Marketing | American Express | Case Study

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing
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Case summary:
American Express initially began its energy as a service delivery company almost 150
years back and it was not until late 1950’s that the brand made its entry into the credit cards
business. Since then the company has been a promising name in the financial service
providing firms offering a wide range of debit and credit card facilities for individuals,
corporate staffs as well as small business firms ("American Express |", 2020) Today it has a
global customer base of almost a 100 million and generates annual revenue of approximately
$34 Billion.
Key marketing issues:
 Constant Customer Communication
 Product modification as per customer requirement
 Transparency in business operation
 Sustainable business activities
Personal Case Analysis:
The case study of American express genuinely set example of how exactly a service sector
industry should operate and how customers needs to be valued. Moreover it also sets high
standards in terms of maintaining the notion of social good alongside their business oriented
operation
Case Questions
The five dimensional approach includes (Alharthy, et al. 2017):
 Tangibility- this aspect defines the elements which have a physical existence
like the cards the brand actually offers to its customers along with varied other

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authentic documents related to the service to help the customers understand
their transactions and company operations
 Reliability- Any product or service to gain reliability of the customers must
fulfil certain expected norms. Hence in case of American Express the
company constantly innovates towards strengthening its customer service
initiatives, developing its social media presence, thinking beyond business and
works for the development of the small business enterprises in promoting
them and altogether works towards gaining the confidence of its customers
 Responsiveness- this is a very crucial aspect especially for a service industry
like American Express and the brand is very much aware of the same. The
company take its customer communication very seriously and have built in a
24 hours live chat support along with a trained set of representatives to attend
the customers on call and address their individual problems with utmost
concern and prudence. Apart from this it has a strong social media presence of
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube where the consumers can post any
query any time and get instant feedback (Young, 2014)
 Assurance- American Express focuses on maintaining a certain transparency
in its operation to gain and build in confidence of its customers. Cardholders
and merchants can log into their secure website accounts to get a detailed
transcripts of their transaction activity, their payments made and can also
request for an account change. Moreover it takes special consideration of the
complaints and grievances of its customers and also ensures a speedy solution
of the same
 Empathy- It is not just about business and profit figures American Express
takes due consideration in spreading social good with its constructive