How "Brand Tourists" Can Grow Sales

Growing an exclusive brand by moving down market can be tricky: Such efforts often dilute the symbolic value for core customers. However, research counters the notion that downward extensions always tarnish the brand. Under certain conditions, noncore consumers can actually intensify a brand's prestige. Imagine that brands are like countries. An influx of immigrants might generate a backlash among a nation's citizens (its "core customers"), who are apt to see them as threats. But the presence of tourists - visitors who admire the locale though they're not looking to stay - generally raises a country's status. So, too, with brands. This effect is referred to as "brand tourism." In six studies of brands, the researchers found that core customers' perceptions were influenced by the way in which noncore users were presented. The findings suggest several strategies for companies that want to extend a brand but are concerned about alienating core customers. First, firms can manage the extent to which noncore users can claim membership in the brand community. Firms can also differentiate core products and brand extensions by using special packaging or separate distribution channels. They can target a consumer segment whose members wouldn't realistically be mistaken as belonging to the "in group." Creating an exclusive brand shouldn't be about erecting barriers to keep consumers out; indeed, growth requires the welcoming of new faces.