JPMorgan Chase Sapphire Case: Marketing Mix and Millennials

This case study analysis examines the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card's marketing strategies and its success in attracting millennial customers. The analysis explores the value proposition of the card, differentiating it from competitors through its sign-up bonus and rewards program. The study delves into the effectiveness of the 100,000-point offer as a customer acquisition strategy, evaluating its impact on profitability and customer retention, specifically focusing on transactors, revolvers, and churners. The marketing mix, including product, price, promotion, and place, is evaluated to understand how Chase successfully engaged millennials and built a strong brand. The analysis also considers product line decisions and the impact of the Chase Sapphire brand on the overall JPMorgan Chase brand. The case provides insights into the rapid diffusion of the product and the factors contributing to its popularity, including social value and ease of use. The case study also includes answers to the 5 discussion questions provided in the assignment brief.

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Chase sapphire case
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Question 1.
Products and services offered to customers should deliver maximum value to the customer so as
to help in customer retention or customer acquisition. The marketing mix consists of 4ps which
are product, price, promotion, and place (Gordon124). Chase sapphire reserve credit card has the
right features to attract profitable customers to the company as it has sign up bonus which is way
up above the one offered by competing firms. The reserve card also offers great rewards to
customers as holders of the cards are entitled to three points for every dollar spent using the
credit card. The card offers ego-expressive value to customers and that is the reason the card has
become so popular with the millennials (Mintz and Currim 32). The features of the card make
the card to be observable and the millennials always want to stand out from the rest of the
population.
The sign-up bonus and the fact that the card was made for millennials made the card to be so
popular as it has a social value which can be associated with the millennials. The credit card is
also supported by a program which is not sophisticated and also very easy to use, ultimate bonus
points and physical presence of chase bank branches which enables the customers to have a
physical connection with the bank (Tapp and Spotswood 2013 217). Such features have enabled
the credit card to diffuse so easily. The credit card has helped the company to increase its
revenues as the 12-month sales targets were met within two weeks of the credit card launch.
Question 2.
The 100,000 points offer was a good investment as it helped the company to acquire customers
easily. This move also enabled them to meet its 12-month sales target in just two weeks which is
quite commendable. The offer may seem to be expensive but in the long run, the company will

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benefit a lot as the company targets profits to start streaming in after seven years. By opting to
use the 100,000 points offer, the company is also able to avoid traditional campaigns which are
associated with launching a credit card (Tsimonis and Dimitriadis 338). The advertisements in
media houses result in high costs which are incurred by the launching company in order for the
launch to be successful. The 100, 000 points offer can be offset by the advertising cost (Leeflang
et al. 7). The company will also continue to enjoy a competitive advantage as competitors will
not be able to match the offers given to customers and this will enable the company to become a
leader in the market.
Question 3.
Transactors and revolvers are more likely to renew as churners are there to take advantage of the
bonus points and after redemption of the signup points they move to other credit card companies
which have sign up bonuses. The company's main aim after customer acquisition is to retain the
customers so as to maintain competitive positioning (Li et al. 63). This can be done by engaging
in aggressive advertising so as to ensure that more potential customers are aware of the existence
of the credit card. This can be done using the more which will be saved after reducing the signup
bonus to 50,000 points. The card should also aim to reduce costs so as to increase incentives so
as to compete effectively with other credit card providers in the market.
Question 4.
The company decides to have different product lines so as to target different segments of the
market and also ensure that the needs and preferences of the customers are met effectively. The
sapphire card should be discontinued as this will help to reduce operational and servicing costs.
The other cards also offer better deals than the sapphire cards and the sapphire cardholder should

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be moved to either preferred or reserved as the sapphire card is not clear who the target market
is. For effective products lines, the company should ensure that there is product differentiation so
as to avoid confusing the target customers (ElMaraghy et al. 645). This will help to prevent
customers from obtaining products which do not suit their needs and preferences.
Question 5.
Millennials are a good target for JPMC as they constitute the majority of the population. The
millennials feel left out by other credit card providers which do not give the youth the required
experience and also the card gives youth social value and enables ego-expressive (Müller and
Hamm. 74). There is a connection between the bank and the target market as the Chase bank
decided to promote the card using avenues which are mostly used by millennials. This target
market enabled revenues to grow to $1.24 billion. The millennials are also challenging customers
as a majority of them are churners who are there to take advantage of the signup bonus and then
cancel the cards but the bank has in place mechanisms to retain the customers.

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References
ElMaraghy, Hoda, et al. "Product variety management." Cirp Annals 62.2 (2013): 629-652.
Gordon, Ross. "Re-thinking and re-tooling the social marketing mix." Australasian Marketing
Journal (AMJ) 20.2 (2012): 122-126.
Leeflang, Peter SH, et al. "Challenges and solutions for marketing in a digital era." European
management journal 32.1 (2014): 1-12.
Li, Zhibin, et al. "Bicycle commuting market analysis using attitudinal market segmentation
approach." Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 47 (2013): 56-68.
Mintz, Ofer, and Imran S. Currim. "What drives managerial use of marketing and financial
metrics and does metric use affect performance of marketing-mix activities?." Journal of
Marketing 77.2 (2013): 17-40.
Müller, Henriette, and Ulrich Hamm. "Stability of market segmentation with cluster analysis–A
methodological approach." Food Quality and Preference 34 (2014): 70-78.
Tapp, Alan, and Fiona Spotswood. "From the 4Ps to COM-SM: reconfiguring the social
marketing mix." Journal of Social Marketing 3.3 (2013): 206-222.
Tsimonis, Georgios, and Sergios Dimitriadis. "Brand strategies in social media." Marketing
Intelligence & Planning 32.3 (2014): 328-344.