Improving customer experience at ProMove

ProMove stands at the intersection of safety and experience .

Who is ProMove?

With over 25 years of experience in providing driver training, ProMove's mission remains to reduce the number of traffic casualties. Passionate coaches teach you how to keep your car under control on wet or slippery roads, but it goes much further. Safe driving is not just about steering, braking, looking, and accelerating. It is about awareness and sensitization, driven by the empathy and enthusiasm of the instructors. At ProMove, you are not just a number in line, but a human being with specific needs and goals, which is why a client-oriented approach and listening to the client are very important.

The CX challenge? Improving the customer experience!

“Hi Sarah, how can we take the customer experience in our company to the next level and make our team more customer-focused?” That, in very brief terms, was the question facing Chris and Annelien, respectively Managing Director and Team Leader at ProMove. The biggest challenges? A very diverse target audience, ranging from private customers and companies to brand-new drivers who need to complete the mandatory ‘refresher course,’ and a group of freelance instructors operating unsupervised at four different training grounds. How can we serve all these customer segments personally, without losing sight of consistency and our own values?

The mission? To improve customer experience and increase customer loyalty with social impact.

At Customerry, we have a soft spot for companies that make a social impact. There is nothing wrong with earning a good living, but if you can do so while making the world a little better (or safer), that really gets us excited. So it goes without saying that I was immediately enthusiastic after reading ProMove's customer-centric ambitions. But how do you get started on this challenge?

Towards even better customer retention at ProMove with the Customerry approach

Listening to the client and understanding exactly what their needs are was the absolute most important thing for me when developing a custom project and attaching an accurate quotation to it. After all, improving customer loyalty starts with making good agreements and setting clear expectations. Only when this has been agreed upon do we dive into practice.

Step 1: As a CX expert, you occasionally end up somewhere...

Because ProMove's client base is so diverse, I started by attending a number of sessions at the various locations. This allowed me to experience firsthand what their clients experience. Naturally, during such observation sessions, I focus not only on my own experience and perception, but also – and especially – on that of my fellow participants. As a result, after a few sessions, we already had a nice list of potential improvement actions.

PS: As you can see in the video, even yours truly learned a thing or two from the experienced coaches at ProMove. A driving skills training course every X number of years is therefore highly recommended for everyone!

Step 2: Improving customer experience starts with understanding

Next step? An interactive workshop with the “permanent” ProMove team. During the workshop, we looked at, among other things, the frictions customers experience, how we can address them, and what we need to do so. Furthermore, the entire team gained up-to-date insight into current customer expectations and how to effectively respond to them.

“Sarah pointed out several key areas for improvement to us, which means that after numerous small adjustments, I can now call myself an experience strategist,” says Annelien. “I now view everything through the eyes of the customer and continuously look for ways to improve the experience, and unfortunately, I do this at every other place (hotels, restaurants, etc.) I visit. There is still a lot of work to be done for Customerry.” “ At ProMove, we mainly underestimated the stress participants experience before the start of a session. They are entering a new environment for an exciting experience, so we needed to guide the customers better and, above all, reassure them.”

The registration procedure was reviewed and adjusted. In addition to essential practical information, participants now receive a few warm-up exercises, handy GPS and parking instructions, videos with useful info, etc., so that the stress factor is minimized even before they step inside ProMove.

The welcome is reinforced with signs reading “ Nice to see you today, ” and the unpredictability of bad weather is mitigated by a sticker on the umbrella stand. Lunch is spruced up with a quote, and occasionally a nice little extra (pastries, breakfast cakes, etc.) is provided for the customer.

If a participant has a birthday, they receive a funny video in their mailbox, and if a participant attends the course on this special day, it is marked in red on the participant list. This allows the freelance instructors to hand out a card with congratulations. A little extra, just because they can!

After a session, a participant receives a thank-you email asking for feedback. We use this to evaluate the customer experience. Where necessary, we make adjustments to further improve the customer experience.

Step 3: Learn, take your time, make choices, and stay focused

The result of the workshop and the customer experience research? A substantial to-do list comprising both operational action points and strategic choices to be made. One of the focus points for this organization was clarifying the organizational values, enabling them to continuously inspire not only the permanent team but also all freelancers with a customer-centric approach. In between, Annelien also took a training course on building a customer-centric culture, exactly what she needed to further develop this substantial assignment and create a framework within which her team could operate.

Step 4: Getting everyone enthusiastic and on the same page

Could I come up with a fun activity to convey those renewed values to the entire team? Of course I said yes! A little later, it turned out that the activity fell on my own wedding day.... Whoops! Fortunately, I could count on the help of CX expert Els , who enthusiastically rolled out the CX game to the entire ProMove team. The result? You can read it below in the words of the ProMove team!

Nice to exchange ideas with colleagues in a different setting for a change.

The game's challenges were well-aligned with the specific problems we were struggling with.

You get to know your colleagues in a different way and now understand better why they do certain things differently in the workplace.

Serious topics are addressed in a less formal and playful way, which still make you think.

So what now? Improving customer experience never stops, does it?

That is absolutely right. It will therefore come as no surprise that most Customerry clients regularly come back to re-examine one or more parts of the customer journey. For instance, the ProMove team, in collaboration with Dieter from Digital Bakery, reworked the entire online customer journey. And naturally, I got to test it out again as a client! By the way, let's be honest, even after a project, I often can't resist sending clients interesting information or great examples. That way, we continue to inspire each other to do even better.

Why does ProMove choose Customerry?

Sarah immediately immersed herself in our company and our approach. This was very important and an absolute asset for the remainder of the process. She solves specific issues with her expertise and experience and provides useful tips and advice at every step of the process. Throughout the entire process, we were allowed to ask for suggestions and areas for improvement, she provided feedback on social posts, sent motivating messages, and encouraged us to keep going or refine it even further!

She supplements her presentations and reports with a bibliography from which you, as a client, can draw even more inspiration.

- Annelien -

It is also noticeable that the entire team uses the words customer-friendly or customer experience more frequently. With a score of 9.3/10, customers confirm that we are on the right track, but we try to make improvements daily and raise the quality, because 9.3 out of 10 is of course not yet a 10 out of 10.

Finally: the customer-oriented ProMove assets at a glance!

At ProMove…

• We provide sufficient time to practice on your own, but you can also learn from the mistakes of other participants.
• we consider a personal approach very important, from reception to debriefing
• we seek a customer-friendly solution for every specific request
• we always want to present a professional and high-quality image.
• we attach great importance to customer feedback
• Safety always wins!

Extra: improve customer experience, even when you don't control the process!

For those unfamiliar with the refresher course: this is mandatory training imposed by the Flemish Government for new drivers. There is one downside to this for providers of this model. After all, the script for this refresher course leaves absolutely no room for creative freedom. Understandable, given that this training is mandatory and subsidized by the government, but difficult to give your participants that little extra. So what can you do to improve the customer experience here as well? First and foremost: listen. After all, what became clear? We, as experienced drivers, underestimate the stress and anxiety of these participants. Making room for this by communicating correctly and taking the time to listen made a world of difference. And additionally, communicating crystal clear about all the regulations a participant must comply with, so that these often young drivers don't have to stress about that.