By: Carlos A. Bazán,
Green Motion International
Carlos Bazán is the Head of Operations for Americas for Green Motion and U-Save. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Car Rental Association, is a member of the Car Rental Committee for the National Defense Transportation Association, and serves as an advisor for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s transportation electrification project (Athena).
The opinions expressed in this article are only those of the author and not necessarily those of ACRA.
Tere’s something most car rental operators get wrong: your brand doesn’t live in your logo, your marketing materials, or even that shiny new fleet you’re so proud of. Your brand only exists when someone is actually thinking about it.
Think about it this way. Your brand comes alive the moment a business traveler remembers your name while booking that last-minute flight to Chicago. It exists when a local customer tells their neighbor about you for their weekend getaway. It’s there when someone writes a review about how you handled their frustrating situation. The rest of the time? Your brand is either sitting dormant or slowly dying.
I see newer operators and independents make this mistake constantly. You’ll invest heavily in design, pick the perfect font, craft that killer tagline, then wonder why customers aren’t flocking to you. But branding isn’t a one-time design project. Your brand is a living thing that grows through recognition, repetition, relevance, and reputation. If people aren’t thinking about your company or talking about it, your brand is getting weaker by the day. But when they are, and when those conversations are positive, your brand is working for you 24/7.
Look at the big players. Those guys didn’t build their brand awareness in a year or two. We’re talking decades of consistent messaging, rock-solid operations, and an obsessive focus on customer experience. Every airport presence, every loyalty program, every sponsorship deal, every piece of marketing has one goal: staying top of mind when customers start their rental journey. Before they even compare prices or request quotes, customers already have feelings about each brand. That feeling is your real asset.
Now, if you’re a newer brand or an independent trying to grow, you need to work harder and smarter. You may not have national advertising budgets, but you can still create real presence. Use those Google or Yelp reviews strategically. Follow up with customers meaningfully. Be the company that answers the phone consistently and professionally. Deliver on what others can’t, and don’t overpromise to just underdeliver. You should pick two or three things that make you different and hammer them home until your local market starts repeating them for you. Try something new. For example, I used to have die cast toy cars at my counters, and every kiddo would get one. That left a great impression on the children and their parents. After a long day of travel, the kids would have a nice time with a gift that would keep them entertained while my counter staff worked with the parents. Happy kids, happy parents, great (unique) experience, awesome reviews!
The difference between brands that thrive and brands that disappear comes down to awareness and conversation. When customers start repeating your name, sharing their experiences, or coming back without even shopping around, you’ve created something with real gravity. But when your brand stops being part of that conversation, it doesn’t matter how pristine your cars are. Your relevance is gone.
Here’s the thing though. Conversation alone won’t cut it. The quality of that conversation determines whether your brand stays healthy. You can’t have a great brand with a terrible reputation. Negative reviews, poor service, ignored customer feedback, these don’t just hurt in the moment. They attach risk to your name. One or two problems won’t destroy you, but patterns of disappointment absolutely will. Think of reputation as your brand’s circulatory system. If it gets poisoned, your whole brand goes into failure mode.
This is why the work behind your brand matters so much. Clean cars, fair rental terms, properly trained staff, honest policies, these aren’t separate from your brand. They are your brand. Customers won’t remember your vehicle inventory six months later. But they’ll remember exactly how you treated them. They’ll remember a smooth, transparent transaction. They’ll remember whether your promise matched their actual experience. And they will talk about the toy car the kiddo got, maybe even post a photo on social media or Google.
The car rental industry has over 100 years of history. We’ve gone from chauffeur-driven models or leasing replacements to today’s on-demand and contactless pickups. Every generation has added something new to the customer-brand relationship. But one rule has never changed: people do business with companies they remember and trust.
If your customers aren’t thinking about your brand at booking, at pickup, at return, or weeks after their trip, then your brand simply doesn’t exist for them. The goal isn’t just getting seen. It’s getting remembered, and having a brand that lives and beats strong!
Building a solid reputation takes years of hard work and consistent effort. Destroying it takes about thirty seconds. True for our industry!