Customer service is a key aspect in LeasePlan’s ongoing digital transformation. In late 2018, we reviewed our digital service strategy and introduced a new service promise, strengthening our commitment to offer lease drivers ultimate convenience. Since then, we have been on a continuous journey to become a ‘digital service integrator’, so drivers can take care of everyday matters such as scheduling routine maintenance, reporting damage or paying a speeding fine in just a few clicks. In this blog, we dive deeper into three of our digital innovations.
LeasePlan app
At LeasePlan, we aim to make life as easy as possible for lease drivers. Ideally, they should be able to take care of common issues relating to their lease vehicle – such as booking an MOT appointment, scheduling a tyre change or registering a technical fault – in less than a minute… and they can do all this thanks to the My LeasePlan app! The app was developed from the driver’s perspective rather than based on the processes so it is extremely user-friendly, and it is being continuously developed and further improved based on customer feedback.
Interactive online answers and proactive information
However, the roll-out of the app is just one small part of LeasePlan’s new digital service strategy aimed at transforming our company into a digital service integrator. Research we conducted in 2018 revealed maintenance and repairs to be the main reasons for drivers to seek contact with us. It also emerged that they prefer not to have to call us about such matters; 80% would rather be presented with a choice of online options. To address this need, we have since launched an interactive web page providing the answers to more than 300 frequently asked questions.
As an added bonus, the tooling behind the new FAQ page provides us with a wealth of data about user behaviour. Analysis of this data enables us to tailor our services even more effectively, such as to address new questions from website visitors. Besides that, we’ve developed a more proactive approach to customer connectivity and can send push notifications containing useful service information in advance – such as when a vehicle is due for scheduled maintenance, or what to do in the case of storm damage when bad weather is forecast. All this saves valuable time for our drivers by eliminating unnecessary contact with us.
Live chat, WhatsApp and personal contact
While digitalisation is essential due to the changes in the world around us, at LeasePlan we still believe in the importance of personal contact in order to provide excellent customer service. When the self-service options available through our app and interactive website don’t go far enough, drivers can contact us digitally using live chat or WhatsAppi . And in the case of more complex issues, we have a team of call agents who use their expertise to resolve the situation as the first and only point of contact.
New opportunities
Although the feedback on our digital services has been very positive, there is always room for further improvements. We’re eager to keep pace with technological advancements and are constantly exploring opportunities for new digital services based around technologies such as virtual assistants, artificial intelligence (AI) and voice. In combination with our service mindset, we will continue to leverage these technologies to optimally support our customers – preferably in advance – by offering them a convenient, user-friendly and reliable digital service experience.
iCurrently available in Netherlands, Poland and Brazil; more countries will be implemented in the course of 2021