Tribalism: Are You In with The In-Crowd? As humans, the need to belong is essential to us. Most of us have a deep need to feel we are part of a broader community that shares our values and interests. In other words, we need to find our tribe.  Tribes are connections between people that form communities, which can be formal or informal. Sometimes tribes are associated with where you were born and from whom, which are the formal types of tribes. However, they can also be the result of where you shop, what you drive, or which device you prefer to watch your cat videos on. The latter is the informal type—and a significant asset to your marketing strategy.  Some brands have been very successful in fostering tribes. As you may know, I love Apple products. I was in Apple the other day, and I had a sense that it was more like a club than a store. As I surveyed the group, I felt like I was with “my people.”  Now, I didn’t know the other people there. It could be that the only thing I had in common with every other person in that store was that I like Apple products. However, that is enough for me to feel like I am part of the group, the In-Crowd, as it were. Also, that feeling of belonging ramps up the Customer Loyalty. The emotional bond you have with your Tribe that is associated with your sense of self makes you feel emotional toward the brand. The connections that form as a result of these feelings form a foundation on which you can build a strong sense of Customer Loyalty with your product or service. When your brand forms a community amongst your customers, you are also creating a tribe. However, it is almost as essential to have people that are not in your tribe to help your tribe thrive. In some ways, having outsiders makes you feel closer as a group.  In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, we discuss what a tribe is, how they can form, and how you can foster one with your brand. You may discover that the community your customers share does a lot of the hard work for marketing your brand and Customer Experience.    The Intuitive Customer podcasts help you take your Customer Experience to the next level by unlocking the “hidden” aspects of your experience and determining what really drives value for your customers. To find out more about how your organization’s marketing can improve customer loyalty and retention, contact us at www.beyondphilosophy.com. To subscribe to The Intuitive Customer and never miss a podcast, please click here.