A leading global supplier of technology and services and having interests in everything from agricultural and construction machinery to factory automation and the Internet of Things (IoT), the Bosch Group has a diverse set of capabilities across its multiple divisions. In Part One of an interview with Steffen Schmickler, vice president, customer success services, marketing & communications at Bosch Software Innovations, we learned, among other things, how the regulatory environment in Europe affects loyalty strategy. We left off by asking:
How do you see customer experience changing inside as well as outside of your industry?
Schmickler: Customer experience will change dramatically just from things being connected. Not only the CX but the way our clients interact with their customers as well. For example, Bosch has a lot of businesses where we don’t have direct end consumers, particularly in our power tools and consumer goods division. We always sold through retailers, so basically when the product leaves our logistics center it goes to the dealer.
Previously, at that point, we were done with it unless it came back because of a problem. By connecting these tools, we are now able to establish a continuous relationship with our end customers and this is going to influence customer experience obviously. For example, we can send software updates to electronic products and add functions to them, allowing us to directly interact with our customers and allowing them to interact with us. There are a lot of changes coming just from that perspective, things that were not connected in the past being connected now and linking manufacturers to consumers in a very direct way.
Are consumer expectations changing?
Schmickler: Absolutely. People get used to the experience they have interacting with Apple or Amazon products. They expect the same experience when they interact with traditional manufacturers, too, even in a B2B scenario. This is going to be a huge influence and we have to adjust for that as well. One of the projects we are working on is supporting our machine building division. They are looking into how they have to change and address generation Z in the future. We look at how the expectations will change in terms of buying patterns.
What are the challenges and opportunities of surveying and listening to your customers?
Schmickler: There are many ways to survey and listen to customers. Even if you applied several methods, you don’t necessarily get better information. You have to cut through the noise and get to the relevant feedback. You have to listen to all of your customers and what they are saying and really filter it down to what is important and relevant. Looking at product development and functionalities, for example, the most interesting piece doesn’t necessarily need to be what they tell you, but what they don’t tell you. People never told Apple they needed an iPhone, but they developed one because they looked at customer needs.
Is it difficult to discern what customers mean versus what they say?
Schmickler: In many ways, you can rely on data. If you ask somebody how many holes he or she drills a day and they say, “ten and it takes ten seconds,” that might be true, but it might be wrong. If you connect the product, you actually know how they use it. Through product usage you will get a lot of additional information that people don’t tell you or remember.