The American Express Mess
A company that never cared about its customers
January 2008 By Denny Hatch
|
In the News
WILL THEY LEAVE THE CARD BEHIND?American Express CEO Faces Latest Downturn Holding a Better Hand
New York — In recent years, Kenneth Chenault has been the credit card industry’s darling, guiding American Express Co. to tremendous prosperity amid intense competition. Now, AmEx’s chief is trying to stay on top of the heap during the third economic downturn of his 27-year career at the company.
—Robin Sidel, The Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2007
Thank you, Denny. A nice and utterly relevant piece. Your story about the Ticketmaster e-mail, and how much you appreciated their thoughtfulness, has reminded me of what I regard as one of the greatest missed opportunities in the history of marketing. Every time I use my American Express Centurion Card I cannot help but notice the following words printed on the front, “MEMBER SINCE 82”. So, during the whole of last year, every time I used the card a lightening thought crossed my mind, “Gosh, that’s 25 years!” But did American Express remember this auspicious occasion? Unfortunately no. Despite having the relevant data, there was no email, no thank-you card, no offer, no invitation to spend more, no phone call. Nothing. That really made me feel that American Express doesn’t give a damn about my custom and 25 years of brand loyalty. I would recommend for American Express to headhunt the marketing people from Ticketmaster, who at least know how to show they care!
I go back 58 years with American Express.
Anthony Greene is correct.
Backgrounder
In 1949 my biographer/historian father Alden Hatch was contracted to create the official biography of the American Express Company on the anniversary of its centenary the following year.
The company had a storied past, beginning with its founding in 1850 as an express delivery service by Henry Wells, William G. Fargo (as in Wells Fargo) and John Butterfield. In 1882 it started a money order business, and nine years later introduced the traveler’s checque. Early in the twentieth century, it entered the travel business and began opening branch offices around the world that became headquarters, banks and post offices for American voyagers and expats. If you wanted to contact a friend or family member anywhere in the world, you needed only the itinerary and then to write the person c/o American Express Office in a distant city. It would be held until the person picked it up. When you received a letter from a friend from abroad, the return address could well have been:
American Express
Venice
Takeaway Points to Consider:
* “Always say ‘thank-you.’ It’s the polite thing to do.”—Roger Craver
* “Consumers are neither sheep nor fools. They can sense when companies are consistently more loyal to investors, employees and regulators than to the people who buy their products and services. They behave accordingly. Customers are not being disloyal; they are being discriminating. The central marketing question confronting brand leaders therefore is not, “how can we radically increase customer loyalty?” but, “how can we radically increase our own loyalty to customers?”
—Michael Scrage, FinancialTimes.com, “Customers want loyalty not perfection,” May 1, 2007
* “The Consumer is not a moron. She is your wife.”
—David Ogilvy
* A couple of times a year, the great direct mail expert, Axel Andersson, would come to Stamford—and later to Philly after we moved here—to spend time in our direct mail archive and hours working in his hotel room studying duplicate mailings. In Philly, he always stayed at the low-cost Comfort Inn on Race Street in the middle of Chinatown. “Why should I stay at the Marriott or the Four Seasons?” he said. “Of course I can afford them. But all I will run into are people just like me. If you are in marketing, you have to mingle with the people you are marketing to.”
* “If you are in marketing, always take the streetcar or subway to work.”
—Axel Andersson
Web Sites Related to Today's Edition:
American Expresswww.americanexpress.com
“Don’t Leave Your Castle Without It”—Ogilvy Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSe3twDwm-M
The American Express Platinum Mailing
http://tinyurl.com/2nshgt
American Express Raises Fees, Cuts Rewards
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115439727634523033.html
American Express Big Write-Down
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120000076375181927.html
American Express Current Problems
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120131125655018537.html
A Web site not related to today’s edition:
If you are writing a book—or thinking about it, or know someone who has written a book or is working on one—here is the definitive white paper on book publishing statistics from Dan Poynter—the 2008 update. Read ‘em and weep.
http://tinyurl.com/2wazyk
For a free subscription to “Publishing Poynters: News, tips & resources on book writing, publishing and promoting. Twice each month.”
http://tinyurl.com/3cythl
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
