This news today and then a spike in price 3 hours later, something is up here.
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Budget Rent a Car Wins Customer Loyalty Award for Top Brands in America
LISLE, Ill., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Budget Rent a Car Corporation, the world's third largest car and truck rental system and a wholly owned subsidiary of Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE: BD), was named as the top car rental brand in the first annual Brand Keys(R) Customer Loyalty Awards for 1998.
The customer loyalty awards were presented to corporations in 14 major product and service areas. Brand Keys, Inc., a brand equity and customer loyalty consultancy in New York City, created the awards to honor the companies that over the past year achieved the highest level of success in anticipating and exceeding customer expectations, which leads directly to customer loyalty.
"We were delighted to receive the 1998 award for customer loyalty in the rental car category," stated Sandy Miller, chairman and CEO of Budget Group, Inc. "I attribute this award to the positive results we have experienced from two new service initiatives Budget introduced in 1998. In April, we launched Perfect Drive, an innovative customer loyalty program. And in August, we launched Fastbreak, an express service program featuring paperless transactions. These two initiatives have had a dramatic effect on customer loyalty to the Budget brand."
In addition to Budget, winners of the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Awards include: American Airlines, airlines; Adidas, athletic footwear; Budweiser, beer (regular); Amstel Light, beer (light); First Union, retail banks; Discover Card, credit cards; Brooklyn Union, energy providers; Airborne Express, express parcel services; Burger King, fast food; Xerox, office copiers; Coca-Cola, soft drinks (regular); Diet Pepsi, soft drinks (diet); and US West, telecommunication.
In conducting the research, Brand Keys interviewed 8,000 people across the nation. Respondents were surveyed to determine the strength of their emotional bond with the brands they use in each of the categories. Each brand was rated against the customer ideal in its respective category. The winning brand was the one with the strongest performance in meeting or exceeding customer expectations -- the one with the most powerful brand equity in its category.
"Loyalty is the most powerful force driving sales, profits and growth," said Brand Keys president, Dr. Robert Passikoff. "Customer satisfaction measures traditionally get far more attention, and can be important in their own way but they are lagging indicators -- like looking through a rear-view mirror -- while loyalty is a leading indicator. The reason loyalty has not been given its due is that, until recently, there was no way to measure it accurately."
Over the past decade Brand Keys has developed proprietary polling methodologies and measurement systems that now make it possible to determine the extent to which a brand meets or exceeds its customers' expectations. A high score on these measures is very closely correlated with repeat-purchase behavior, the primary benefit of customer loyalty. "Because customer loyalty is a leading indicator of profitability, companies who ignore it do so at their profit," continued Dr. Passikoff.
Budget Rent a Car Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Budget Group, Inc., is one of the world's top three car and truck rental systems. The Budget system, which operates under the same name worldwide, has more than 3,200 airport and local market locations in over 120 countries and territories. Budget has nearly 1,000 corporate-owned and franchised locations in the United States. Budget's WorldClass Fleet is comprised of more than 30% specialty vehicles, ranging from sport utility vehicles, convertibles and luxury cars to minivans, pickups and motorcycles.
SOURCE Budget Group, Inc.
CO: Budget Group, Inc.; Budget Rent a Car Corporation
ST: Illinois
IN: LEI AUT
SU:
02/10/99 12:27 EST prnewswire.com |
