As the regional club serving both North and South Carolina for more than 100 years, AAA Carolinas decided that the organization needed to change to stay relevant for its members. “Traditionally we’ve been good at transactions, but not as good at anticipating other ways we could add value to members,” said Dusty Holcomb, SVP of Member Experience and Analytics for AAA Carolinas. “We are sometimes seen as your grandma and grandpa’s motor club. We must change that by going to market with a contemporary experience.”

A big part of that change was focused on their technology. Until recently, AAA Carolinas managed its own customer databases for each line of business, including emergency roadside service (ERS) and insurance products (referred to as Car Care and Travel Services). Member representatives focused on completing transactions exclusively for their own part of the business.

The new vision of leadership is to become a highly relational organization, seeing each transaction as a single touchpoint within the entire member lifecycle. “Folks on the front lines have always worked in the dark; it’s been about their relationship with a member, not our relationship,” Holcomb said. “Salesforce helps us bridge that gap.”