Page 227 - The New Gold Standard

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Aspire, Achieve, Teach

Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

In the competitive world of business today,
corporate leaders are looking for opportunities
|to maintain the relevance and sustainability
of their established brands. One key strategy for achiev-
ing this outcome is to broaden product offerings to
meet evolving needs of their customers. Writing in Cir-
culation Management magazine, marketing researcher
Kathryn Fry-Ramsdell advises, “Based on customers’
perception and knowledge of your brand, there are cer-
tain types of products that they would expect you to sell.
These are products that fit well with your brand. Prod-
ucts that . . . are natural extensions of the expertise or
information you already provide. . . . Likewise, there are
many products that they want and need, but for various
reasons don’t expect to get—or don’t want to get—from
your brand.”
As suggested by Kathryn, in order to understand the
acceptability of a brand extension, companies have to
gauge the perception of their customers about new pos-
sibilities. Bob Phillips, senior vice president of business

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