The following has been said…. “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.”
To remain competitive in today’s for-hire vehicle (FHV) marketplace, businesses must accept digital transformation as their new reality. Of all the changes technology has facilitated in recent years, consumer behavior is perhaps the most significant. For consumers, getting what they want, when they want it, and how they want it is not just a desire but has become an expectation. In an effort to accommodate this shift in power, FHV bases have had to alter their marketing and customer service strategies significantly.
With a seemingly endless list of options available to consumers, and convenience being a major driver behind today’s purchasing decisions, FHV bases have begun to use the customer experience as a key competitive differentiator. For many, this has meant placing a greater emphasis on adopting more omni-channel-centric approaches to sales and marketing and leveraging the digital channels and tools needed to deliver a seamless customer experience. While the need for digital transformation is widely felt among FHV bases, some have achieved far more than others.
What separates one FHV base from the rest is its ability to align consumer needs and preferences with technology to deliver digitally led, customer service-driven experiences. While there is no single recipe for realizing a customer-centric model, there are a number of items that should be taken into consideration.
While Uber and Lyft certainly disrupted the FHV industry and are dominating the on-demand transportation market, there is still plenty of room for FHV bases to stand out. Tried and true customer service tips can still enable your company to remain competitive. The key is to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
In the days of the past, FHV bases relied upon the three main factors of customer service: price, arriving on time, and providing the selected vehicle of choice. Technology has transformed customer service because it has given consumers the means to enjoy the entire transportation experience, including the booking process. When people are traveling, whether for business or pleasure, they value speed and efficiency.
The advent of the smartphone application to book transportation has resulted in higher expectations for not just the transportation experience inside the vehicle but also the experience before and after the trip takes place. For example, customers want to have a seamless booking experience where it is quick and easy to arrange transportation. Additionally, customers no longer want to fumble around with credit cards at the end of the trip. The ability to hop out of the vehicle at the end of the trip and go about their business results in increased speed and efficiency for the consumer, which adds to the overall customer experience.
The mobile transportation app needs to be easy to navigate and designed to be pleasurable to the eye. If the content on the app does not easily and quickly provide customers with the information they are looking for, they may move on to your competitors. The mobile experience is quite different than the desktop experience.
Each FHV base must make sure the designs and functionality of their mobile application optimizes the booking and unloading experience. Making sure your customers stay happy is of the utmost priority because it is very easy to lose a customer but very hard to gain a new one. It generally costs at least five times as much to attract new customers than to keep an existing one.
Keeping your thumb on the heartbeat of your core customer base means interacting with them on a regular basis. To do so, you should introduce rating systems, feedback surveys, rewards, and loyalty programs. Also, engaging with customers through social media is a way to obtain feedback. You must also always remember that the key is not just to obtain feedback, but to use that feedback and respond to the needs and desires of your customers. Making sure these channels are unified and consistent provides customers with a better experience.
Once you determine the key points that differentiate your FHV base from your competitors, make sure they are communicated efficiently through marketing and advertising. Your brand voice should be strong and consistent throughout all advertisements, your website and social media platforms. Capitalize on what makes you unique by highlighting the specialized services, transportation capabilities, or special rates that your competitors do not have.
One of the technical advantages available today through a variety of different dispatch technologies is the ability to obtain deeper reporting and insightful analytics. It is important to analyze that data so that you can learn from what is working and change what is not working. This may seem obvious to some, but many still operate their FHV bases by shooting from the hip.
Intuition always has and always should have a place in the decision-making of any business leader but failing to take advantage of technological advances that help make these decisions easier is simply a bad business decision.
Standing out in a crowd of competitors can be challenging. Once you find your chosen strategies to differentiate your FHV bases, stick with it, but stay open to alternative ideas, based on the analysis of your own data.
With constant technological advances, FHV bases have a variety of ways to transform the way their customers interact with their businesses instantly. Customers search for products and services that make their lives easier. Improve your customers’ experience by constantly coming up with ways to improve your existing services, find new uses for them, and even develop new ones. Use customer feedback to come up with ideas.
Technology in transportation is constantly changing and it sometimes feels like way too much effort to keep up with a moving target. Just remember: Keeping up with technology adds value to your business. Staying up-to-date helps ensure you don’t miss opportunities, become irrelevant or fall behind your competitors. Remember Kodak? They taught us all an invaluable lesson: Don’t be afraid to embrace change.
Space may not be the final frontier as we thought. Transportation technology is a frontier on its own, continuing to evolve, grow and reshape our world. As we continue to explore and expand transportation technology, the more life will change, creating new habits and forming new ways of being transported from point A to point B. While the future of FHV transportation remains in flux, leveraging technology to create personalized approaches and solutions will go a long way toward staying ahead of the curve.
