Customer experience, or CX, is a major trend now. It refers to all the experiences customers have when they use products and services of a company or when they make a deal and collaborate with a company.
Accordingly, many companies are adopting the business philosophy that values customer experience. LG Energy Solution, in particular, engages in special actions to realize differentiated customer value. How does the battery maker innovate customer value? We will meet Hyunsung Jung, Hwakyung Kim and Kyungtae Kang of the Customer Value Innovation Team and learn more about it.
LG Energy Solution, a leading B2B company, listens to the voices of even end users like a B2C company
The key business philosophy of LG Group is “value creation for customers.” So, it thinks from the perspectives of its “customers,” finds out their potential demands, and provides the best products and services. In addition, the company suggests differentiated solutions to customers with innovative ideas. All those acts are for “customer value” LG Group aspires to achieve.
The Customer Value Innovation Team was born under the business philosophy of LG Group. They are like the “Avengers” formed to create customer value that is appropriate for the business environment of LG Energy Solution and to suggest a better way to customers.
Then, who are LG Energy Solution’s customers?
Most Business-to-business (B2B) companies consider suppliers of industrial goods, such as raw materials, parts and equipment, as well as providers of products and services made with the industrial goods as their customers. For LG Energy Solution, “companies that make products using batteries manufactured by LG Energy Solution” are its main customers. But the battery maker took one step further, and began paying attention to what the “end users,” who use products and services that include batteries, have to say. That is because it believes recognizing the needs of the end users gives its products a better competitive edge, and contributes to development of better batteries.
About that, Hyunsung Jung of the Customer Value Innovation Team said, “LG Energy Solution, a B2B company, is committed to creating customer value optimized to B2B customers.”
The Customer Value Innovation Team is leading a change so that customers can have a positive customer experience through LG Energy Solution. The team acknowledges customer requests as well as finds out and resolves pain points to discover and apply a higher level of customer value. Also, it is shaping a customer-centered working culture to enhance the capability of creating customer value.
Hwakyung Kim of the Customer Value Innovation Team said, “We can get a step closer to providing the Quality, Cost, Delivery (QCD) that is beyond customer expectations by taking an approach from customers’ perspectives and discovering the value, and that is what we aim for at the team.”
Customer Value Innovation Team does not ignore even trivial inconveniences of customers, and make sure to resolve them
Detailed works of the Customer Value Innovation Team are project-based. And the projects are the same in that they all discover new value with “data.”
To collect data of external customers, the team listens to what the employees of its major clients have to say about the collaboration process in the field. Also, it analyzes pain points by investigating customer opinions gathered through various relevant departments, customer communication channels directly managed by the team and customer satisfaction survey. Then, the team records the customer opinions in the internal system, and keeps monitoring until customer requests are resolved.
To collect internal data, the team conducts a “Self-check survey on customer value implementation” on all LG affiliates and pursues to discover projects for improving customer experience. After the survey, the team seeks how to continuously encourage positive items while analyzing reasons for low-scored items and looking for solutions.
“Customer satisfaction differs greatly depending on how pain points are resolved as well as the results,” said Kyungtae Kang of the Customer Value Innovation Team, “It is important to try resolving pain points, even if they are tiny.”
The story of the Customer Value Innovation Team that is always serious about customers
The members of the Customer Value Innovation Team are dedicated to LG Energy Solution’s customers! Here are more details we have heard from Hwakyung Kim, Kyungtae Kang and Hyunsung Jung.
Q. What is most important in addressing customers’ pain points?
Pain points are not just customer complaints. They are “everything customers want from LG Energy Solution.” So, the most important thing in handling customer’s pain points is to put ourselves in customers’ position and find out what customers truly want, and what annoys them. Maybe we could achieve distinguished customer value when we start from customers’ pain points and suggest solutions only we can offer.
Q. What is the most unforgettable or rewarding moment you’ve ever had at work?
I feel most fulfilled when we find out a good example where our members have enhanced customer value and promote it. Especially memorable is B-Lifecare, an EV battery management application LG Energy Solution produced for the convenience of EV users.
B-Lifecare was the project initiated to address the pain points general consumers had when they used an EV. Since EV users have difficulties in battery management, we decided to ease them by developing B-Lifecare. This application removed customers’ pain points about “charging batteries,” as it provided a “Battery management guide” made by quantifying the battery performance, and told the customers the right time to charge batteries based on their individual charging habits. As a result, B-Lifecare, an EV battery management service for the end consumers and the first of its kind to be offered by a Korean battery maker, is now much favored by consumers.
B-Lifecare was nominated for the top prize in the 2024 LG Awards, and became a model for all affiliates. Such examples of achieving “Customer surprise” make me feel that all members of LG Energy Solution are creating customer value by going all out in their own position, regardless of their jobs. I believe all the results achieved with the members’ efforts are the true customer value.
Q. What change has the Customer Value Innovation Team made to LG Energy Solution?
The first thing the Customer Value Innovation Team did after its formation was to define the “customer experience journey,” which refers to the experience a customer has in the entire course of interacting with our brand. We established a system and a virtuous circle for continuously accumulating and analyzing customers’ pain points that are made in the journey. And I believe that is the biggest change.
B2C companies can obtain direct feedback from individual consumers, but B2B companies like LG Energy Solution need relatively more time to recognize the end consumers’ needs. Therefore, it is important to recognize customer demands that happen in various areas and to steadily build trust. When we analyze interactions with customers harnessing the customer experience journey, we can provide solutions tailored to customers, such as quick response, timely development and transparent information sharing.
We at LG Energy Solution want to keep building trust with our customers through differentiated activities for innovating customer value.
Q. What are the future goals and plans of the Customer Value Innovation Team?
We will create LG Energy Solution’s own customer value and make effort to ensure the meaning of “Customer orientation” take root among individual members. To that end, we gathered the work each of us had done and are planning projects to create synergies out of the works.
Besides, we will expand the targets of the “Self-check survey on customer value implementation” to include all office workers of LG Energy Solution. By doing so, we expect to learn more diverse aspects of the current status about customer value. Also, we will run a project to improve customer experience. The plan is to select projects that can complete distinguished experience from customer’s perspectives, and to monitor and develop on them.
Customer value can be completed only with the help of all LG Energy Solution members. We will make it our goal, and will spare no effort to create customer value along with the members to realize the goal.
Q. Lastly, if you want to add anything else for the customers of LG Energy Solution, please do it.
The Customer Value Innovation Team would build trust with customers under the motto “A lifetime partner of customers.” We will contribute to achieving a win-win outcome with our customers by providing competitive products and services as well as becoming a “company that provides irreplaceable distinguished value.
We’ve had a heart-to-heart talk with the members of the Customer Value Innovation Team! LG Energy Solution has been able to be sincere about customers and to provide a better solution thanks to the infinite support from the Customer Value Innovation Team. LG Energy Solution will listen to even small voices of customers and build strong trust. You can look forward to its future moves!