Brand Management American Express Managing Financial Services Brand Case
Q2. Evaluate American Express in terms of its competitors. How well is it
positioned? What are its points-of-parity and points-of-difference in its different business areas? How has it changed over time? In what segments of its business does American Express face the most competition? A. Over the years, American Express has expanded its services including its line of business which positions the company very well Premium - High Prestige, Individuals and corporates (people use its credit cards to buy expensive items). It has been around longer than its competition and its the only company with a strong brand presence across the global payments and commerce network with a large loyal user base. Its positioning statement Dont Leave Home without It establishes a clearly defined point of difference for the Brand. The case mentions the following POPs and PODs for the Amex Brand: POPs International acceptability Travelers cheques Gold Platinum cards compared to Premier Visa cards vs Preferred Customer MasterCard Loyalty programs compared to affinity programs for visa Added benefits & special offers PODs Excellent, Quality oriented service - earned a reputation for highest level of customer service Develop innovative technology and new products such as Blue Travel services and Entertainment card Banking and financial services New card offerings - charge and cobranded credit cards, genuine credit card that allowed customers to carry over monthly balance Own money orders Revolving credit line High prestige status symbols High spending marketing campaigns - twice as much as visa and MasterCards budget combined Insurance and purchase protection plan The company faces sever competition from Visa and MasterCard in its Charge and Credit Cards services business with its market share decreasing over the years. The large transaction volumes of Visa and MasterCard also pose a threat to the company in terms of revenues.