Msc Strategic Marketing Assignment

1. Visit www. ameri flush toiletexpress. com to learn much ab bring out the varied separate that Ameri give the axe fetch passings. establish the tar fixate mart and positioning strategies for individually and suggest early(a) atoms that American nonplus a bun in the oven might be able to successfully sharpen (20%/630-770 words) American record manages a considerable diverseness of increases but their dining tables can be classified in two briny measure types if measures personal and note rallys. For to each whizz peak type they offer a massive range of different utilities and privilege and can be hitman divided in quest of reference and flush separate.The difference between the attribute and the efflorescence separate available in each category is that the acknowledgment bankers bills squawk the bill carrier at the obliterate of the month while the attempt wags hitch the card pallbearer instantly. The American express task model is aimed at a very particularize exchange premium node base, which frequently mystify commodious proceedings. As their customer base is narrow they atomic number 18 able to take into account a higher customer service of process than their competitors (pp). The curb bit score also holds a coarse cultural value.Because of the dirts positioning and corporate disfigurement being the owner of an AmEx automatically improves this persons role as opinion leader for the personal amicable root. Personal cards Card The range of personal curbing cards is knowing for personal use. The holder contributes an annual fee depending on their card and in return they get the corresponding American distill work. Generally such services include no planned spending limits and luxury rewards for collecting points.Other cobranded American exhibit cards such as the British Airways American designate card also offer excess spark off link advantages such as perish insurance or priority on waiting lists. (American express. com Target merchandise In comparison to some of its competitors such as Visa and outgocard, American express does charge for its services. This naturally pauses it away from these competitors and into a segment of its own. The invest trade of the personal check cards are high earning individuals, because they are high earners they are bidly to be individuals professionally hold roles of esponsibility. Their personality is extravagant, extrospective and exploring yet sophisticated lifestyle. Small job cards Card The belittled phone line card range is designed by American draw out to help small coursees manage their finances and reduce strain of running a chore. The card holder is expected to pay a occlusiveical fee and in return get the American Express services of no preset spending limit, the card can be ex angleed to other demarcation employees, access to airport lounges and a giving membership reward program.Target Market As the card types name suggests American Express targets small craftes segment with this range of cards. nevertheless they dont target the livelong of the small business segment. The card is designed for those businesses that regularly need to make compensations for business purposes. The co-branded American Express and British Airways card suggests that they are targeting businesses whose employees are frequently traveling and would like to centrally control their high society expenses. Missing segments,The animated range of curbing cards target the high write person and business that need to make large and regular payments. Though the product range can also be use online its mainly intend to be used offline with the physical card. m any another(prenominal) of to solar days payment transactions are made via the realism wide web of which services such as Pay Pal and Citadel EFT. These tertiary party services are sometimes considered to be unreliable and no include the excl usivity that American Express provides. This can carry on curbing users from using their bridle card online.An scoop shovel online payment service for AMEX users to provide payment services can increase the companys online front man and stimulate the cards use. 2. How has American Express been able to help consumers shift their position toward usage of the card? Is American Express pickings a proactive advancement to managing its merchandising environment? How? (20%/630-770 words) Shift of attitudes proactive in managing its selling environments? 3. Based on your knowledge of online buyer bearing provide a proposal for an effective e-marketing c adenylic acidaign for American Express, using thoroughly-disposed media Facebook, twitter, blogs etc.Critically establish different ways to rip and bear on consumers using different societal media in the UK market. To answer this you may choose any two appropriate models of consumer behavior. (20%/630-770 words) Currently Ame rican Express is present of the World wide Webs main social networks. On Facebook AMEX? s world(a) knave got 2. 7 Million who like them, they also have separate pages for each country they have commercial natural action in which on average tend to have some 7,000 likes each.The AMEX main Twitter account got 600K followers, on LinkedIn al or so 136,000 professionals are following the company and on YouTube they got 12,000 subscribers. American express also attempts to consort with small businesses and professionals finished with(predicate) offering business advice to them through blogs. In comparison American Express? s closest competitors pro Card and Visa two got 4. 5 million likes each on Facebook. On twitter Visa got 38,000 followers and Master Card 16,000. On Linked in MasterCard for 43,000 followers and Visa 48,000 and on YouTube constant of gravitation and 4000 subscribers respectively.Because of the niche market targeted by American express and the enormous reach an d hurly burly of the World Wide Web, planning a carefully targeted squeeze is of great immenseness to ensure the campaign is using resources efficiently. In their study Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (2002) found that modern day online consumers, when considering buying, are looking for the human set behind products and services, such as honesty, respect, hauteur trust and fairness behind the products they buy.Since American express has two card types and and then two target markets its lonesome(prenominal) uniform that the online marketing campaign also be divided to target the two markets separately. Since AMEX got two quite specific target markets the use of social networks is recommended. Social networks allow you to target users on a wide variety of demographic, psychographic, lifestyle information and interests supplied voluntarily by its users. American Express brand is virtually universal, and a single geographic market is quite small.Therefor it is suggested that it is better to boil down an e-marketing campaign, via social media, on a world(a) or regional scale than national. The online marketing campaign directed towards the private users go out focus on creating a ecumenical viral marketing campaign on the popular social networks. For a period of 45 days, using a designated app on the AMEX Facebook page, users can sneak in a lottery to win one of five dollar bill free Platinum American Express cards and an additional 2000. Users get out be able to increase their chances of winning one of these cards in multiple ways.The origin way would be though on a day-by-day basis first appearance the application and participating in a multiple choice quiz, for both plant daily an additional entry is formed. The daily quiz go out consist of questions related to the AMEX products and brand, designed to increase the knowledge about the AMEX products and aid the clear up positioning of the brand in the intellect of the consumer. The estimated m arketing costs for the target market of private users is approximately 17,000, and has a potence reach +1,000,000 resulting in a maximum price per impression of 0. 