Revamping the Customer Experience Companies can begin their digital transformation by following a two-step process to transform the experience they offer their customers. The starting point is to be informed by data, driven by empathy, and focused on real change. Once an organization has a firm view of customer patterns and preferences, and the current state of its CX, it can turn to techniques such as design thinking, and enablers such as artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning, to develop new methods of delivering a CX that offers significant ROI. Valuable tools include mapping the customer experience and journey, service blueprinting, and using collaborative and iterative design processes such as agile to develop innovative and differentiating CX and UX in smaller and faster increments. 1. Data-informed Insights i3 electric cars as much more than vehicles. 11 0 0 0 0 1 1 Businesses should generate The company is testing services such as 1 01 101 insights about the customer DriveNow, a car-sharing app for BMW i3 experience across the entire and i8 cars, and ParkNow, which identifies customer lifecycle. From brand garages with available parking and allows awareness, to triggers that launch users to reserve spaces in advance, thereby a buying process, to the decision to make providing experiences that becomes another purchase, organizations should 6 essential and drives loyalty. identify both their current strengths and the pain points that might drive a customer to a Data-informed insights also help competitor. Businesses need to understand automakers provide maintenance services where customers want to engage with them, with in-vehicle sensors that can tell them what needs customers want fulfilled and when a customer needs an oil change. how they want to engage with the brand. On-board GPS can steer them to a nearby partner or dealer. This provides automakers For example, by using data to understand with incentives to use their partners and what people do in their cars, automakers are create incremental revenue while providing extending their relationship with customers a valuable, compelling CX that tells the beyond the point of purchase. By leveraging customer the company knows who they are the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial and what they want and need. intelligence (AI) and analytics, automakers are rapidly becoming information companies. Automaker BMW, for example, thinks of its 6 Harvard Business Review, Designing a Marketing Organization for the Digital Age, October 1, 2015, accessed May 23, 2018, https://hbr.org/ sponsored/2015/10/designing-a-marketing-organization-for-the-digital-age 4