Don't forget your customer's needs

To make brand extensions succeed, it's not only important to link the new product to the familiar brand name, it's also of utmost importance to take the customer into account. Unlike what I said in my previous article, it's not always enough to have a link to the previous product, but there also is a necessity of a similar target group.

Brand extensions are more likely to be successfull if the customers are similar, even if the products are not. A lot of examples can confirm this. As seen in class, Volkswagen made a big mistake by making a car of a higher standard than they used to. They forgot that their customers can't afford that luxury. And those who can, will automatically buy a more luxurious brand, such as Audi, BMW or Mercedes. Volkswagen's marketing management didn't consider their customer's needs.

Clearly, it makes no sense to try to extend a brand to a dissimilar product with dissimilar customers. If you want to launch a dissimilar product, you should at least maintain your customers.

Melanie Ciers

Source: Harvard Business Review: Customer-Centered Brand Management