"You always want to grow your brand, but there's a dilemma: the more customer segments you target for growth, the harder it becomes to avoid conflict. Sometimes you do such a good job building a loyal following that attempts to court other customers feellike betrayal to your core. Sometimes, a segment adopts your products without you targeting them, alienating your existing customers. Sometimes, your growth strategy flies in the face of what people have decided your brand means to them. Welcome to "the conflict zone," where brands must navigate these incompatibilities to achieve growth-or face losing customers rather than growing. How did Supreme's attempts to cross over 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 does Gucci do when the cast of Jersey Shore starts toting their handbags around? Marketing experts and professors Annie Wilson and Ryan Hamilton answer these questions, and through dozens of cases provide insight into how brands can drive growth by attracting new segments without alienating or losing their current customers. With a fresh, simple framework for growing without imploding, Wilson and Hamilton show you how to recognizewhen you're heading for the conflict zone, how to steer clear of it, and what to do if you find yourself in it. Here you'll find a better way to strategically select new target markets and evaluate, monitor, and manage multiple customer segments. The Growth Dilemma is your road map to brand growth"--
Porsches for soccer moms? Finance bros in Patagonia? Drive-through Starbucks? What happens when your growth strategy creates conflict between customers?
You always want to grow your brand, but there's a dilemma: the more customer segments you target, the harder it becomes to avoid conflict between them. Sometimes attempts to court new customers can feel like a betrayal to your loyal base. Sometimes new customer segments rush to adopt your products and in the process unwittingly alienate your existing customers. And sometimes your growth strategy flies in the face of what your customers have decided your brand means to them.
Brands must navigate these incompatibilities in order to achieve sustainable growthor face losing more customers than they gain. Marketing experts and professors Annie Wilson and Ryan Hamilton show you how to manage this challenge with a fresh, simple framework for growing without imploding, helping you choose whom to target, how to avoid conflict between segments, and, crucially, what to do when the sensibilities of one segment clash with those of another.
Wilson and Hamilton illustrate their framework with dozens of real-world cases. How did Supreme lose its coveted reputation among skateboarders? How did a software update cost Apple a devoted customer base? What did Gucci do when the cast of Jersey Shore started toting its handbags around? And why are Crocs even a thing?
With depth, clarity, and a bit of humor, Wilson and Hamilton give you a better way to strategically select new target markets and manage multiple customer segments. The Growth Dilemma is your road map to brand growth.
