customer or potential new customer to schedule an appointment with us and get that job booked into ServiceTitan, the more business we will win,” Clark says.

“And remember, in theory, every customer who books online is essentially alleviating a phone call,” he adds. “If we can get 20% to 30% of our customers to book online without clogging up our phone lines, especially during those peak seasons of the year—think about it, what does that do to our KPIs, our average wait times, our call center efficiencies?”

During peak seasons when the phones are ringing off the hook, rather than overload your already overworked CSRs or hire and train new ones, simply leverage the technology of Schedule Engine’s online booking tool to ensure no calls get missed, no customers are left waiting on hold, and no jobs are lost.

Schedule Engine’s Impact By the Numbers:

20% to 30% of total bookings flow through Schedule Engine

• Incredible CSR time savings, as real appointments are booked with no confirmation call-back required

30% to 40% of bookings, on average, are net new customers

• Multiplier impacts to marketing investment to drive down customer acquisition cost and get new customers in the door on club memberships

40% to 50% of Schedule Engine bookings come in after hours

• This takes the industry standard of leads kept “luke-warm” to an actual booked appointment, which stops the homeowner from searching for option #2 (which is NOT you).

Some contractors push back on the idea of online booking, Clark says, even though they understand how more customers prefer the convenience. Rather, they believe they can offer a better customer experience with an experienced CSR who knows the company’s mission, vision, and values. 

“I think most of us would absolutely agree. If you have a CSR who lives out your mission, vision, values, who's been a longtime employee, it's really hard to replicate that customer experience,” Clark says. “But when we break down consumer psychology, it simplifies the equation.”

Customers who prefer to speak to a CSR about service can pick up the phone and call in, while those who prefer to book a job on their own time without speaking to anyone can book it online.

“That's where, ideally, businesses can still have a great customer experience that's personalized, yet still use automation,” Clark says.

For Apex Midwest, utilizing Schedule Engine + ServiceTitan provides a personalized customer experience with automated efficiency.

“Don't be afraid to make changes,” Micheletti says. “And make those changes based on what's best for the customer. I think that's really critical. It’s an extension to your business that really is vital to providing the best customer service experience out there for our homeowners.”