Bob Ansett, who built up Budget Rent-a-Car to a $400 million business has joined with marketing consultancy Strategy and Action to help companies grow.
Strategy and Action and Bob Ansett have created the ‘Company-Customer Alignment’ programme around their approaches to creating a competitive advantage for a company.
“When I built up Budget, I had a method,” says Ansett. “I was thorough in my research, especially with some key strategic decisions, and this paid off handsomely.
“And throughout my time growing Budget, I kept a sign in my office to remind myself that we are in business to create a customer, and then satisfy the needs of that customer.”
Strategy and Action director Stephen Johnson says his company’s method of arriving at a competitive advantage for his clients meshed with Ansett’s proven experiences.
“If you can find out what your potential customers want, what your competitors fail to adequately offer and what your company can provide, then you have the substance for creating a competitive advantage: a unique selling proposition. Then if you can link the performance measurement of your company’s staff with the delivery of that promise, you’ve got a competitive edge worth millions.”
Johnson says Ansett intuitively understood the dynamics of linking the company to the customer and creating a competitive and powerful culture that supported Budget’s growth.
“Bob was energetic and motivational in building Budget, but he also understood the tangibles that build a culture that supports your company’s promise, If other companies can be taken through the right process, from identifying a market gap through to helping every individual in the company deliver on the promise, then that’s a powerful competitive weapon that’s going begging.”
Ansett and Johnson believe the timing is perfect to become aggressively pro-customer and to seek a unique competitive advantage.
“The economy is turbulent and not every sector is out of the woods,” says Johnson. “Bob demonstrated that a positive stance in an uncertain economy can be a terrific growth strategy and we plan to help others gain exactly that.”
