Mark Gibson, head of marketing and business development at Alphabet, examines the importance of customer experience in the landscape of business travel
The landscape of business travel and customer expectations within it are changing, with 89% of companies now expecting to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience (Gartner 2016).
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Organisations are becoming increasingly diverse and employees are now working longer with increased flexibility in terms of their time, hours of business, as well as location. So, with such change and competition comes the need for a more personalised approach to create a successful customer experience. Relying on a one-size-fits-all mentality will no longer keep customers coming back for more, but similarly some standardisation is needed to ensure a consistency of service is delivered.
Understanding what the customer needs is crucial to retaining and growing a loyal customer base. Such an experience will lead to success rather than pushing the latest product without any consideration of their needs. An innovative business which embraces, instead of fights against, this evolving landscape and provides a personalised customer experience will be sure to stand out against competitors.
Treat customers as you wish to be treated
It’s no secret that today’s customer has a complex battlefield to trudge through when it comes to various product or service providers approaching from every angle with the latest innovations. Breaking through the noise, simplifying the options and providing a personalised solution is paramount to developing a positive customer experience.
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By GlobalDataThis need for a personal, simplified, intuitive approach is only set to grow. With a generation accustomed to personalisation in every aspect of their lives, customers now expect to be treated as individuals at both work and at home. By making the leasing customer experience more akin to the tried and tested retail experience as well as delivering on the individual needs of their business, real trust can be built.
It is this element of trust created by the customer experience – the experience of both the fleet decision-maker, as well as its own internal customer employees – that will lead to a continued, long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. When the cost of acquiring a new customer is anywhere between five and 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, an innovative and insightful focus on customer experience and the subsequent development of consumer trust needs to be a priority.
What’s the story in the fleet landscape?
For the corporate business and SMEs alike, more dynamic thinking is required – considering business travel and employee benefits in the round, rather than just thinking about the company car. Considering the person leasing or using the vehicle and their specific travel journeys or mobility requirements – not simply the vehicle itself. This personalised approach, can help to reduce costs and even CO2 emissions in businesses where electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, shared vehicles and alternative modes of transport would meet the business travel needs.
All customers, no matter what size of organisation, need to be treated according to their business requirements and with an understanding of their own unique strategic objectives. This includes developing a mobility strategy, where solutions are tailored to maximise employee benefit, travel efficiency and business expenditure. It’s about providing support, guidance and advice throughout the evolving landscape to enhance trust and deliver an improved customer experience.
One size doesn’t fit all, but managing multiple suppliers can be draining
The dangers of working on a one-size-fits-all basis are that the organisational customers don’t get the range of products and services to meet their complex array of travel requirements, they don’t get the right levels of service and ultimately are not able to capitalise on the financial, environmental and motivational benefits of more personalised mobility solutions. From a customer perspective, managing multiple suppliers to meet these needs can also be draining in terms of time and personnel.
If organisations want to build trust with customers and develop long-term relationships they need to truly listen and understand their customer, they need to appreciate the organisation’s strategic ambitions and engage with the numerous stakeholders that are involved in the decision-making process for fleet, mobility and employee benefits – including the executive team, finance, procurement, HR, fleet management, facilities management and the employee drivers themselves. Through open dialogue, the provision of expert advice, as well as practical support, the customer experience will be at the heart of the relationship, real trust will be built and a genuine business partnership will be created.
