Brand equity and reputation are valuable assets that can help you expand your business into new markets or categories. But how do you leverage them effectively without diluting your core identity or confusing your customers? In this article, you will learn some key strategies and best practices for successful brand extensions.
Before you venture into a new territory, you need to have a clear and consistent understanding of what your brand stands for, what makes it unique, and what benefits it delivers to your target audience. Your brand essence is the core idea that defines your brand and guides all your decisions and actions. It should be simple, relevant, and distinctive. You can use tools like brand vision, mission, values, personality, and positioning to articulate your brand essence and communicate it internally and externally.
JLab - known as a top audio brand - recently expanded into a new category of work accessories. When we did this we focused on the same brand messaging and storytelling that positioned JLab to be a top audio brand. We compared our new keyboards and accessories to other top brands in the office peripherals category but utilizing comparison charts to show features and value of JLab products vs others. Stick with what works to create your brand.
What is missing here is you must understand what the consumer thinks of your essence. That includes your main user, your recruitment target and those that choose competiors. What a brand thinks their essence is, might not be what the consumers think. You get this wrong at the start you're immediately starting down the wrong path tackling the wrong problem.
Once you have a clear brand essence, you need to assess how well it fits with the new market or category you want to enter. Brand fit is the degree of alignment between your brand and the new product or service, the customer needs and expectations, and the competitive landscape. You want to avoid stretching your brand too far or too thin, as this can damage your credibility and differentiation. You can use tools like market research, customer feedback, competitor analysis, and SWOT analysis to evaluate your brand fit and identify potential opportunities and challenges.
Based on your brand fit assessment, you need to define your brand extension strategy. This is the plan that outlines how you will use your brand name, logo, design, and other elements to launch and market your new product or service. There are different types of brand extension strategies, such as line extension, category extension, sub-branding, co-branding, and licensing. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your goals, resources, and risks. You need to choose the one that best suits your situation and supports your brand essence.
Once you have your brand extension strategy, you need to communicate your brand value proposition to your new and existing customers. This is the statement that summarizes why they should choose your brand over others, what benefits they will get, and how you will deliver on your promise. Your brand value proposition should be clear, compelling, and consistent across all your touchpoints and channels. You need to highlight how your new product or service adds value to your brand portfolio and meets the needs and wants of your new market or category.
Finally, you need to monitor and measure your brand performance in the new market or category. This is the process of collecting and analyzing data and feedback to evaluate how well your brand extension is achieving your objectives and satisfying your customers. You need to track metrics such as awareness, recall, preference, loyalty, satisfaction, and advocacy, as well as sales, revenue, profit, and market share. You also need to listen to your customers and stakeholders, and respond to their comments, complaints, and suggestions. You need to use this information to improve your brand extension and optimize your brand equity and reputation.