EXPRESS: Firms’ Focus on Brand and Customer Management: Measurement, Development, and Financial Consequences

Abstract

An ongoing, inconclusive debate in strategic marketing research centers on the relative importance of brand management versus customer management—two key dimensions of marketing strategy. However, empirical evidence on how firms prioritize these two dimensions, how their strategic emphasis shifts over time, and how these dimensions shape financial performance remains limited. Using longitudinal data collected from automated text analysis of +95,000 earnings conference call transcripts involving +1,800 firms over 22 years, complemented by manual coding and secondary data, the authors show that brand and customer management foci are uncorrelated, indicating neither a systematic trade-off nor a systematic complementarity between the two strategic foci. Consistent patterns emerge across industries and business types. Importantly, the two strategic foci have distinct effects on revenue- and cost-related performance outcomes. Strikingly, a dual emphasis on both brands and customers is less attractive than focusing on either one. Moderating environmental factors influence the effectiveness of each strategic focus.