Seth Godin’s Tribes
Seth Godin’s theory of tribes is a revolutionary new approach on marketing. In his book “Tribes”, Godin explains the nature of tribes, the characteristics of successful tribe leaders and most importantly, what the advantages of tribes are to organizations. In case you have not heard from Seth Godin’s Tribes theory, I will give you a short overview about his theory of building tribes for your buiness and also share his video with you!
Tribes have four main characteristics:
1. Tribes are communities with a common interest or believe that is shared by each individual that is part of this tribe
2. The individuals within the tribe are connected to each other
3. The tribe is dynamic and changes constantly and also promotes change
4. A tribe needs a leader
Tribes have many forms, but the individuals in the tribe all share at least one commonality. This can be an interest, believe or even something superficial as a certain style of clothing. Tribe members believe in the idea behind the tribe, the leader of the tribe and their fellow tribe members. People want to belong to a group that they can identify with and they are a part of. People want to belong and share their ideas.
Example: This behavior is very obvious when you look at the fans of a sports club for example. They wear the team colors on game day, some even go to extremes and paint their faces and color their hair. They do that so they can show the rest of the world that they belong to a certain group that supports a certain cause. The same is true for the military and a reason for their uniforms is that they need to identify in a split second, whether the person in front of them is fighting for the same cause or if they should shoot at the man. Their common “uniform” is a way to identify other members of this tribe and makes it possible for them to connect. It is very important that the members of the tribe are connected to each other. The certain way of dressing, colors or other means of identification are symbols that make it easier for members of the group to connect with other group members to share and exchange ideas.
The internet and its many applications, such as Twitter, Facebook and hundreds of other platforms make it easy for tribe members to connect, but they are merely tools to make a tribe visible and accessible. In our “connected” age, people tend to be more willing to openly share their opinion, whether it is through blogs, profiles or tweets. This makes it easier to find like-minded people and connect with them. But what creates a tribe is the idea behind it, not the method of connecting the tribe members. Tribes are a movement that is waiting to happen and consist of people that want to be energized. It is essential to know that tribes are dynamic and constantly changing. People join a tribe as long as it represents their commonality and leave it, when it does not any longer. But while they are part of this tribe, they will do anything to promote the idea behind the tribe. The internet makes it easy to get things done, the only thing missing for a successful tribe is a great leader. The internet also makes it easy to grow tribes, but size is not that important, but interconnectivity is. Blogging and twittering tighten a tribe as ideas are exchanged, revised and improved, while other platforms, such as Facebook merely connect people. A blog that has 100 true followers and readers will be more successful than a person with 500 friends on Facebook when it comes to promote change.
Leaders:
Seth Godin says in his book that tribes need a leader and a leader needs a tribe. The difference of a group of people and a tribe is that a tribe has a leader, which motivates the tribe, creates a platform for the tribe members to connect, empowers them and uses the leverage of the tribe to promote the idea that stands behind this movement.
Movement – this word indicates change and dynamic. Tribes promote change through the constant interchanging of ideas and suggestions to improve. They have a dynamic that does not allow status quo. But this does not happen automatically. This group dynamic needs to be channeled into a certain direction and therefore needs a successful leader. As most people see change as a risk, they naturally want to maintain the status quo. But to achieve outstanding things, people need to take risks. Successful tribe leaders overcome this fear and do not care about the discouraging comments they receive from people that do not share their believe. Great tribe leaders all have one thing in common: they are the trouble makers within an organization. They are heretics that question the way things have always been done before. They have the courage to speak up against their superiors and promote change from with, often from the bottom up.
Furthermore, leaders need to be authentic. The tribe will feel instantly, when the leader uses the leverage of the tribe to promote himself rather than the cause of the tribe and will no longer support the tribe. Tribes cannot be bought and that is why they are so powerful. They are true to themselves and the cause they are supporting and so should be the leader of the tribe. A good tribal leader will use the power of his or her tribe as leverage to promote change and the cause of the tribe. Today, everybody can become a leader, even the smallest employee in a large corporation. All they need is a passion to change things, have great ideas and overcome the fear to take risks. True leaders are not managers, they do not tell their followers what to do, but encourage them to come up with their own ideas and share them with others to improve them constantly. Remarkable ideas will spread and if the idea was not that remarkable, at least you tried!
Advantages for Organizations:
Tribes can be a huge advantage for organizations, whether internal or external tribes. Internal tribes can promote organizational changes that improve and optimize the company’s performance. Every CEO knows, that status quo is deadly and will kill any company. Constant adjustment to the market’s needs and improvement are the only way to stay on top. But the fear of change often hinders them to promote change. This change is often brought up by people way down the organizational ladder, as they are closer to the customer and actually perform the work that was laid out in theory by the officers of the company. As tribal movement does not consider hierarchy, people feel empowered and will be more satisfied with their work. They have become part of a team that makes a company successful and want to excel in doing so to support the team. They are no longer human computers that perform mindless task and receive a paycheck at the end of the month for not thinking.
External tribes, which in most cases consist of customers of the company, also provide a huge advantage for organizations. A tribal customer base will be loyal to the company, in good times and in bad ones. Every marketer knows that it is easier and cheaper to maintain a satisfied customer base than finding new customers on a regular basis. But this external tribe will not only buy the product or services happily, they will also market it to their friends, colleagues and family. Word-of-mouth still is the most effective way of marketing and even Google will have a long way to go to become that efficient. Read here, what Seth sais about managing Tribes!
If you want to learn more about Seth Godin’s Tribe theory, watch this video here!
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