Car-aoke. Way To Go !
A lot has been written on the topic of ‘Customer Journey’.
The point I made in the past is that most companies look at this journey inside-out, trying to map the customer interactions to the different processes they have, classified normally as - creating Awareness, invoking Interest and Consideration, Purchase and through Retention and Advocacy (“AICPRA”).
The ‘surprising’ reality is that human beings have their own daily flow and the real journey is what happens with (or to) your customer outside the realm of those defined processes. In other words, an outside-in view.
Now, the trick is to not only ‘know’ that, but rather to act on it. There are many ways to translate the ‘Real Customer Journey’ into an amazing set of products, services and experiences that create a ‘wow!’ reaction. Most have to do with a fundamental perception expansion of the customer whereabouts, way beyond those that are exclusively related to the company. Secondly, but not least important, is the broadening of the industry definition itself, beyond its traditional one, which means breaking the boundaries.
Take BMW, as an example. I am a big fan. Always have been.
But, BMW is a school-book example of an inside-out traditional look at the customer. They would define the journey of a customer mainly based on the AICPRA interaction points and the car will be designed just like that. If a camera is added to the car, it would be used as a safety sensor measuring distance or interpreting road signs. If a touchscreen is added to the car, it would be used to deliver the best information associated with the driving itself. In other words, everything that has to do with the driving itself on a functional level. Nothing wrong with that, if you look at it in a traditional way. The focus is an excellent driving experience and BMW is very good at it.
Tesla, on the other end, has redefined completely the customer journey and challenged many orthodoxies along the way. After all, why, on earth would a car company add to its touchscreen a Car Racing Game, allowing the player to use the real car steering wheel and paddles ? How does a car company come to a ludicrous idea of adding a complete Karaoke service as an integral part of the driving ?
The answer is quite simple (and yet, sophisticated).
They are Following the real Customer Journey. Literally.
Tesla has expanded the definition of the journey way beyond the trivial customer touch points with the company. They look holistically and untraditionally at the customer, not as a functional driver, but rather as a human which happens to also drive a car. In a way, the ‘Auto Pilot’ function Tesla offers, allowing the car to drive by itself, is the epitome of it, signifying the view that the customer (car owner) can even be considered as a passenger, rather than a ‘driver’…
Food for Thought !