Agero Insights

At Agero, data drives just about everything we do. We use the terabytes of data that we gather from millions of automotive events every year to improve the customer experience, provide our clients with actionable insights, and continuously improve our operations. While roadside is exceptionally complex, data science enables us to identify key metrics and drill down to find the truly impactful components of our service. For customer experience, the metric we most often use is Net Promoter Score (NPS), and NPS data indicates that the method that customers use to request service has a significant impact on their  experience receiving roadside service. 

In fact, roadside events that are initiated through digital channels result in a Net Promoter Score boost of about 5-10 points, on average. We explored some of the reasons why digital intake channels correlate to an improved customer experience.

REQUESTING ROADSIDE IS AS EASY AS ORDERING A PIZZA

First, it’s worth noting that digital channels for requesting roadside service – namely, smartphone apps and web-based request forms – are convenient: they are easy to find and easy to use. They also mirror increasingly popular digital experiences that consumers use for ordering all kinds of goods and services, like getting pizza delivery or requesting a Lyft.

Consumer trends and expectations almost certainly contribute to the superior consumer sentiment of jobs that come in through digital channels. That said, our data enables a more precise understanding of the factors that influence the customer experience.

BETTER DATA LEADS TO BETTER ROADSIDE OUTCOMES

Digital channels correlate to more accurate data during the intake process; more accurate data, in turn, leads to better customer outcomes. These channels benefit from icons and other visual cues to assist customers in describing the situation with their vehicle, GPS for auto-location detection or confirmation, and a summary screen that enables customers to review all of their information before submitting their request. As a result, jobs that come in through digital channels are more likely to have complete and accurate data.

This data helps enable a smooth and efficient dispatch of the best provider, with the necessary equipment, to the correct location, to assist the customer and quickly get them on their way. When data is incomplete or less accurate, it may result in a redispatch. A redispatch is a case where more than one service provider needs to be dispatched to resolve an event. It’s a relatively uncommon occurrence, happening several times out of every 100 events that we support. However, it can have a substantial impact on customer experience, resulting on average in an NPS that is roughly 65 points lower than events that are resolved with a single dispatch.

Digital channels tend to reduce redispatch rates significantly. On average, events initiated through Mobile Web see a roughly 20% reduction in redispatch rates. For client apps, this reduction is even more substantial, lowering redispatch rates by more than 30%.

THE MORE DIGITAL, THE MORE ... BETTER

The benefits of digital intake don’t stop there. Not only do jobs that come in through digital channels have a higher NPS than jobs initiated through a phone call with a live associate, but jobs that arrive via a digital channel and then are also digitally dispatched amplify this effect even more.

The range is significant: there’s a swing of roughly 12-14 points in NPS between jobs that are fully digital and those that aren’t, regardless of intake channel. And like client app jobs, fully digital jobs that arrive through any digital intake channel also reduce the likelihood of a redispatch by more than 30%.

OUR DATA DRIVES INNOVATION THAT HELPS DRIVERS

There’s one other benefit of digital channels that bears mentioning: we have a robust pipeline of product features and enhancements in the works to help us continue to optimize the experience that we provide customers who are looking for help with their vehicle, whether on the side of the road or parked in the driveway at home.

Our state-of-the-art suite of digital channels significantly improve the experience of customers who face challenging roadside events. Digital intake offers significant benefits during common service events, too, streamlining the request process leading to a faster speed to dispatch, while also creating new and additional customer access points so drivers can request help however it is most convenient for them. And behind it all, our data is a key resource that we use to determine where to focus our innovation efforts, so we can continue to find new ways to get customers back to enjoying the ride, faster and easier than ever.