PPT created as a part of marketing internship under Prof. Sameer Mathur

3. EXPRESS SHIPPING
COMPANY
TRAVEL SERVICES
COMPANY
GLOBAL PAYMENTS
COMPANY

4. WHAT IS
SPECIAL
ABOUT
AMERICA
N
EXPRESS
???

6. AMERICAN EXPRESS CHARGE CARD
By 1967, contributed to one-third of company’s

7. EXPANSION
American
Express
Brokera
ge
Service
s
Bankin
g
Insurance

8. DIFFICULTY
INTEGRATING THESE
BROAD FINANCIAL
OFFERINGS

10. A LEAN COMPANY FOCUSING ON CORE
COMPETENCIES AMERICAN EXPRESS
CREDIT
CARDS
CHARG
E
CARDS
TRAVELLE
R’S
CHEQUES
TRAVEL
SERVICES
SELECT
BANKING
FINANCI
AL
SERVICE
S

11. COMPETITIO
N IN MARKET

15. CENTURION
BLACK
CARD
Targeted the most
elite clients,
who spend more
than $150,000
annually.

16. BLUE
CARD
Targeted younger,
tech-savvy
consumers
with a hip image
and no annual
fee.

17. Further
Ways of
Growth

18. Partnerships
with banks
such as
MBNA,
Citigroup,
UBS, and
USAA and
increased its
card accounts
from 60

19. ‘My
Life, My
Card’
campai
gn
featurin
g big
stars
like
Robert

20. “Are you
a Card
Member?
”
Campaig
n

23. Despite
various
setbacks
during
the
recession,
the
company
stayed
strong
and is
one of the
most

25. People
perceiv
e
Americ
an
Express
as a
status

27. It is
expensiv
e as
compared
to VISA
and
MasterCa

28. Lesser
acceptan
ce than
VISA and
MasterCa
rd in
local
stores
due to it
being

30. In
banking,
insurance
and other
finance
related
areas, it
faces
fierce
competitio
n as these
areas

32. It has
adapted
well to the
changing
trends by
keeping a
variety of
products for
ultra rich
people to
middle class

34. 1.Target areas
where its
competitors
are not
popular.
2.Visa and
MasterCard
have wide
reach. It
should focus
on building
up at POP of

35. In the
process
of
expandi
ng, it
should
never
loose
focus
from its

37. The
company’s
decision to
grow beyond
its affluent
customer
base was
essential to
its growth. It
was a market
which its

38. To tackle
recession, it
expanded to
smaller
businesses.
It made
separate
program for
them by
offering
services like
flexible

39. SUMMARY
• American Express started off as an express shipping
company and gradually expanded to being a global
payments company.
• During the course, it faced severe competition from
VISA and MasterCard.
• These had lesser cost and wider reach than American
Express whereas American Express had better
customer service and a status symbol attached to it.
• American Express made several associations with banks
in particular.
• 2008 Recession hit American Express hard and it
catered to the needs of lower and middle class
businesses as well.

40. 1.istockphoto.com
2.Google.com
3.Shutterstock.com

41. DISCLAIMER
This ppt has been
prepared as a part of a
marketing internship
under Prof. Sameer
Mathur, IIM Lucknow.