The Growth Dilemma

Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things

By: Annie Wilson, Ryan Hamilton

Narrated by: Amber Dekkers

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation (P)2025 Ascent Audio

Great recent examples

Filled with many recent examples for brand conflict, brand pivots, and brand mistakes, this is a must read book for anyone in the marketing world. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will revisit many of the key ideas over and over.

A Must-Read for Anyone Navigating Multiple Stakeholder Demands

In my role at a university working with both students and corporate partners, I constantly face the challenge of serving multiple audiences with differing needs. This book nails that tension. Wilson and Hamilton show how brands (or institutions) can grow intentionally, without losing the essence of what makes them credible. I walked away with ideas for better segmenting messaging for alumni, employers, and students—plus actionable tools for avoiding brand dilution when expanding programs.

Simplified the concepts that marketers over complicate

Great listen and actionable reminders of the key things that tend to trip marketers up as we balance the desire for long term growth with short term objectives. If we remain mindful, there is a responsible way to do both.