The Growth Dilemma: Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things

Summary

You always want to grow your brand, but there's a dilemma: The more customer segments you target and serve, the harder it becomes to manage their diverse preferences and behaviors. Sometimes, you do such a good job building a loyal customer base that attempts to attract other customers feels like a betrayal to your core audience. Other times, a new segment adopts your products without your courting, and it creates tension with existing customers.

Welcome to "the conflict zone," where brands must navigate incompatibilities between customer segments to achieve growth, or risk losing more customers than they gain. How did Supreme's attempts to crossover into fashion cost the brand its coveted reputation among skateboarders? How did Apple lose one of its most devoted customer bases when it updated a piece of software? What did Tiffany do when its silver jewelry became too popular with teenagers?

Marketing experts and professors Annie Wilson and Ryan Hamilton answer these questions, and through dozens more cases provide insight into how brands can drive growth by attracting new segments without alienating or losing their current customers. They also explore how brands can more strategically select and manage customer segments to drive high velocity growth and symbiotic segment relationships.