Tribal marketing as an alternative to traditional consumer targeting strategies

Tribal Marketing

Evidence of the Trend's Emergence

Examples of the New Trend

Virtual Tribes

Tribal Marketing Implications for Industry

Leveraging the Tribal Trend

Tribal marketing is an approach that organizes target markets into various groups or tribes. These tribes can represent various different types of group associations. For example, one group could be people who work together while another group could represent all the members who communicate on various websites (Fons). Therefore there can be traditional tribal communities where people engage in face-to-face communication as well as there can be virtual tribes of people who share information online. As a result most people are generally considered to be members of multiple tribes however not all tribes are considered to be of equal importance by tribe members.

Consumers in general have become weary of traditional marketing messages. It has become increasingly hard to reach consumers through traditional channels even when the traditional social media channels are considered (Kelly, Kerr and Drennan). Other examples of this can be thought of by the introduction of both web-based television programming as well as digital recording devices. Both of these technologies allow consumers to bypass commercial messages and watch commercial free programming. Such an example is only one of many. Nearly all of the ways that used to be relied upon to reach potential customers have been subverted by one way or another. On top of that, consumers have grown generally skeptical of marketing messages in general (Stewart).

Since consumers are becoming increasingly resistant to the traditional forms of marketing then marketing professionals and researchers have been developing alternatives to the old way of doing business. Tribal marketing is one example of an overall development within the field of marketing. New forms of delivering marketing messages are being constantly tried. Some are more successful than others as many of the new marketing strategies fail. Yet some have proven to be reasonably successful and others to be outright revolutionary. It is believed that tribal marketing may represent a model that has much potential in regards to the total of alternatives forms of marketing that is being developed.

Evidence of the Trend's Emergence

Tribal marketing is centered on the idea of community (Cova and Cova). It is not just putting together a target market based on the idea of the individual. Under existing paradigms a marketer might group together a target market with individuals who have similar demographic or other similar characteristics. Tribal marketing serves as a polar opposite to the existing paradigm. Instead of targeting an individual with a certain set of attributes, a marketing campaign may focus on various tribes or groups of people with certain characteristics.

The group can be centered on a product itself (Harad). This is the most ideal positioning of a product although it is also the hardest and riskiest strategy to try and implement. It also may take many years to successfully work. Many companies can serve as a model of successful tribal marketing strategies. However, many more have failed. Yet the models that do exist serve as evidence that the strategy can work and can work well. The key to the model is to infiltrate the tribe and earn the tribes trust. If this can be achieved then it can lead to incredible levels of market penetration within the tribe or set of tribes.

The most successful tribes are the ones whose product is at the center of the tribe. The product itself can provide a platform or motivation for group organization. Jeep and Harley Davidson are great examples of tribal marketing and group formation but there are countless others who have successfully implemented such a strategy. Such products are generally considered deeply entrenched into consumer ideas of self-identification. For example, when a person joins the Harley Davidson tribe then that tribe becomes part of their identity. People in this tribe will actually describe who they are by associating themselves with the product.

Another interesting aspect to the tribal concept is that tribes can be artificially constructed (Dixon). In the modern world people move frequently, families breakdown, and communities are less cohesive than they were at one time. As a result of this people are often on the lookout for new tribes to join. Therefore new tribes can emerge quickly and old ones can continue to evolve to account for changing environments. Tribes can be considered as groups of people that are bound together by some form of commonality but these bonds may change quickly. Sometimes the relationships are centered on a product, an idea, or even a geographic region (Gonzalez).

Examples of the New Trend

There exist countless examples of organizations who have implemented successful tribal strategies through countless different variations. A model that three levels of tribal product affiliation has been proposed. The first level deals with products that are functional in nature. Examples of such products are stationary, hand tools, soap, kitchen utensils, etc. It is difficult to use a tribal approach to marketing such products but it is still possible. Post-It Notes can serves as an example of an organization that took a functional product and made is something more than purely functional (Heffernan). Yet the risks associated with developing a tribal approach with these types of products is greater than products that have an emotional appeal. This is primarily due to the fact that tribal marketing is best achieved when there is some kind of excitement generated with the product. Purely functional products are generally not all that exciting to consumers.

