To EV or not to EV? Could CX be the answer?

In Europe alone, the number of Electric Vehicles (Battery electric + Plug-in hybrid electric) for 2030 is estimated to be around 29 million.

The EV industry has officially taken off, and if you’re in the market considering the switch to electric, the choices are endless.

But what would help push you over the line when choosing which brand to go for?

Could a good customer experience (CX) be one?

The Power Behind a Good Customer Experience

Research states that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. Companies are no longer  competing on price, product or features, but CX too – making customers happy isn’t just a good idea, it’s a necessity.

When  making a big ticket purchase decision, such as buying a car, the stakes surrounding a positive customer experience are even higher.

But how can a positive customer experience help?

4 Quick CX Tips to Keep in Mind

• Speed is everything Brands now have to work a lot harder to respond to customers quickly. The good news is, there are powerful tools out there such as chatbots, which allow brands to be there for customers at all times. Chatbots are evolving and getting smarter each day. They help customers resolve simpler and repetitive queries. Even when chatbots may not be able to resolve a customer issue, the chat session is escalated to an agent, along with the information the chatbot collected. Workflows like these help facilitate greater efficiencies for both the agent and the customer.

• Personalisation is key Today’s customers demand a personalised service, and this could be just what is needed to push an EV sale over the line. Data and accurate segmentation can be the difference between a good and bad personalisation experience. A process driven customer relationship management (CRM) system can help facilitate this. Regional, purchase or demographic data can be used to enhance a personalised service. Where customers make repeat purchases of similar products, marketing campaigns can also be targeted at those groups with personalised promotions.

• Adopt a proactive customer service approach We’re in an era where passive customer service is no longer enough. Providing great a great CX begins with listening to your customers. And that starts with using technology such as analytics, to analyse customer interactions and intent across channels including email, SMS, webchat and social. This can help better understand customer behaviour or broken processes within the customer journey.
• Reduce customer stress A negative customer experience can have a direct impact on the customer as well as the agent. Making your services accessible  across varied digital channels is one way of facilitating a positive customer experience. Keeping customers informed on agent response times is another way to reduce customer stress. A well monitored and process driven IVR system can facilitate this. With the automatic callback feature, the customer can choose to be called back rather than wait on hold in a long phone queue. Actions like these go a long way in helping customers make that final big purchase.

Final Thoughts

Deciding whether or not you invest in an EV can be influenced by many factors. However, a good CX may just help push you over the line. 

Onto, a leading provider of all-inclusive electric car subscriptions, is a great example of how an EV brand can develop their CX growth plans. Onto has recently chosen to implement   a cloud contact centre platform, NICE CXone, to improve agent experience and provide an effortless service for their customers looking for affordable, flexible, and sustainable driving.

“Our vision is to empower customers to resolve issues before they become problems through effortless experiences, but we needed the solution to facilitate this. By working with Business Systems, we’re going to be able to bring this vision to life for our customers and agents, further defining our footprint as the leading provider in our industry.”

Adam Koffler, Chief of Customer Experience of Onto

A great customer experience is the way forward for building customer loyalty, with CX being one of the differentiators for big ticket purchase decisions such as buying your next car. 

To make the journey as smooth as possible, organisations need to revise their customer experience strategy sooner rather than later.