The 115-year-old automaker is rethinking interactions across the customer life cycle and using data and insights to forge more personalized connections with consumers.
Over the past two decades, the rise of digital media and data analytics has dramatically changed the relationship between automakers and consumers. In the past, car shoppers went to dealerships to learn, browse, test drive, and negotiate. Today, however, many customers go to dealer locations as a final or near-final step to completing the transaction. Meanwhile, cars have become connected, providing automakers with a rapidly increasing amount of data about the vehicle itself and the person driving it.
Against this backdrop, Ford Motor Company is pursuing a data-driven customer experience (CX) transformation across multiple brands, Business segments, and geographic units. The Company began the effort, which includes the redesign of technologies, processes, and talent models, about three years ago. Though the initiative seeks to improve CX at obvious touchpoints, such as dealer showrooms and brand websites, its scope extends much further.
“Our goal is to transform every aspect of the customer relationship, from vehicle research and purchase through financing and servicing,” says Paul Ballew, vice president and global chief data & analytics officer. “We’re looking to eliminate any pain points in the ownership journey, but beyond that, we want to create meaningful and rewarding interactions—wows and delights that can strengthen our connection with the customer.”
The ongoing transformation encompasses the Ford and Lincoln brands in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and involves the marketing and sales, customer service, financial services, and mobility business functions. Leveraging data, analytics, and insights across three dimensions—seeing customers, knowing them, and acting in meaningful ways on their behalf—is foundational to the CX transformation.
Ford’s CX program is notable for its focus on customers as unique people, says Thomas Zipprich, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP who is working with the automaker on the effort. “Many companies approach CX improvement with larger customer segments in mind and don’t necessarily look at how to improve one-to-one interactions. From the start, this transformation has centered on understanding individuals and meeting their specific needs as they move through their unique customer life cycles.”
In this interview, Ballew discusses Ford’s use of data and analytics to forge those personalized connections, the importance of cross-functional collaboration, and the lessons he’s learned about business transformation.
What was the origin of the CX transformation, and why was it necessary?
Ballew: A vehicle is a complex, big-ticket purchase that generates ongoing interactions through ancillary components such as financing and servicing. Over the years, automakers, including Ford, have made progress in improving the ease and friendliness of the customer ownership journey. Nonetheless, we felt there was an opportunity to take customer relationships to a new level. So, in 2015, we began this transformation. Its fundamental principle is saying to our customers: I see you, I know you, and I am going to act in a meaningful way on your behalf. We’re well-positioned as a brand to provide more personalized experiences, and we believe they can differentiate us in an industry that is global and is rapidly changing because of technological advances, and facing many structural pressures.
What does the CX transformation entail?
We’re redesigning the way we operate—including technologies, processes, and talent models—with the goal of knowing our customers better and improving the ownership experience. This requires a significant investment in data and analytics, but it’s not enough to focus only on the science of it.
