In the eyes of potential customers, LeasePlan is the best option, according to WUA's research into online orientation for business car leasing. It also takes the lead in research into private car leasing (December 2017). In this interview we speak with Monique Gerner (Marketing Director LeasePlan Netherlands). About gaining digital speed by learning from other sectors, connecting offline and online, and simply DOING.
Monique Gerner, congratulations on your victory in this WUA research. How important is it for you to be the best in the digital arena? What role does a winning mentality play in this?
"For me personally, it's not about winning. It's about the steps we take. Where do you come from, and how big is the distance you cover? At the same time, it's naturally nice to win, and nobody wants to lose. Especially because we haven't been at this for very long, it's very motivating to be appreciated. The subject of digital customer experience is particularly important to us; this is part of our strategy where we want to excel. It's nice to get an extra 'checkmark' here."
In business leasing, LeasePlan has been active for fifty years. Private lease only came in recent years. What is your approach?
"We have an entrepreneurial, pragmatic approach. We like to gain speed, and then adapt accordingly. We're not stubborn, and we like learning from others. We've entered into partnerships with well-known brands where many consumers come together. Campaign with Albert Heijn and structurally with ANWB. We're successful in this. In the spring of last year we launched our own website, and since autumn we've really started driving traffic and optimizing our conversion. We're really in the digital start-up phase. We're also adapting our product; it's already possible to share your car via SnappCar. At LeasePlan we're convinced that working with partners and specialists in combination with 'doing it yourself' is the right approach."
So it's a kind of digital testing ground? Aren't you far too big a company for that?
"In our digital development we're not the first mover as an organization, and we make use of that. Both within our sector and beyond, there are so many companies we can look at and learn from. We attract specialists, and then we just do it. Then we analyze and measure everything. So instead of busying ourselves with presenting and planning, we look for experiences and best practices, and use those. Rather than seeing it as a digital testing ground, it's more like catching up and learning from the best. We constantly look at the travel, retail and telecom sectors, where the largest e-commerce revenues lie."
From a consumer perspective, there should be no difference (anymore) between service and sales. Can you break down silos at LeasePlan or: do you plan to do this?
"We're now working on our new MyEnvironment, where we merge service and sales: this way you can contribute to the ideal customer experience while simultaneously increasing retention and realizing upsell. Within the organization we work with bi-weekly sprints where different representatives from departments come together in an end-to-end process. Lead-to-order, that's an example of such a process. Lead: from the first touchpoint and the beginning of the digital or brand experience. To the order: ordering the car. This way we let go of departmental silos and centralize the customer process."
What role do customer research and customer focus play in your daily work, and in the teams you're responsible for?
"Customer research is an important part of our data-driven decision making. We ensure that our people don't only use their own expertise and vision, but that they look at things from a broader perspective. We take into account both external and internal data. The digital team also consults with other people at LeasePlan. Colleagues who purchase cars, perform credit checks or are responsible for car maintenance.
"External market information is also an important source of input for us. Outside our office walls there are many different people who possess information. If we can collect that in a good way, we can ensure that our work is more relevant to our current and future customers. Customer knowledge doesn't only come from 'official' market research for me. Although we naturally do that too."
As CMO, how do you work to put the customer at the center?
"We've developed a special program where each board member regularly visits top customers with different account managers. Our top customers are large companies, you regularly see the financial director or general manager sitting next to the fleet manager. By sitting at the table together, a new picture can start to grow. It's no longer about a group of customers, it's about this specific one. 'What does this customer want?' and 'What impact do our strategic steps have on this person?' These conversations inspire me, and we regularly adjust our roadmap internally, and we use these customer conversations for our internal communication."
Which KPIs do you use in the digital area, which levers do you pull to excel digitally?
"We focus most on performance KPIs like traffic, conversion and costs. At certain moments, for certain segments, we add 'soft KPIs' to that, including excellent customer service. In my view, excellent digital customer experience leads to more sales."
What are your digital challenges for 2018?
"Our sector has great potential to gain speed in digital transformation. At LeasePlan we've made the decision to do this from a global perspective. Now we're digitally active in 33 countries, and if we can serve multiple countries with a small number of roadmaps, our development will really go fast. It's a beautiful journey, challenging and complex. When is the MVP product ready to be rolled out in a digitally mature country like the Netherlands or the UK, for example? Those kinds of questions..."
What digital innovations are you working on now, and what developments are on the roadmap?
"At the moment we're adapting our IT infrastructure. It's a complex operation, where the foundations are being laid for data management and personalization. I can't wait to implement the smooth and seamless digital experience of for example Booking.com and Coolblue. The new infrastructure makes this possible, and we're preparing for this as well as possible.
"Additionally, we're working on digitalizing the customer journey, and we want to make that journey generic, to use in 33 different countries. Naturally adapted with tweaks and optimization for local customers. At the same time we want to 'bring home' those tweaks and that optimization, to feed the global roadmap with new developments in that way!"
What do you think the Next Big Thing is in digital in your market?
"There are many technological developments happening, which have impact on our propositions and the use of cars in general. Obvious examples are the connected car, the electric car, and car sharing. What subscription is ideal when you look at the car as service first and foremost? Which networks do you want to share your car with. And which absolutely not? At what moment in your life would it be nice to have a larger or smaller car? In our market, new forms of flexibility, attention to sustainability and sharing of car ownership are the main drivers behind large-scale digital developments."
Additionally, there are digital marketing trends, like personalization and 'big data'. How do you work on this?
"A trend says that many people are working on these themes. I am too, but I don't experience it as if they're new themes. If you want to excel in marketing and customer convenience, it's vital to present the most relevant message at the right moment, via the right channel, to the right user or customer. Naturally you deploy all technology to do this well. Technology should never be used as an excuse not to follow that philosophy, in my opinion. An excellent personal salesperson will understand what I mean; I think relationship management is sometimes underestimated."
What is your ultimate goal and dream to achieve in business?
"My current dream is that this 'playing online store' with all its aspects simply becomes daily work at LeasePlan. That we know our customers and users, recognize them everywhere, acknowledge them. The organization is ready for it, people adapt lightning fast, and we grow in our mentality of 'a day without mistakes is a day we learned nothing'. It would be great if we can grow along with developments in technology: in the sense of developments in automotive, in digital, and for the changing wishes and needs that the consumer might have."
