Beyond the Vehicle: Taking the lead on automotive customer ecosystems

Why are customer ecosystems the green light for growth?

By investing in customer ecosystems, automotive OEMs can provide integrated, personalized offers, adding value and strengthening customer relationships. This is a chance to not only enrich touchpoints, but to expand into new areas of life with incredible potential for growth. Customer ecosystems – in any industry – are rarely built by one company in isolation. They are generally accomplished in collaboration with multiple partners.

What do customers think about customer ecosystems?

Our interaction with cars is changing in fundamental ways. Customers are no longer solely concerned with the driving experience. An emerging generation of digital natives expect not just new personalized connected products and services, but also an entire ecosystem that flows seamlessly from their vehicle into their everyday lives beyond the car. They have seen what customer centric ecosystems can do for them in other industries, and they want the same experience with their cars.

This became patently clear to us after we interviewed over 1,000 participants in Germany aged between 18 and 45 with the aim to better understand the perception of drivers on customer ecosystems. Here are some insights we generated:

• 68% see ecosystem-related initiatives as highly relevant for automotive OEMs to compete against tech giants.
• 57% view a seamless integration of all channels and devices into a customer ecosystem as the most important factor.
• 70% prefer a customer ecosystem centered around their smartphone, which is completed by their vehicle.
• 65% are willing to share their vehicle data to receive additional services for free.

How do OEMs successfully build a customer ecosystem?

Having established the growing demand for customer ecosystems, automotive OEMs clearly need to develop a plan for development and implementation. But for the automotive industry, this is a rather new area of expertise. To support their long-term viability, we have put together four guiding principles to facilitate the successful creation of a customer ecosystem.

1. Strategy and scope – Be customer-centric:

Being customer-centric, constantly analyzing customer needs, helps to better understand pain points. This is because the better you can define your customers’ needs, the stronger your offer will become. The decision of whether to enter the market with a given service comes down to a balance of attractiveness and competitive strength. When creating a new customer ecosystem, existing portfolio governance structures and processes should be adapted accordingly. This also means being clear about the content of the ecosystem and its services to prevent misunderstandings within the organization.

2. Partnerships and operating models – Collaborate wisely and select suitable partners:

Partnerships work best when balancing strengths and gaps while adding customer value. It is important to create an operating model that fits both your organization and can integrate partners. To further guarantee the profitability of an ecosystem, it is integral to find the right business model; however, it is also essential to understand it is not necessary for each element to yield a profit for an ecosystem to be profitable.

3. Success measurement – Measure effectively to steer partners:

Measuring success starts with data. Therefore, a KPI system is essential for ensuring that different components of the ecosystem are working well together, and goals are on track. We suggest an approach that consists of both bottom-up and top-down assessments. Bottom-up KPIs track the success of individual products and services, whereas top-down KPIs track the success of the overall system. A service that is very popular, but not turning a profit on its own, may still play an integral role in the functioning of the ecosystem.

4. Technology and data – Be data driven and leverage insights:

For a rock-solid foundation of customer ecosystems there are two options: build in-house tech or establish a strategic partnership. On the one hand, building your own tech in-house, allowing for effortless integration of third parties, protects the ownership of customer data and sets the stage for technological growth. On the other hand, a strategic tech partnership can facilitate a faster set-up and advanced technological possibilities. Either way, it is essential to invest in the right technological enablers.

What’s next?

For too long, customer experience in the automotive industry has taken place exclusively inside the vehicle. But today, there is growing pressure for OEMs to adapt to changing expectations. In the modern world of digitally immersive experiences, OEMs must now embrace new ways of engaging consumers. Customer ecosystems are refueling the automotive industry and steering it confidently into the future of increased customer satisfaction and improved streams of revenue.

Your customers are ready. Are you?

For more details, read Beyond the Vehicle, our latest perspective on customer ecosystems in the automotive industry. 
 

Authors:

Sebastian Tschödrich, Global Head of Automotive, Capgemini Invent

Anne Junge, Head of Customer Transformation, frog, part of Capgemini Invent

Malte Voelkoi, Senior Manager Customer Transformation, frog, part of Capgemini Invent

Sarah Schneider, Manager Customer Transformation, frog, part of Capgemini Invent