Ford Credit to launch platform for data-driven insights in 2025

Ford Credit in 2025 will be looking to leverage consumer data to improve communications with borrowers and streamline customer service. The lender will be “launching a new platform next year that will help us know the customer a little bit better,” Shannon Mokhiber , executive vice president for North America at Ford Credit, said during a fireside chat on Oct. 8 at Auto Finance Summit 2024. “Instead of making seven calls to a customer, it helps you focus in on: Is this is the best time to capture [the customer] or would [the customer] prefer a text message as opposed to a phone call?” she said. “It’s trying to understand what is more effective and what's the best way to reach customers.” [caption id="attachment_58345570" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Royal Media Chief Executive JJ Hornblass joins Shannon Mokhiber, executive vice president for North America at Ford Credit, in a fireside chat at Auto Finance Summit 2024. (Photo/Auto Finance News)[/caption] Extracting insights Similarly, Carvana is using technology to gather consumer data and identify business trends, Matt Dundas , vice president of finance, said on Oct. 9 during a digital lending panel at the summit. “Technology has changed the way that we're extracting insights and figuring out where to prioritize our efforts ,” he said. The retailer uses AI to generate transcripts of customer calls and chatbot conversations that can be analyzed to identify consumer issues and key insights into the business , Dundas said. “The power of that technology to take such an enormous amount of text and dialog and pull out key insights has been big for us. It's something that helps inform: What's the next thing? What's the next corner you can smooth off to make this experience better?” Balancing technology with staffing is important to optimize customer experience and communication, Mokhiber said. “I'm a big advocate of making sure that our teams are focusing on the more complicated problems that customers have and enriching their roles and helping to solve those problems,” she said. “We work with our teams to make sure that they're well trained. We're constantly monitoring our teams and providing coaching and guidance. “Our No. 1 focus is keeping customers in their vehicles . We always want to make sure that we're doing everything possible and exhausting all the remedies before we come to a point where a customer would have to come out of their vehicle.” Setting expectations Lenders should employ tools that allow customers to confidently work with the financial institution, Kristina Bolte , senior vice president of dealer services, national product and strategy executive at U.S. Bank , said during the digital lending panel. “Tools that create confidence and empowerment for consumers are important, especially right now when we talk about affordability; buying a car is the second-biggest purchase they make,” she said. “People want that confidence before they start taking each step. They want to be able to know, going in, what to expect.” Meanwhile, U.S. Bank ’s vehicle marketplace allows consumers to view inventory and price information before they make a purchase, Bolte said. “A majority of the customers that go through our marketplace purchase experience, where we have auto inventory ... they're navigating through those tools before they apply, even if they don't select collateral,” she said. “It gives them the confidence to know that what they're looking for and their price point with all their criteria is available and gives them the confidence to be able to take the next step.” It is crucial to ensure that customers and employees are clearly told what is included in the digital experience, Bolte said. “It’s the operational side tied to your digital experiences , but it's also the human component,” she said. “It’s making sure that your operational capabilities support the experience you want, but it’s also setting the right expectations.” Follow all the latest news from last week’s Auto Finance Summit here.

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