Dennis Herhausen - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

As DVJ Insights celebrates its tenth anniversary of Brand Growth, this special edition takes a step beyond the practitioner perspective and into academia. In conversation with Dennis Herhausen, Professor of Marketing and Head of the Marketing Department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, one thing becomes clear: while marketing tools and technologies evolve rapidly, the fundamentals of growth remain strikingly consistent, yet increasingly complex.

Dennis brings a strategic and managerial perspective to marketing, with a growing focus on AI and its implications. His insights offer a valuable bridge between theory and practice, shedding light on how brands can grow in a world where both humans and machines are shaping decisions.

Growth Starts with Real Customer Value

For Dennis, brand growth is not an abstract concept, it is grounded in a simple but powerful principle: delivering genuine value to customers.

“Brand growth is when you’re able to sell to more customers and more to your customers. And you can only do this if you have a good offer.”

This definition may sound straightforward, but it carries significant implications. Growth is not driven by marketing tactics alone, nor by short-term optimisation strategies. Instead, it begins with a deep understanding of what customers are trying to achieve, and how a brand can help them get there.

Dennis frequently draws on the “jobs to be done” framework in his work with companies. This approach shifts the focus from products to customer needs, encouraging organisations to identify the underlying problems or “jobs” customers are trying to solve.

“You have to understand what the job is that your customer needs to be done and how you can help them.”

This perspective also highlights the importance of identifying friction. Growth opportunities often lie in unmet needs or inefficiencies in the customer journey-areas where brands can create meaningful differentiation. However, not every friction point is worth solving. As Dennis notes, it must be relevant enough that customers are willing to pay for the solution.

Ultimately, sustainable growth comes from consistently delivering a superior offer. Brand growth is driven by creating real customer value. A principle that underpins both academic theory and practical success.

Acquisition and Loyalty: Two Sides of the Same Coin

A second key theme in Dennis’s perspective is the interplay between acquisition and loyalty. Rather than viewing them as separate strategies, he sees them as deeply interconnected.

“You have to do acquisition and loyalty. You have to orchestrate both”

Attracting new customers is essential for expansion, but retaining existing ones strengthens the base of growth. Satisfied customers not only buy more, but also recommend the brand to others, creating a virtuous cycle.

“It helps a lot to get new customers if you’re able to keep your existing customers happy.”

This idea is captured in the concept of “earned growth”, which builds on the Net Promoter Score. Rather than focusing purely on revenue, it looks at how much growth comes from existing customers and their recommendations.

“Are you able to grow with your existing customers? And are you able to grow with recommendations?”

The distinction is important. Growth driven by heavy discounts or aggressive sales tactics may boost short-term results, but it rarely leads to long-term success. In contrast, growth driven by customer satisfaction signals a healthy and sustainable trajectory. So growth requires both acquisition and loyalty, and the real challenge lies in orchestrating the two effectively.

Balancing Short-Term Push and Long-Term Pull

One of the most pressing challenges for marketers today is balancing short-term performance with long-term brand building. Dennis frames this as the need to balance “push” and “pull”.

On the one hand, brands must create pull through strong brand equity, customer loyalty, and positive word of mouth. These are long-term investments that build preference over time. On the other hand, they need push mechanisms-such as search optimisation, digital presence, and conversion tactics-to capture demand when it arises.

It has to be a good balance. Not just digital, transactional, sales-driven, but also not only brand or long-term driven.

However, this balance is often disrupted by organisational pressures. Many companies operate with a strong focus on short-term financial targets, leading to an overemphasis on immediate results. If companies are quarterly driven, they also tend to have short-term marketing activities and short-term success measures.

‘’The challenge is not to abandon short-term goals, but to ensure they do not dominate decision-making. Marketing, by its nature, is a long-term discipline.’’

Not every activity will deliver immediate returns, and expecting it to do so can undermine sustainable growth. This requires a shift in both mindset and incentives. Organisations need to create space for long-term thinking and recognise that not everything that drives growth shows up in next month’s numbers.

Barriers to Growth: Letting Go of the Past

Despite clear principles, many organisations struggle to achieve sustained growth. Dennis points to several recurring barriers, many of which are internal rather than market-driven. One common issue is a narrow view of the market. Companies often focus too heavily on existing segments or industries, limiting their ability to identify new opportunities. Growth, in many cases, requires looking beyond familiar boundaries.

Another major barrier is inertia, which is the tendency to stick with strategies that have worked in the past.

“Something that helped you to grow in the last five years, it’s not guaranteed that this will help you in the next five years.”

Success can create a false sense of security. Companies become reluctant to change direction or to cannibalise their own offerings, even when the market is evolving. At the same time, growth requires continuous investment.

“Whenever you want to gain a new customer, you have to be willing to invest first.”

This investment is not a one-off effort, but an ongoing commitment. Companies that underinvest, whether in marketing, innovation, or customer understanding, will struggle to sustain growth over time.

From Human to Machine: The Rise of the Agentic Audience

Looking ahead, Dennis identifies one of the most significant shifts in marketing: the rise of AI-driven decision-making. As consumers increasingly rely on digital assistants, large language models, and AI agents, the nature of buying decisions is changing.

“We have to think not only how to convince the human, but also how to convince the machine”

This introduces the concept of an “agentic audience”, where algorithms act on behalf of consumers. These agents can process vast amounts of information, from product specifications and reviews to third-party validation, far beyond what a human would typically consider. The implications for marketing are profound. Persuasion becomes less about surface-level messaging and more about substance.

“It’s much harder to fake anything. If what you do is not good and does not create value, you won’t convince.”

In this environment, the fundamentals become even more critical. Brands must offer real value, provide credible proof, and ensure consistency across all touchpoints. At the same time, this shift expands the role of marketing. It is no longer just about communication, but about orchestrating the entire customer experience, from product to technology to service. AI agents will increasingly influence purchasing decisions, and Dennis sees this as a key area for future research, particularly the role of AI agents as decision-makers in both B2B and B2C contexts.

Marketing as the Orchestrator of Growth

This evolving landscape raises an important question: who is responsible for brand growth?

For Dennis, the answer is clear, even if the execution is complex. While growth should be a shared responsibility across leadership, marketing plays a central role in orchestrating it.

“Marketing is basically the logical choice for the middleman that orchestrates brand growth.’’

As organisations become more interconnected, marketing sits at the intersection of multiple functions: technology, data, customer experience, and communication.

This makes it uniquely positioned to align efforts and ensure consistency. At the same time, this expanded role requires new capabilities. Marketers must understand not only customers, but also systems, data flows, and increasingly, algorithms.

A Final Reflection: Back to the Fundamentals

Despite the rapid pace of change, Dennis’s perspective ultimately brings us back to the fundamentals of brand growth. Growth starts with understanding what customers need and delivering real value. It requires balancing acquisition and loyalty, short-term and long-term efforts. It demands adaptability, continuous investment, and a willingness to challenge past success.

And as the role of AI continues to grow, these fundamentals will only become more important. Or, as Dennis succinctly puts it: focus on what you do well, understand why customers value it, and explore where else that value can create impact. In an increasingly complex marketing landscape, that combination of clarity and discipline may be the most powerful growth strategy of all.