Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

MARKET DYNAMICS IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY 119
How could so many be so wrong? First, the Yugo was breathtakingly
cheap, over 20 percent less than the least - expensive
alternative, making a new car or second car much more affordable.
Second, it had the credibility of being based on a Fiat
design and thus had an indirect endorsement from a major
manufacturer. Third, it was made in the country that showcased
a successful Olympics and that had a reputation, perhaps undeserved,
of being able to make the buses run on time. Fourth,
virtually no one questioned it. There was too much PR momentum.
Everyone, even the experts, relied on the word on the
street rather than actually testing the car.
The Yugo is a sobering lesson in how hype can take over.
What you hear three times must be true. It is also a lesson in the
importance of implementing the concept and delivering on
the promise. The best idea poorly executed will fail.
Enterprise Rent - A - Car
Jack Taylor, the founder of Enterprise, started the business
in 1962 with seventeen vehicles in St. Louis and the customer
insight that people needed cars when theirs were being
repaired. The business grew to nearly a million cars; a staff
of 65,000; and a very different car - rental business model and
strategy. Hertz, Avis, and the other rental car companies
made the logical decision to focus on the heavy user, the
business traveler, who would pay a premium for the convenience
of airport rental facilities. They thus made a commitment
to airport service and supporting facilities. Enterprise,
in contrast, served those who needed cars in their home
cities as replacement vehicles while their own were being
repaired or for special occasions, such as weekend getaways.
To serve its customer base, they developed retail sites all
over each city and were able to claim that over 90 percent of
U.S. citizens live within fi fteen miles of an Enterprise location.
Avoiding airport facilities gave them a signifi cant cost