CX Research and Customer Journey Case Study — Hertz
Mapping the moments that make or break loyalty
How it started
Hertz had the data. What they didn't have was the story inside it.
They had NPS scores, customer feedback, operational metrics. What they couldn't see was which moments in the rental journey mattered most, and why, across a portfolio of three brands, seven global markets, and a customer base that ranges from road warriors to once-a-year vacationers who just need to get from the airport to the hotel with as little hassle as possible.
The mandate was clear: figure out what builds loyalty and what wears it down. Then figure out where to focus.
What we did
Program 11 designed and fielded a full-scale, multi-method CX research program across three brands and seven global markets, with more than 5,500 respondents in the U.S., France, UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Australia.
We layered quantitative survey research with employee interviews, intercept fieldwork at multiple U.S. airports, and 50 real-time video diaries that captured the rental experience as customers moved through it.
The output: a CX mindset framework, full journey map, competitive landscape analysis, and a global CX roadmap.
Our a-ha moment: The data kept pointing to the same thing: it's rarely one bad moment that loses a customer. It's the sequence. A small friction early in the journey changes how everything after it gets experienced. The work was figuring out which moments set the dominos in motion.
How it’s going
The roadmap now gives Hertz a shared language for CX decisions, a way to weigh operational and service design choices against a clear picture of what customers need at each stage of the journey.
The mindset framework and journey map give cross-functional teams in operations, marketing, and product a common foundation to build from, anchored in one shared view of the customer.
"This exceeded even what I think I could have imagined we were going to get as output."
— Chief Experience Officer, Hertz
