As part of the global Volkswagen Group, VGS is in the midst of a transformation journey where the goal is clear: to combine technological innovation for an even better customer experience and thereby support the growth of the company.
"The most important step is to gather and consolidate as much data as possible that allows us to act smarter and faster," explains Tomas von Hedenberg, who is responsible for CRM at VGS.
Tomas von Hedenberg, who is responsible for CRM at VGS.
Photo: Volkswagen Group Sweden
Early investment in digitalization paves the way for success
VGS was early to understand the possibilities of digitalization for the customer journey and implemented Salesforce Marketing Cloud for trigger-based customer communication already several years ago. The platform helped the company create more targeted and personalized marketing, but soon the need for an even more integrated and data-driven ecosystem grew.
When the entire group decided to adopt Salesforce CRM and the Mulesoft integration platform, including Marketing Cloud, VGS saw an opportunity to build on its strategy.
"The group-wide decision to implement Salesforce and Mulesoft gave us a platform to really take the next step towards a comprehensive solution for our customer journey," says Tomas.
Redpill Linpro has a complete assignment around all parts of Salesforce
Following initial work from a global integration partner, VGS chose Redpill Linpro as a long-term partner to further develop its Salesforce and Mulesoft solution. Redpill Linpro's comprehensive team of architects, developers, and project managers has since been a vital part of the transformation.
"Redpill Linpro not only has deep technical knowledge of the platforms, they also understand our business and how technology can help us support it," says Tomas von Hedenberg.
The team is working on creating a seamless customer journey that starts at the first contact with an ad or website and follows the customer through the entire journey - from test drive to purchase and after-sales services.
Integration - the key to becoming more data-driven
One of the most complex challenges in the transformation is integrating all data sources into a common system. VGS collects data from multiple sources, including customer interactions, connected cars, and internal business processes.
"Integration is a prerequisite for building a data-driven business, and Redpill Linpro's expertise in Mulesoft has been instrumental in connecting our systems effectively," says Tomas.
This holistic approach to data has already resulted in significant progress. VGS can now track a lead from first contact all the way to transaction closure. This provides a more detailed understanding of the customer's behaviors and needs, which in turn enables more personalized communication.
"We can now customize our efforts during each stage of the customer journey. This strengthens the relationship with the customer and our competitiveness," says Tomas.
AI - the next step towards the customer experience of the future
A key driver behind VGS's digital transformation is the increase in the use of AI. The company has a number of AI initiatives underway, including automating and streamlining customer service and its service processes.
"AI will become increasingly important for us. We want to use AI to create even better customer experiences and make more informed decisions. In addition, we will integrate AI into our marketing," explains Tomas.
"We look forward to continuing this work with the Redpill Linpro team. They help us not only to implement technical solutions but also to think strategically about AI and its possibilities," says Tomas.
Photo: Volkswagen Group Sweden
Results so far and next steps
Although the transformation journey is still ongoing, the collaboration with Redpill Linpro has already led to concrete results:
- Improved customer dialogue: Thanks to integration and collected data, VGS can create more relevant and personalized customer experiences.
- More efficient processes: Automating previously manual steps has released resources and increased efficiency.
- Greater insights: Deeper analytics capabilities allow a better understanding of customer needs and behaviors.
With the help of Redpill Linpro, VGS has also begun a case for linking customer journeys that start at the retail level - opening up further opportunities to create value using Salesforce, Mulesoft and Marketing Cloud.
"We have already seen how our transformation strengthens the customer experience and helps us stay ahead of the market. With Redpill Linpro as a partner, we are confident that we can take the next step, including starting to utilize AI more and expanding our solution," concludes Tomas von Hedenberg.
