How Rivian is revolutionizing the EV purchasing experience

Rivian is completely revolutionizing the electric vehicle (EV) market, and in the process, they’re also innovating on the experience of purchasing a new vehicle. Find out why they’re a Breakthrough Artist.

Legacy automotive companies are bound by a massive infrastructure – dealerships are often owned by large franchises that have been around for decades. This kind of system is very hard to change.

The most successful disruptors are the companies that focus on brainstorming solutions – often in innovative ways – versus solely focusing on the problem. Rivian has shown it is the gold standard by using the customer journey as the blueprint toward making the car buying process more human.

New, digital-first, players like Rivian can build their operations from the ground up and start with the customer journey. For example, how do customers want automotive companies to interact with them, versus how can we get people from A to B in a very static journey we've been using since 1905.

Removing all barriers to buying a new vehicle

If you're buying a Rivian, you don't set a single foot inside of a dealership or deal with a pushy salesperson. They’ve not only thought through all the pain points of buying a new vehicle, but carefully traced the customer journey and product experience, listening to what customers are telling them along the way and consistently closing experience gaps.

It all starts early on in the buying process. Rivian will bring your new vehicle to your home for you to test drive. No trekking to your local dealership and waiting around for a rep to serve you.

And once you’re ready to order, there is no high-tech online program, but rather good old-fashioned customer service from an actual human being. They’re called Guides and they’ve undergone extensive product training.

80% of customers have chosen to switch brands due to a poor customer experience. That’s why Rivian buyers receive a direct phone number and email address for their personal Guide, allowing them to call, text, and email them at any time with any issues or questions they may have.

As an owner, they engage you from your first drive to every service. And they make it simple with digital experiences designed to remove the pain points and frustration of buying a vehicle.

Removing (almost) all the frustrations of car ownership

Once you have your new car, you can easily get most repairs done at home by having a mobile technician come to you, rather than having to go to a dealership.

Customers also get access to more than 3,500 DC fast chargers and can insure their vehicle directly with Rivian for much less than other providers - all without leaving the mobile app.

Rivian is disrupting the car industry with a superior customer and product experience.

This is car ownership, the way customers want.

What’s next for Rivian?

Creating these standout experiences doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Partnering with Qualtrics has helped to build a holistic feedback loop across their customers, across their product insights team and across their HR team. Generating actionable CX and PX insights that have taken its programs to new heights.

Rivian is now expanding its listening program with XM Discover, which will enable the team to understand what people are saying about their products and services wherever they're saying it. From calls between customers and Guides, to social media and online reviews. They then bring that feedback to their Product Analytics team and their VOC team. This gives them a continuous customer feedback loop that not only identifies product issues in the moment, but gives the team the right actions to solve them.