How Does Brand Licensing Compare To Traditional Growth Strategies?
Many perceive the concept of growth as something that is a very straightforward. However, there are a multitude of factors that need to be taken into consideration when developing a growth strategy for your company and brand. One aspect of growth that some tend to overlook when trying to expand is strong partnerships. Through partnerships, your company can team up with other powerful and driven companies to achieve that common goal of growth and recognition. Brand licensing is exactly that, a powerful partnership, an exceptionally viable growth strategy when done thoughtfully and with the right partners.
But how does it stack up against other traditional growth strategies?
Grow or Die
Today the pressure to grow is unrelenting. Decision-makers seek it. Investors insist on it. Customers are buoyed by it. A growing company exudes confidence, prestige, and acceptance. People want to work for companies that they feel are going places, literally and figuratively. In part, that’s psychological. But, as McKinsey’s research shows, it’s also because there seems to be no alternative. Companies that are not growing are declining.
Companies pursue growth strategies for all sorts of reasons. They expand to incorporate new strengths; add new activities; explore new territories; become more competitive; explore potential; escape convergence, saturation, stagnation or commoditization; and much more. Too often though, as Laurence Capron observes, the motivation for growth is being able to claim growth, or at the very least evolution. Perhaps this is because managers feel they have little choice in the matter. “Companies must continually evolve to stay relevant, innovative, and competitive.”
Welcome to the Expansion Riddle
Companies are under pressure to grow, but every action, and therefore every option, comes with risk. Standing still is dangerous, especially in dynamic sectors, but so is staying in one market, and so is diversifying into other markets. And size does nothing to lessen the riddle. As Marc Emmer says,
In my guide, Brand Licensing Versus Traditional Growth Strategies, I elaborate more upon growth and why brand licensing can be a viable growth strategy as it eliminates some of the risk associated with the pursuit of growth. Let’s talk about some of those risks: