Humans: The "X" Factor in "CX"

With the rise of CRM systems and the promise of big data, the notion of the “customer experience” has dominated marketing discussions. And I’ve always wondered if the automated aspects of this concept have gained more than their fair share of this conversation. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m as happy as the next guy when I get a savvy recommendation from an ecommerce site, or my yoga-service saves me clicks by sorting my classes in an extra-convenient way. Those nuances testify to the care a company takes with its customers. But these days, I find myself gravitating toward experiences in which digital interactions are balanced with human contact, and the company balances its knowledge about who I am with its devotion to what the brand means. 

Here’s an example.

A few years ago, I inherited my dad’s car—a 2009 Lincoln MKS— and it came time for a visit to a dealership to mend the minor scuffs and malfunctions the vehicle had acquired under the piloting of our teenage sons.

Now, I didn’t expect the local dealership to have an intimate knowledge of me; after all, I wasn’t even the original buyer. What I did expect was an authoritative knowledge of the product. I also expected the brand attribute that had made my dad a loyal Lincoln customer: a unique kind of “luxury” that is, at its core, American in character. 

As my experience unfolded over the next week, I monitored the different touchpoints the brand and its dealer used to acquire knowledge of me and fulfill the brand promise. What I found was an intriguing and effective balance in all the most important dimensions.

1.   Downloading the LincolnWay App. Rather than search the website or Yellow Pages for a local dealership, I download the LincolnWay app. After a simple account creation process, including my car’s VIN number, I’m prompted to set up an appointment with the dealership most convenient to me. Fast, efficient, and, most important, asynchronous. I'm encouraged by the digital competence—which I ascribe entirely to the brand.

2.    The Appointment Prep Call. A surprise to me, and a nice, human build on my app experience. A technician at the dealership asks me intelligent questions to ensure his team has the parts they need to address my vehicle’s needs efficiently. For the first time, I find myself looking forward to visiting a car dealer.

3.    The Service Bay. The “white glove” aspects of the brand come out here. I’m greeted by name, and a personalized hang tag goes on the rear-view mirror. I review the job ticket with the receiving technician, who gives me confidence the work will be done right. But what I appreciate most are the ways in which the service-center reinforces the Lincoln brand. Uniforms carry the Lincoln logo. Signage is plentiful, and properly branded for both Lincoln and dealership, all the way down to the safety posters and announcements I glimpse in the back office. The environment feels safe, clean, modern and spacious. It occurs to me, as I make my way to the service desk, that this corner of the American car industry, at least, is in very good shape. That’s when I pause, mid-step, and realize that a car dealership has just made me feel something. And the thought occurs, “These guys are good.”

4.    Quote experience. Here, the balance tips more sharply toward customer knowledge. First names are used for the first time. Prices are a little steep, but then again, I’ve already experienced the central value—my car is in expert, Lincoln-trained hands. More details about me come tumbling out. Naturally, the conversation is conducted in eyeshot of the showroom, where the 2017 models sit gleaming. Are my sales-resistance senses tingling? For sure. But I glance over at the MKX anyway, and can't help but recall all the Matthew McConaughey commercials I’ve seen. The brand-dealer partnership, in short, is humming.

5.   Courtesy Ride. Another surprise-and-delight touch. Now, I’m sitting in the passenger seat of one of those Navigators, with a recent college-grad driving me to the train station for my ride to work. In the door pocket next to me sits a dealer-specific sell sheet, nicely designed with  shots of new and pre-owned vehicles. The young-grad (Bridget, if I recall, fresh out of b-school at SUNY Albany), encourages me to take the sheet for my train ride into the city. It'd be a shame to disappoint her, and besides, there’s a 2016 MKX that caught my eye. Into my backpack it goes.

6.    Vehicle pickup: In the afternoon, I receive an alert that my vehicle is ready and a prompt to select a drop-off time at my house. When today’s young-grad driver arrives, I hop in to take him back to the dealership (they've got me rooting for these kids) and I notice how clean the car is. I also catch a slightly different, fresh scent—not quite the new-car smell, but close. Is that “Essence of Lincoln?” Go on, laugh if you like at the slightly corny brand touch. But in that moment, it occurs to me again, “These guys are good.” And I realize it's hard for me to determine where the brand leaves off and the dealership picks up in this experience of mine. They are rapidly becoming inseparable in my mind.

7.    Customer Satisfaction Survey (Local): A typical part of the service experience, and one I usually skip. But because things have gone so smoothly, I find the process a pleasure. I can feel the CRM algorithms at work, but somehow, I don't mind.

In the aftermath, the expected sequence of alerts and emails begins. And of course, I don’t mistake these machined touchpoints for a relationship. But the brand-delivered, automated  communications have greater power to attract and hold my attention, precisely because the humans at the local level have done such a sensitive job of delivering on the brand promise. Which is to say, as Regis McKenna so famously asserted, “Marketing is everything. And everything is marketing.”

In some recent research that Pica9 conducted, we learned that more than 8 out of 10 major franchise and dealer-based brands expect their local networks to triple in the next five years. Could this be because distributed brands understand that excellence in the human part of the customer experience is inextricably linked to success in the digital realm? All my instincts tell me so.