How can customer data drive a better automotive CX?

Today’s vehicles, including hybrid and electric, are more connected than ever. We may not be Jetson’s level yet (as much as we may have hoped), but contactless digital experiences have dramatically changed customer expectations for how they buy and service their vehicles.

By 2035, connected vehicle sales in the US are expected to grow over 260% ⁱ. In California and Canada, 100% of new vehicles will be required to be zero-emission in that same period.

In response to these evolving expectations, automotive brands must transform the automotive buying and ownership experience. That includes how they strategize, resource, and execute on delivering a better, data-driven customer experience (CX) for the future. We recently conducted a study to determine just how effective OEMs are at these critical CX-building activities.

To achieve desired CX, automotive brands must invest in their customer data strategy, infrastructure, and use of data. That means asking the big questions, like:

• How do you get customer data?
• How do you align that data with your strategy and vision?
• How do you provide access to the data?
• How do you enable effective use of the data?

Answers to these questions are central to success.

Understanding the Challenge

To discover just where challenges lie for automakers, Concentrix Catalyst and Salesforce® surveyed 300 leading OEMs and dealers across North America. We asked about their perceptions on delivering compelling customer experiences, and what they felt contributed to or inhibited their success:

• CX Vision and Strategy: Do they have a defined, effective, and clearly communicated approach to customer experience?
• Resources (Talent & Budget): Do they have the talent to deliver a great customer experience? Do they have the budget to enable seamless, connected data management, communications, and digital and e-commerce experiences?
• Technology: Do they have the technology in place to collect customer data and communicate it across all channels, for all stakeholders?
• Customer Data: Do they have a means of collecting, sharing, and using customer data to drive better CX?

Based on the survey data, we compiled our 2023 Automotive CX Executive Report, which provides key insights on automotive CX maturity levels.

What the data shows is that industry leaders follow through on their vision and strategy. They execute on customer data across the enterprise, infusing it across most customer engagement points. Below, we will explore each of those areas, along with the barriers and opportunities involved.

Following Through on Vision and Strategy

At Concentrix, we know that delivering great CX starts with guiding our clients to establish a strong vision and strategy. It’s what structures customer perspective to inform the intended customer experience.

Our research shows that leading companies drive excellence through to execution—what we call design, build, and run. The research showed that the leading 10% of respondents better define and communicate their CX vision and strategy. This better positions them to follow through on success. There’s a 45% difference between the leading respondents and the bottom respondents on two key statements:

• Has defined an effective customer experience vision and strategy.
• Has clearly communicated a customer experience vision and strategy within the organization.

But customers don’t experience a brand’s vision or strategy—they experience its execution. Leading companies know how to carry their vision through to conclusion and deliver great CX that gets noticed.

Using Customer Data Effectively

We also saw a wide gap between leading organizations and their competitors in customer data management—from the technology that collects to how they communicate and act upon it.

It all begins with having customer data to feed the CX cycle, but 65% of bottom respondents feel availability and quality of data are their top barriers in delivering modern CX. And our top respondents? They say neither availability nor quality of data is a barrier.

That confidence in the data widens the maturity gap even further.

As for using the data, we also saw a 41% difference between top and bottom respondents around effectively using customer data. At the same time, there is a 42% difference in successfully enabling access to customer data for employees, suppliers, and partners.

It sounds simple, but the better that customer data can be used to improve the customer experience, the more data customers will want to share. The more data customers share, the better the CX that can be provided. And the better the CX, the better the business outcomes.

Where Do You Go Next?

Concentrix has developed an Automotive Maturity Assessment to help OEMs and dealers understand how they stack up to the industry compared to their peers.

At Concentrix, we have 40 years of experience working with automotive companies to exceed CX expectations throughout the entire customer lifecycle. We’re there from performance marketing through sales, to the support of connected vehicles, and the management of recall and compliance. We work with OEMs, dealers, individual clients, and commercial fleets.

We have worked with many of the top respondents in our survey to help design their CX vision and strategy. We build the infrastructure and then run their programs to enable CX success. Those shared learnings are what make us so successful, and we look forward to evolving alongside them in this new landscape.

We’ve talked a lot about top and bottom respondents, but those who fall into the middle of the pack have opportunities as well. They have demonstrated their desire to achieve leading CX. They understand their strengths and weaknesses. They may just need a different point of view to help them overcome key hurdles. Those that are at the bottom are doing some things well, but need to continue on their path to maturity.

As we help our clients design, build, and run the future of CX, a key part of the technology roadmap is a partner that can enable success across the business. That’s why we are a design partner with Salesforce Automotive Cloud™.

As Vicki Poponi (VP, Automotive Industry Advisor, Salesforce) shares in the video below:

Combining the power of Concentrix expertise and Salesforce Automotive Cloud will help you deliver a leading customer experience.

With a journey this important, there’s no reason to wait.

About Concentrix

Concentrix (Nasdaq: CNXC) is a leading global provider of CX solutions and technology. We reimagine everything CX to improve business performance for some of the world’s best brands. We’ll help you define the roadmap to achieve your CX vision and evolve it for the long-haul. Contact us today to see how we can design, build, and run your entire CX world: www.concentrix.com.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

ⁱ "Connected car fleet by region 2021-2035," Statista, September 28, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155517/global-connected-car-fleet-by-market/