The next stage involves products that have some emotional appeal to consumers. Examples of this are any products such as cosmetics, clothing, food items, or any other product whose appeal can be based upon some emotion by the consumer. This category is slightly easier to form a tribal marketing approach to try to become part of the tribe. If a good satisfies some emotional need from a consumer then they are far more likely to share that information with another member of the tribe. For example if someone tries a new chocolate product and really likes it then this experience may be more likely to be shared as it represents a strong emotional response. Then if the tribe accepts the product into their group then it can spread quickly amongst the members.

The final category of the tribal marketing model is the category that represents products that have a strong enough emotional appeal that they actually become part of that persons self-identification. The example of Harley Davidson was already mentioned. However, there are many more marketing examples to illustrate this category. Another strong tribal marketing program example can be provided by Apple Inc. who represents one of the most valuable and innovative organizations on the planet today. Apple positions itself as artists who are passionate about using their digital products to create or inspire (Accelteon). Apple products are incorporated directly into their consumers' concept of their self-identity.

Figure 1 - Tribal Model Examples (Accelteon)

Tribal Marketing Implications for Industry

Understanding the implications of the tribal concept can be difference between success and failure for many organizations. Traditional marketing approaches are undoubtedly having less effect than the ever have had before. As a result marketing professional must understand the most recent developments in research and in the field. The successful marketing programs in the modern environment must be innovative beyond just the message. They must also incorporate the right marketing channels to ensure the message is even heard by the target market.

Tribal marketing channels are one source of reaching consumers that can fit well in a variety of situations if properly designed. These channels are not appropriate for every organization. Products that are functional in nature are most likely unsuited for a tribal approach. However any product that has an emotional appeal and especially those products that are powerful enough to become part of someone's self-identification must consider the tribal approach. This is an approach that can make a marketing campaign extraordinary.

Tribal marketing campaigns that are successful, especially at the self-identification level, can create lifelong brand loyalty among its customers. In some cases the product can also inspire cult like dedication in which tribe members actively promote the products themselves. Word of mouth advertising is becoming increasingly important among the newer marketing channels and customers can become product advocates that can be more effective than other forms of advertising (Godin). To be competitive in this environment means that you need to utilize any innovative idea that you can come up with. Therefore if you can convince a tribe to be a product advocate then they can do much of the work for you through social networks.

Leveraging the Tribal Trend

Leveraging the tribal trend is a high risk and high reward marketing strategy for many organizations. However other organizations gain such status naturally. A thorough internal assessment of the product and organization must be completed before even considering an attempt at tribal campaign. Not only must an internal assessment be conducted but an assessment of the target market must also be accurately collected. For example, your product may have emotional appeal but it could potentially generate different emotions from different target markets.

To create a successful tribal campaign there must be a balance between timeliness, internal, and external assessments. Since the target markets are a moving target, especially with the virtual tribes, a marketing professional cannot delay much between information collection and marketing program development. Any delay could represent a marketing campaign that is based upon dated market data. Since word of mouth can also impact an organization negatively with the same power that it can have with a positive result then great care must be taken to have timely data.

Furthermore since much of the data necessary deals with emotions or aspects of self-identity it is often difficult to get accurate data about a target market. Potential customers may not know or understand fully the emotions that a product facilitates. Even if they do understand the emotional response they are probably not likely to share their experience freely; part of getting accurate data about a tribe rest well within the discipline of psychology just as much as marketing. Understanding an individual tribe's social psychology can offer insights to the proper way to gain their acceptance. The needed capabilities must be added to the consideration of the specific analysis of the benefits of such a strategy exceed the risks associated. The following illustration represents some of the risks and benefits generally associated with tribal marketing considerations.

Figure 2 - Risk and Reward Potential (Accelteon)

Conclusion

Tribal marketing isn't exactly a new field of research. It has been around for at least a decade or more. However new research has recently revitalized the model and it is likely a model that will grow indefinitely. With the emergence of virtual tribes and new ways of organizing and accessing information from tribe members this adds to the relevance of the tribal phenomenon. It is reasonable to believe that an increasing number of organizations will attempt to place their products at the center of a tribe in order to reap the benefits and product loyalties that such a position offers. If successful then a tribe strategy can gather a cult-like following amongst its customers and such a strategy has countless examples of organizations that have been able to achieve this.

There are three basic levels of tribal potential and some products aren't as suited for such an approach as others. For most companies, to consider implementing a tribal marketing strategy requires that they have a product that generates an emotional response. If the product can cause positive emotions among customers then they are more likely to share this information with the rest of the tribe. If a product can then move up a level to become a product that is associated with a concept of self-identification then the product can position itself at the center of the tribe and capture a competitive advantage in its industry.