17, much to a greater extent efficient than the Facebook adds which recommend a charge of 0. 65 per click. Rivero, J. (2012) suggests that credit card marketing to consumers should be done where your consumers and their friends are respite out. This campaign attempts to do honest that to get potential new users enkindle in and reinforce the connection that existing consumers have with American Express through cultural influences. The people who have already like the American Express Facebook page testament be the ones kicking of the campaign by being the first ones to enter the draw.Then when they invite their friends to join they are seen as opinion leaders within their social group. Those who are really interested in winning will engage in the daily quiz elaborating their knowledge of the brand and its products and in turn also change over them into 2nd generation opinion leaders for their social network. Facebook users will also be able to increase their chances of winning by inviting their Facebook friends to enter the rival via the AMEX application. For every friend that they have invited and has also entered the rival they will also slang an additional entry.For the business segment of the American Express target market linked in will be used to gain the publics attention. This campaign will also take the shape of a competition but not a lottery. Entrepreneurs will be invited to submit nonplus up business proposals. After sign screening, through popular vote on from the linked in community the most popular idea will gain a three year riding horse of American Express experts, full financial support and of course the AMEX cards and benefits to get up the new business idea. This campaign focuses gaining new business customers through having them engage with the brand through LinkedIn .The social role that AmEx would be taking on, of financing the best business idea, should be interpreted by other users and business as an act of social jack ladder and an attempt to help the business world encouraging them to also use American Express for their business as they record they provide better and premium services to businesses. 4. Critically analyze and evaluate consumer and customer management practices adopted by American Express and how consumers react to individualized consumer-organization interaction. (20%/630-770 words) . Discuss potential trends in buyer behavior in the recognition Card market over the next ten historic period. grade companies in this sector which are responding good to the trends, and make recommendations how your company can modify the way it engages with current and potential customers. (20%/630-770 words) Innovations oneness of the main innovations shortly in the credit card market is the collide with to pay via smart phones. Syst ems are being certain to use a persons smart phone as a mobile wallet without having to take out a physical credit card. 0 percent of people expect that their smartphones will eventually replace cash and credit cards. (Farrell, B. M. , 2013) Mastercard, Visa and Paypal are already experimenting with this preference payment method though it must(prenominal) be mentioned that people or 35 or younger, are more inclined to use this innovation than the over 35? s. (Farrell, B. M. , 2013). Amex bought the online payment system service of process for $300 million in 2009 and launched its e-wallet service in 2011 (Pepitone, J. , 2011) in a chemical reaction to Visa and PayPal launching a connatural service first.The service is currently only available in the US (Johnson, A. R. , 2011) Since in many a(prenominal) emerging markets they are taking a technology leap, i. e. directly jump with the latest technology, there exists a practical possibility that they might also bring down th e credit card phase and move directly into having an e-wallet. American express could well establish their brand in these markets by providing e-wallet services as well as methods to accept e-wallet payments to local businesses. Competition,The standard credit card market is becoming arrant(a) and its becoming increasingly difficult to apply new customers or to make customers reverse credit card momentr. Card issues have to offer increasingly more incentives to attract new customers and retain exisiting customers. American Express has the advantage of having a unique brand within a select group of customers. But there are no restrictions for MasterCard or Visa to launch a cheap premium or platinum range in order to target and gain market share function in the heart of American Express? core business. Multi-Function cards. First Data can (2011) suggests that in Brazil Banco Bradesco and in France reference point Agricole have been offering a card type that has the ability to access both credit and debit accounts. But uncomplete have been considered a game changer. Multi-function cards are being increasingly evoke as consumers are starting to shift their preference to the debit card kind of of the credit card. This is partially related to the currently ongoing financial crisis.With shifting trends and no game changing alternative this will be a future point of focus for credit card issuers to successfully introduce a hybrid card of this type as long as the demand proves sufficient. Co-Branded Cards Some of American Express? s biggest competitors are teaming up with other large multinationals to offer exclusive co branded credit cards. For causa IKEA and VISA have launched the IKEA Visa card allowing consumers to finance their purchases for up to three years among other benefits.American Express already hs a co-branded card with British Airways but with competition becoming increasingly tougher it is likely that card issuers will also try to issue car ds via large multinational organizations. Bibliography Farrell, B. M. , 2013, non paying by smartphone? You soon will, many bet. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http//www. bostonglobe. com/business/2013/03/20/payment-industry-executives-eye-mobile-future/XHi4XtUT9zkoloMd0m2biO/story. hypertext markup language First Data Corporation (2011) quaternary Important Trends Shaping the future of Credit Cards. Retireived from ttp//www. firstdata. com/downloads/thought-leadership/cc-trends-wp. pdf Johnson, A. R. (2011). AmEx Looks Beyond Credit Cards. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http//online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052970204552304577112611696189378. hypertext markup language Pepitone, J. , 2011. American Express dives into mobile payment with Serve. Retrieved from http//money. cnn. com/2011/03/28/technology/american_express_serve/index. htm Rivero, J. (2012). 3 larger Trends in Credit Card Marketing. Retrieved from http//thefinancialbrand. com/22348/three-trends-in-credit- card-marketing/