If violating any of the marketing laws were a punishable offense, a large portion of corporate America would be in jail.

By far the most violated marketing law is the line extension law. What’s even more diabolical is that line extension is a process that goes on continuously with almost no conscious effort on the part of the corporation. It’s like a closet or desk drawer that fills with almost no effort on your part.

One day a company is very focused on a single product that is highly profitable. The next day, the same company is scattered across many products and losing money.

Take IBM. Over the years, IBM has been a mainframe computer company that made a lot of money. Then they became a company that had everything, mid-range computers, personal computers, laptops, workstations, software, networks, telephones and, of course, professional services. They even tried to break into the home computer market with the PCjr.

Along the way, IBM spent millions on copiers (later sold to Kodak), Rolm (sold to Siemens), Satellite Business Systems (closed), the Prodigy network (which became an ESPN website and Yahoo content portal ), as well as software products including SAA, TopView, OfficeVision, and OS2.

In the early 2000s, IBM nearly collapsed under its own weight. Diversified, sold or closed most of these product lines and focused on professional services worldwide.

When a company becomes incredibly successful, it invariably plants the seeds of its future problems.

Take Microsoft as an example, undoubtedly the most successful company in the field of software. Microsoft has been heard to say that it intended to aggressively seek dominant share in all major categories of software applications in the field of personal computers with the goal of having a share of up to 70 percent in all major categories. of software.

Microsoft Corp has continued its online pursuit of extension with online products (MSN), games (Xbox), and smartphones and mobile devices (Windows Mobile). Even with competitors in all of these categories, as of 2008, MSFT had global annual revenues of more than $60 billion with nearly 90,000 employees in 105 countries. Develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices.

However, there remain ominous signs of weakness in Microsoft’s overall strategy.

Who does that sound like, IBM? Microsoft is preparing for a collapse similar to that of IBM ten years earlier.

When you try to be all things to all people, you inevitably end up in trouble. “I’d rather be strong somewhere,” said one manager, “than weak everywhere.”

In a narrow sense, line extension involves taking the brand name of a successful product and putting it on a new product you plan to introduce.

It sounds so logical. But marketing is a battle of perception, not of product.

There are as many ways to extend the line as there are galaxies in the universe. And every day new forms are invented. In the long run, and in the presence of serious competition, line extension almost never works.

Despite evidence that line extensions don’t work, companies continue to pump them out. Here are some examples

Ivory soap. ivory shampoo?
Life saving candy. lifesaver rubber?
Bick thinks. bic lighters?
Gin Tanqueray. Tanqueray Vodka?
USA Today. USA Today on TV?

Why does top management believe the line extension works, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary? One reason is that while line extension is a long-term loser, it can be a short-term winner (previous article titled The Law of Perspective). Management is also blinded by intense company or brand loyalty.

More is less. The more products, more markets, more alliances a company develops, the less money it makes. “Full speed ahead in all directions” seems to be the call from the corporate office. When will companies learn that line extension ultimately leads to oblivion?

Less is more. If you want to be successful today, you need to narrow your focus to build a position in the prospect’s mind.

In the conventional view, a business strategy is usually about developing an all-encompassing vision. In other words, what concept or idea is big enough to house all of a company’s products and services on the market today, as well as those planned for the future?

In the conventional view, strategy is a tent. You put up a tent big enough that it can hold anything you might want to get into.

For many companies, line extension is the easy way out. Launching a new brand requires not only money, but also an idea or concept. For a new brand to be successful, it must be first in a new category (previous article titled The Law of Leadership). Or the new brand needs to position itself as an alternative to the leader (previous article titled The Law of the Opposite). Companies that wait until a new market has developed often find that these two leadership positions are already filled. So they fall back on the old reliable line extension approach.

The antidote to line extension is courage, a rare commodity.

It takes a while, but many internet marketers resist the pressure to amplify the value of their brand. As a result, they participate in affiliate marketing programs. They use various methods, tools and follow a traffic formula to build relationships with their leads and clients. They build websites that build trust. They collect names and email addresses using a signup form on a landing page. They use email systems with autoresponders and broadcast capabilities to send messages to their leads and customers. These emails typically send information, provide insights, and sometimes promote an offer. Many internet marketers learn that prospects and customers don’t like being sold to no matter how they browse and buy. Over an extended period of time, Internet marketers can use hypnotic writing skills in their marketing campaigns to get leads and customers to take the action they want. This is how they learn to add value and leverage equity in their list and succeed in the world that includes Line Extension Law.

It sounds easy, but marketing is not a game for amateurs. Marketing is not a battle of products. This is the strategy you use to benefit from the Line Extension Act, as there is irresistible pressure to extend the value of your brand.