Cruise -

Loyalty Exploration Project

July 2023

My Impact

  • Outlined short- and long-term strategies to increase customer loyalty at Cruise

  • Identified customers’ preferences and expectations in an effective loyalty program for Cruise

The Context

Cruise is a motor vehicle manufacturing company that designs and builds world leading autonomous vehicles. The company has been testing specially built self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EV in various cities in the U.S.

Previous research suggested that some customers use Cruise infrequently (~ once a month). In order to inform Cruise’s future business decisions on utilizing loyalty programs to create a more consistent rider base and improve customer retention, we needed to understand 

  • Q1: what loyalty is for a rideshare company

  • Q2: the experiences of people who've used loyalty programs for rideshare

  • Q3: how we might improve customer loyalty for Cruise

Methods

  • Scope definition —> briefs with PMs and product development

  • Two-step approach for this research

    • Literature Review: 

      • Due to the existing vast research on loyalty programs in rideshare, literature review will first be conducted to understand Q1

    • Focus Groups: 

      • This is to understand customers’ experiences with loyalty programs and explore existing Cruise riders’ perspectives on loyalty, customer retention, and how we might improve riders’ loyalty to Cruise, specifically for Q2 & Q3

      • Added quantitative indicators to track customers’ expectations of loyalty programs

Research Process

    • Problem Framing

      • Worked with PMs and product development to define the scope of the problem and potential impact

    • Background research

      • Reviewed existing research

      • Conducted lterature review

      • Competitive analysis to compare existing loyalty programs

    • Research Plan

      • Complete research guide, recruitment messages, and interview scripts

    • Recruitment

      • Determined target participants, screening criteria, and availability

        • E.g., inclusion —> existing Cruise riders who previously or currently have loyalty programs with competitiors

    • Logistics

      • Recruit external participants through Dscout and Cruise Rider Club

    • Small focus groups with external participants

      • 3 90-min sessions with 4-5 Cruise riders in each

      • An efficient way to get multiple perspectives while allowing room for any topic deep dive

    • Findings Synthesis

      • Transformed findings into meaningful and actionable insights

      • Quantified participants’ expectations for an ideal loyalty program

    • Recommendations

      • Generated “how might we” questions to inspire future business decisions

      • Outlined short- and long-term strategies to increase customer loyalty

Selected Outcome 1:

Customer Loyalty at Cruise - what is ideal and why

All forms of free loyalty programs would work as long as they offer

  • Tangible rewards

    • E.g., Offer discounts and rebates with membership such as actual cashback

  • Consistent benefits

    • E.g., Points that never expire

  • Fun/personalized perks

    • E.g., Gamification

“There’s nothing to dislike about a free program, but it has to be realistic and exciting for me to keep using it”

Paid programs need to have improved features from the free program, and also need to 

  • Offer flexible programs

    • E.g., “skip-a-month” feature

  • Let customers clearly see the value that outweighs the cost

    • E.g., actual discounts on the ride

  • Offer meaningful rewards

    • E.g., discounts for partnering brands

“I stayed at the Hampton inn and accumulated points, and I redeemed a trip to the Maldives or something, then my memory of the hilton brand isn’t the crappy hampton inn, but it’s this beautiful and relaxing experience”

How might we…

  • analyze and optimize the costs and benefits of different types of loyalty programs to maximize customer engagement and profitability?

Selected Outcome 2:

What loyalty programs make sense for Cruise?

Free loyalty programs that meet customers’ preferences may help Cruise stand out in the near future, because

  • E.g., Riders don’t currently think they will pay for a membership due to lack of trust with this novel Rideshare platform

“I probably wouldn’t pay for a membership. Even if Cruise offered rides to the airport, I don’t really trust it to get me there on time.”

Customers are more likely to join paid loyalty programs when they have active loyalty towards Cruise in the future

  • Customers in general are less likely to pay for loyalty programs. To build a successful paid loyalty program, Cruise needs to

    • Meet or exceed customers’ expectations for the program by addressing customers’ preferences for loyalty programs

    • Differentiate from competitors and avoid becoming another commodity

How might we…

  • develop unique strategies that set Cruise apart from its competitors and strength our competitive advantages in a commodity marketplace?