Myles Pilkington – Head of Strategy and Development, PHM

Myles brings an impressive portfolio of expertise to his role at PHM, with extensive experience both within and beyond the automotive sector. In this Q&A session, he explains why the ability to ‘bring people with you’ needs to be front-of-mind within every organisational change initiative.

Myles, summarise your career – what have been the highlights so far?

I studied for a traditional engineering degree at Loughborough University, and spent my placement year at Rolls Royce and Bentley as a Design Engineer. It was a fascinating first-insight into the automotive world and its complexities. It also helped me to realise how easy it is to get ‘siloed’. Because, even though you are aware you’re helping to design and build an entire vehicle, you’re focused on the finer workings of perhaps the suspension or the electrics. This made it easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and purely focus on the details you had control of. I learned then, that the ability to collaborate with the larger team was vital to achieving a common objective.

Subsequently I completed post-graduate diplomas in both Management and Marketing and spent time working within other business sectors on a wide variety of branding, change management and marketing roles. This included several years as a Group Marketing Manager of a global business where rapid growth through acquisition created huge challenges in managing change through processes, systems and culture.

I then moved to the automotive consultancy sector and prior to joining PHM three years ago I designed, managed and delivered strategy and change projects across a wide range of business areas, for both passenger and commercial vehicle operations. Now, at PHM, people are at the heart of the projects I work on, as we partner global automotive brands through one of the most exciting and challenging times the sector has ever experienced.

Much has been written about the transition to EV mobility already. What’s at the heart of the change?

Well, the technological challenge of EVs and connected vehicles is huge but critically they are also acting as a catalyst for a cultural transformation across the automotive industry. New competition, technological innovation, and developing business channels create competitive forces that rapidly evolve the dynamics between the customers, retailers, National Sales Centres (NSC) and manufacturers.

Is this primarily relating to new sales models such as the Agency framework?

It’s more complex than that. Whether it’s because of new entrants’ doing things differently or incumbents exploring new strategies, customer journeys are changing. The automotive sales process is also being compared to experiences in other industries… fundamentally this means the whole buying process – and what is being bought – is different.

For example, consider the rise of Connected Vehicles. The ability to remotely update a vehicle’s software creates new business channels that revolutionise the experience of the customer. This, in turn, is transforming the Original Equipment Manufacturer – and its brand – from an organisation that makes a product for dealers to sell, into a business that sells services supported by a product. Now, customers can sign up to subscriptions, ranging from charging network access to vehicle use. That means that instead of interacting with the customer on a 2-3 year cycle, brands now interact on a daily basis. Subsequently, the opportunity to impress and delight customers is much faster and more frequent and their continued loyalty delivers ongoing revenue. In contrast, the risk that the customer experience is diminished so that they leave for a different brand, is exponentially greater.

Does that mean brand values are more critical?

Yes, brand values are more important than ever as they encompass a far wider remit. And unfortunately, there is little time to evolve strategic approaches. Niche manufacturers and new entrants are unencumbered by traditional approaches and culture, and are already educating customers on what is possible.

The great news is that established manufacturers are rising to the challenge both in terms of technology and systems. What they must do now, is identify, recruit, train and retain the right talent in order to drive a business entirely focused on the customer’s experience.

The key differential is motivation. What motivates a customer to engage with a brand? What motivates the salesperson to deliver a best-in-class service? What motivates the NSC to respond to a customer as a retailer does, rather than simply focusing on monthly wholesale targets? In each instance, trying to simply realign existing systems and processes is likely to fail, and could do long-term damage without an effective change management strategy.

What’s required is a real mindset shift. Start by identifying what success looks like – for the customer, for the sales consultant and for the organisation. Then build a strategy from there. Effective leadership is key; you have to take people on the journey with you every step of the way, and not just your teams within the organisation and retail network, but your customers, too.