Marketing/background Information

Marketing/background Information (Danielle, Matthew)
TD Bank of Canada is one of the leading banks in the country, with a competitive advantage of its Canadian reputation and as the second largest bank in Canada. Employing 87 000 people, 1100 branches and 3460 ATM’s all over Canada, they ranked #1 by online users, and known for their above average customer service care. They pride themselves on their image of convenient banking through online portals, ATM’s and in-person branch services, providing financial guidance, mortgages, loans, credit cards, and savings accounts. Their CEO Bharat Masrani has been leading the way following the infamous Ed Clark, since 2014. TD has collaborated with businesses in order to produce programs and retail such as TD Canada Trust, Business Banking, TD Auto Finance (Canada and US), TD Wealth (Canada and US), TD Direct Investment, and TD Insurance. TD has a target audience of the millennial generation, which consist of small to medium loan takers, students, young adults looking to start or grow their new or established businesses, or simply manage their daily finances. TD Banks direct competition is the Royal Bank of Canada, considering they are the leading largest bank by total assets. Keeping their focus on competing with RBC, followed by Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal. The climate for the financial industry is changing over time, most banks having made the transition to being online which has greatly impacted the way that we handle our money and finances. This gives a great advantage to banks in order to stay accessible in changing technology and relevant in the eyes of new generations. It has become a trend for banks to invest in today’s youth because they are the future in more than one way. They will be the ones investing money or signing up for loans which will be in use for years to come, they are also the ones finishing post-secondary education ready to enter the job market. It has become more important than ever to invest in the youth of today because without them a company is irrelevant, inaccessible and as a result will be unsuccessful. Finally, considering the times that we are in with the pandemic, the transition to online banking has never been so important. Having already well established their infrastructure in online and convenient banking, it stands to reason that TD Bank is the second leading bank in Canada.
According to the Bank of Canada 15% of Canadians have a credit card limit under $2000 while 41% have a limit of $10,000 or more. This means that with the majority of Canadians having such a high credit limit they are more likely to overspend on the credit card for things that might not be necessary just so that they can get more points to redeem for different things. The problem that the current market faces is when times of financial stress such as Covid-19 where Canadians may not be able to pay down their credit card debt.
According to the Canadian Bankers Association 72% of Canadians have at least one credit card that carries a reward program. Canadians are using these reward cards to pay for vacations using travel points and to buy groceries and medical items using cash back rewards. Since 2000 to 2018 the amount of credit cards in circulation has increased from 40 million to 76 million, so it is no wonder why this market has grown so rapidly and why banks and credit card companies are always looking for a way to maintain and attract new customers to use their products or services.
Objective
The primary objective is to investigate the market position of TD bank in the financial industry and its competitive advantage over other players.
Strategy
TD uses a differentiation strategy to establish a competitive advantage and attract new customers.
Competitive overview Analysis (Randal, Max, Jhanvi)
The Income Requirement to be able to have this card is annual income of $60,000 or $100,000 as a household.
Advantages
The TD first class infinite card is a premium travel credit card with many perks. It comes with travel insurance of up to a million dollars for the first 21 days of travel for those under 65 and 4 days for those over 65. Another advantage is its sign-up bonus where you make 20,000 TD points of your first purchase and another 40,000 if you spend a minimum of $1,500 within the first 15 days of owning the card. Furthermore, when booking through Expedia for every dollar you spend you make 9 TD points. Lastly, the TD first class infinite card also provides trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel assistance services as well as common carrier accident insurance and insurance for delayed or lost baggage.
Weaknesses
The TD first class infinite card has a few weaknesses. It isn’t as easily accessible as some of the other travel cards on the market as you have to have a S60, 000 minimum income to apply for one. Furthermore, it doesn’t give you as much access to luxury lounges in airports as you would expect with one it being one of the more premium travel cards and for residents of Quebec, not all of the features are available.
Competitors
American Express Cobalt
Scotiabank Gold American Express
BMO World Elite
National Bank World Elite
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
Competitive analysis landscape -
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Consumer Insight
A lot of opinions on the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card is the value for your money and consumers services could improve compared to other cards. Also the product features are better than other cards or just as good. Furthermore the feature they...