GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT BUS350

Chase Sapphire Creating a Millennial Cult Brand

Answers to the following questions must be typed and submitted in class on the date due.
One or two sentence responses are not acceptable. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Handwritten responses will not be accepted.

1. What is your assessment of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card? Is this a good product for
JPMorgan Chase? For the Sapphire brand? Why or why not?

I think that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is more about popularity that productivity.
This is because most of the customers are towards the young side, therefore, it makes the
reader think that there are better cards for older adults. Furthermore, the sign-on bonus
was 100,000 points while is unprecedently high and there is an annual fee of $450. In my
opinion, this is not a good product for JPMorgan Chase because after they lower the sign-
on bonus not a lot of people are going to want to apply for this card.

2. Why has Chase Sapphire Reserve been so successful in acquiring customers? Will this
success continue over time? Why or why not? What changes would you make to their
customer acquisition strategy going forward?

Chase Sapphire Reserve was so successful in acquiring customers and continuing to

acquire them because they understand their audience. Since they were targeting a younger
audience, instead of using television to attract customers, they used social media
platforms. This is a major way of gaining young customers. Because of their
understanding of the market, they will continue to see new customers.

3. If you are a competing credit card provider, how do you respond to the Chase Sapphire
Reserve? How should Chase position itself to be ready for these competitive responses?

Honestly, if I were a competitor, I would not put the annual fee as high. Especially when
targeting younger audiences, the annual fee should not be extremely high. Furthermore,
as a competitor I would really focus on advertising because I would want my card to be
more known and to reach a wider audience than Chase Sapphire Reserve. As Chase, I
would focus on the benefits I am providing for my clients and make sure to convince
them that their returns will be higher with them than with any competitor.

4. How successful will Chase be at retaining Chase Sapphire Reserve customers into their
second year? Why?
 Chase will be successful at retaining Chase Sapphire Reserve customers into their second
year because they are focusing on understanding the market and knowing the best way to
reach their audience. Because of their initial success, customers trust them which is part
of the reason why they will retain customers.
5. What would you suggest Chase do to improve their odds of retaining their customers?
I think that they are doing a good job at building the relationships with the customers.
One thing they can do though is have low barriers to switching credit cards. Furthermore,
by lowering the annual fee, the customers will be happier.

6. Over time, the Sapphire brand has evolved from a single product (Sapphire launched in
2009) to a three-item product line as shown in the case (Exhibit 5). Going forward, how
would you manage the Chase Sapphire brand and product portfolio? Does Chase have
the right number of products in the line? Are the features of each product the right
features? What changes, if any would you make to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card
given Chase Sapphire Reserve’s success? What would you do with the no-fee Chase
Sapphire product? What, if any, changes should be made to the Chase Sapphire Reserve
card?
I think that Chase has a good number of products that can match different needs or
different customers. According to exhibit 5, the three products have different features,
gradually increasing as the products change from regular to preferred to reserve. For the
preferred card, I would add some additional perks in hopes that it will bring more success
to the product, like the reserve card has. For the no-fee Sapphire product, I would raise
the bonus requirement and the rewards sign-up bonus a little bit. For the reserve card, I
would add the airline perks and the hotel elite status perks because that will incentivize
people to get the card.