-->
Get CRM Media in your inbox -
Sign up for free
toggle menu
Home
Subscribe
CRM
Magazine
CRM eWeekly (e-Newsletter)
News
CRM Featured Articles
CRM Across the Wire
In Depth
Features
ViewPoints
Case Studies
Columns
Insight
Blog
Customer Service
Marketing
Sales
More Topics
Analytics
Big Data CRM
Channel Management
Cloud-based CRM
Enterprise CRM
Integration
Mobile
SMB/Mid-market CRM
Social CRM
Topics
Industries
White Papers
Best Practices Series
Reports & Research
Resources
CRM Buyer's Guide & Directory
Current Issue
Previous Issues
Market Awards
Service Awards
Jobs
Webinars
Events
CX Connect 2023
CRM Evolution Conference
Smart Customer Service Conference
SpeechTek
Digital Experience Conference
About
What Is CRM?
About Us
Contact US
How to Advertise
Getting Covered
Editorial Calendar
Reprints
December 1, 2005
By
Scott Deaver, executive vice president of marketing, as told to Colin Beasty
,
Secret of My Success: Cendant Car Rental Group
Why did you turn to a CRM consultancy? We needed to segment our car rental users. Most of our CRM and branding were based on many years of tracking research in the car industry. While it was valuable, it was strictly behavioral. We knew a lot about our customers' car rental behavior, and we knew something about car rental behavior in the industry in general, but we didn't know nearly enough to effectively market and position our brands. In addition, in the end of 2002 Cendant bought Budget Rent-A-Car. We already owned Avis. We now had two entries into the car rental space, and [we] wanted to grow both companies in a relatively closed competitive environment. We needed to understand the dynamics of how customer decisions were made to make both companies grow at once and to figure out how to position our brands and marketing efforts. Specifically, we needed to define and maintain a loyalty strategy with both brands. Avis has had a lot of success in the area of customer loyalty. We wanted that customer loyalty to remain strong for Avis, but we were concerned that changing distribution channels would also change customer behavior. For example, Web sites like Orbitz and Expedia were changing the dynamics of car rental, such as how decisions were made and how customers behave. We needed to understand what motivated our customers to decide the way they decided.
How did you select a consultancy? We conducted an elaborate RFP process. We talked to a lot of different consultancies and got a lot of different proposed solutions, ranging from pure research solutions to pure consulting solutions. Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) offered a lot of both, and that's something we really liked. What we also liked about CMB was that they were primarily researchers who had a thoughtful, open-ended approach to their research. We felt we weren't just hiring a consultant. From the beginning they were willing to approach our problems from multiple angles at once. They didn't approach it as, "Here is the study you want to do, now go do it." They thought of several different ways to come at the problems we wanted to solve.
What advice or best practices did Chadwick Martin Bailey offer to help you better understand your customers? CMB implemented a three-part strategic segmentation framework that mapped the current market positions of both of our brands and their competitors relative to preference-based segments. We conducted an in-depth research project that included a number of customer surveys that identified the highest potential positioning for each of our brands based on overall segment potential so we could better position our brands to capture those segments. Last, they delivered market simulations that projected market preferences based on how competitors might respond.
What have been the main rewards? It helped us position our brand so both companies could grow. It helped us find demand in the market that was tailored for both of the products offered by Avis and Budget. Now we can see how best to win users from our competitors. It gave us insight into creating and cementing loyalty among our largest volume of customers. We've been able to identify what percentage of the market makes their decision on price alone. Different groups of people base their decisions on different criteria: automobile, service, safety, etc. They helped us to understand what criteria each group of customers use to make their decisions. Finally, they taught us how to improve our products and communication so customers knew we had the car rental solution they were looking for. By the end of 2004, we began to see growth and by 2005 we had robust growth in both brands. We feel like the knowledge gained from that study has been a key part of what's made us succeed.
Lessons Learned
Choose a consultancy carefully. Different consultancies offer different services. Some are strong in technology, others in research, still others in strategy. Make sure to select a consultancy that will best serve your needs.
Understand how your company's brands are perceived in the marketplace. If a company markets more than one product type, understanding how your customers perceive those products versus the competition's is critical for positioning them in the marketplace.
Attack the problem from multiple angles. A single problem doesn't necessarily necessitate a single solution. When turning to a consultancy, make sure it offers multiple solutions for each problem. It ensures success in the long run.
Free
for qualified subscribers
Subscribe Now
Current Issue
Past Issues
Best Practices Series
7 Steps to Greater Employee Accountability and Autonomy in a Remote World
Deliver More Human Interactions: Pairing Customer Feedback Strategies With Messaging
A Clear Path to Smarter CX Begins with AI-Driven Analytics
More
CRM Web Events
Omnichannel Customer Experience: Table Stakes in 2023
Coming October 11, 2023
From Insights to Outcomes: Elevate the Customer Experience While Lowering Costs
Coming October 18, 2023
The Best Use Cases for Generative AI in Customer Service
Coming October 25, 2023
Reimagining Customer Experience: Structure Follows Strategy
Coming November 01, 2023
Hot Topics in Customer Analytics: Insight and Action
Coming November 15, 2023
More Web Events
Reports & Research
Customer Operations For Dummies, 2nd ServiceNow Special Edition
A proactive approach to field service: 5 priorities for implementing strong service foundations
Xerox embraces innovation to transform service delivery for customers
More