ARTICLE

How to win the digital journey in shared mobility

Increasing and retaining the number of power-users in 4-steps

September 26, 2022
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Remmert Stipdonk
As experts in the field of Travel and Mobility we have seen the landscape change significantly in the last 20 years. There are many reasons we can address now, but let's agree that the general technological development in digital where everyone is able to control their life path instantly, has made the traveler demand a handpalm experience that has influenced their needs and behavior immensely.

And mobility providers are delivering! Did you know that there are between 350 thousand and 1 million people that share cars and 1.7 million people that share bicycles in the Netherlands alone? You can’t look left or right these days without seeing (new) (publicly available) transportation brands a traveler can choose from, ranging between anything from bus, train and tram to bicycle, electric scooter and car. Especially if you are living in a large city, there is no way you have not seen people traveling on a Felyx scooter, in a MyWheels-car or on an OV-fiets.

With this many options a traveler can choose from, many of our clients who provide some form of travel from A to B, have come across four core challenges, and if you are in the same branch you’ll recognise them instantly:

  • How do I nudge a traveler to choose my brand's product in their journey from A to B?
  • How do I onboard the traveler in a low key way that they are willing to actually use my product in their journey from A to B?
  • How do I retain a traveler that has used my product once and have them use my product again in their journey from A to B?
  • How do I increase value from the traveler who uses my product more than once and have them embed my product in their core choice for traveling from A to B?

Though not necessarily an easy question to answer, the first question on how to nudge the traveler to choose your brand, is mostly about brand recognition and awareness. What is your story? Does it appeal to people's needs? Et cetera. It is important and the first step towards someone trying out your product, but once someone has made their choice for your brand, it is all about the product fitting their expectations. Because if  expectations are not met, there is a slim chance they will (re-)connect with your brand or product.

That is why we strongly believe that building a long term relationship between your brand and your (potential) customers is deeply rooted in the customer experience you offer them. Or in other words: An optimal customer experience builds power users!

Sounds easier said than done right? Wrong! Yes of course it takes effort, but with the right tools and mindset it shouldn’t be that hard. And we are here to help.

Our team has extensive experience in the field of Travel and Mobility, and more specifically in Shared Mobility. This helped us develop an approach that maps how to get to an optimal customer experience. The approach has four steps that support that:

1. Address business goals & KPI’s

What makes your business special? Where does your expertise lie and how does that map on our subject matter expertise and our years of industry knowledge? What data are you already collecting? By bringing it all together we are able to apply our shared mobility framework in the best possible way.

2. Tailor our mobility framework

With the core information in our back pocket, we are able to tailor our proven industry framework to your specific situation in a joint pressure cooker session. This is where we will put our hands-on experience in shared mobility into practice, resulting in a visual overview of your travelers experience.

3. Identify leverage points

We identify your leverage points, and map these onto the framework. These areas, where a small change can mean a big impact on your customer experience, will help you focus on the most important actions to take.

4. Prioritise actionable digital roadmap

And finally you get the best next actions presented in an actionable roadmap for you to put into practice. These are jointly prioritised based on your business goals, value for the customer, technical feasibility and operational impact.

We tailor our shared mobility framework to shape your digital journey

As you can see, the core of this approach is to find leverage points. These areas will actually make the most difference in the experience of the traveler. By connecting these leverage points to the business goals we are able to tailor our framework to any specific situation (a bicycle is not a car or train, so there are always differences next to some of the more commonly shared things like search, book, use and pay).

Because our knowledge is rooted in a combination of data, design and technology, we are able to eliminate waste and can focus on options that are not only desirable, but also feasible and viable. In other words: We design what can be created!

A model is a nice thing, but at the heart of a customer's experience is, well, the customer. People hold a large part of the answer we are continuously looking for. New customers give insights on pains and gains, but we can mostly learn a lot from people who have already engaged with your brand and product, especially the ones that for some reason have not come back.

We understand that you collect interesting data which provides you insights into broad patterns and trends, but does it give answers on questions that actually impact the customer journey? Why can’t I bookmark my favorite car as a default? How do I know on which e-scooter I have to wear a helmet? Or do I need a subscription for this shared bike?

Whatever question the customer has, they also hold the answer. Involve them and they will hand you the key to your quest to improve your customer experience and make them your new power-user.

So, what do you think, are you ready for more clients, less churn, and a growing number of power-users? Is it time to put an optimal customer experience at the top of your agenda? The only right answer is yes, and we’ll help you build a strong relationship between you and your customers, today and tomorrow.

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