All marketing is tribal marketing now. Marketers, having abused trust, must market by proxy. Any marketer who tries to speak to customers directly will fail. What marketers can do is help tribes form. All marketing is tribal marketing and this document explores implications of this truth.

1. INCLUDEPICTURE
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MERGEFORMATINET Not sure when it struck me. We were working on a military outreach for Veterans Day. Saying THANKS to brave men and women who wake up everyday to do a difficult job was our motivation. Our work got me thinking of Tribes by Seth Godin. As usual Seth is right on it. Seth is part marketing psychic. Here is how Seth defines a tribe:
A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.
Tribes Pg. 2 All marketing is tribal marketing now. Marketers can't speak directly to customers anymore. Trust is long gone. All customers are over-marketed and underwhelmed. Too much abuse of the
because you can do something doesn't mean it is the right thing to do
rule has wrecked havoc on the old ways. Marketing isn't dead but marketers are. Any marketer clueless enough to speak directly to consumers will learn how to lose millions gaining little.Speaking or selling directly is out yet things are being sold as I type this. Friends, word-of-mouth and recommendation systems have stepped into the void. The best any marketer can do is to provide Seth's
way to communicate
. Seth shares how Senator Bill Bradley defines a movement: Senator Bill Bradley defines a movement as having three elements: A narrative that tells a story about who we are and the future we’re trying to build. A connection between and among the leader and the tribe. Something to do-the fewer limits, the better. Tribes, Pg. 27 When a marketer speaks directly she hurts her case. Our new marketing world requires authenticity, transparency and confidence. Create remarkable things, purple cow things, and tell the truth. But, what is truth. Truth is what customers tell you.
Your cow is purple,
they will tell you,
because of x, y and z.
I've been marketing one thing or another for almost thirty years and customers always surprise. We may have designed X into our widget, but Y and Z are angles only a customer can see. Smart move? Listen and hand over keys to your baby. Let customer drive. More from Seth: The essence of what’s happening in the market today revolves around creating purple cows. Tribes,Pg. 45We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it. Tribes, Pg. 46 When do you know beyond doubt you've reached remarkable purple cowness? When your tribe tells you so. How do you create a tribe? Create a way for your customers to communicate and interact with each other. Provide a platform then listen, lead and get out of the way. Leadership is an important topic worthy of its own post, but here is Seth's thought on leading tribes: If leadership is the ability to create change your tribe believes in, and the market demands change, then the market demands leaders.Tribes, Pg. 22The answer, as you’ve probably guessed, is that there’s a difference between telling people what to do and inciting a movement. The movement happens when people talk to one another, when ideas spread within the community, and most of all, when peer support leads people to do what they always knew was the right thing.Great leaders create movements by empowering the tribe to communicate.Tribes, Pg. 23 Go forth and lead by creating the means for your tribe to communicate. What is the old saying,
lead, follow or get out of the way.
Tribal marketing requires you to lead, follow and get out of the way.Good luck.Martin