Image via WikipediaThe late great copywriter, Gary Halbert, said that his competitive advantage is a “hungry market.” It almost doesn’t matter what type of product or service you market, if you can get your offer in front of the right group of people, you will make sales. This “group of people” was referred to by marketing people as the “herd.” Get in front of a hungry herd and you will be rich.
In the last couple of years, marketing to the herd lost it’s appeal; not because it doesn’t work, but because the term is no longer acceptable given the rise of political correctness. Who wants to be known as a part of a herd? It sounds like rancher talk. The proper term to use in today’s marketing world is “tribe.” Now they say that you should market to the tribe. Whereas “herd” implies livestock, “tribe” implies people.
Aside from the change in terminology, there is something else going on. I think that we as marketers are digging deeper into the hungry market. Consider the auto market as an example. Marketing to people who prefer European cars is a good segment. However, it is still a little too broad to craft a laser target sales message. After all, European cars include Jaguars, Range Rovers, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and so on. The smart marketer would do well to pick a particular European brand to go after. I’ll say, “BMW.”
People who buy BMWs are part of the BMW tribe. They are attracted to the brand because it represents performance and luxury with an emphasis on performance. Compared to people in the Mercedes tribe, the emphasis is on luxury. So when we market to the BMW tribe, we know to emphasize driving experience above niceties.
The other characteristic of a tribe is that its members are loyal to the tribe. They see themselves as belonging to a unique club. They will defend their membership. Smart marketers can also use this mentality of exclusivity.
These are just some of the things to consider as the marketing world moves from herds to tribes.
