The brand with the strongest tribe wins
Why the company started, why you should buy their products…. people want to purchase and brands need to give them a reason to buy, WHY? Why they should buy from you?
Apple has a tribe, no matter what product they release people are gonna buy, It’s like people are waiting to get new apple products one after another. And yes apple doesn’t make a product for everyone if look closely their products are elegantly designed for the Artist or you can say people with a passion. This has been clearly shown in their first advertisement, most people won’t digest their advertisement but once again Apple doesn’t make products for everyone.
They simply people believe “People with passion are gonna change the world”, their “Think different” campaign revolves around this only.
Taking another example, Starbucks, what can coffee sellers bring a culture of drinking coffee, What makes Starbucks super-successful or simply they are lavish coffee sellers. Of course, They are not. They are on the mission to provide a comfortable space for the people to drink coffee, or in a nutshell a third home after their home and office.
You will never found a flat table in Starbucks, there is a round table and what it symbolizes is as important as what it is designed for. In the flat table, there is an optional space between people who are sitting in front of each other. In the case of the round table, you have to face each other in any case, and when you face you talk, when you talk you connect, when you connect you share your belief and when you believe you connect, when you feel connected you own that i.e. Starbucks becomes part of you and you become one. They own your loyalty, which is far more ahead from selling just a coffee or a cappuccino.
Next question, Why do people make a tattoo of a motorcycle brand on their body? A body which they own, which they love the most, why they don’t make a tattoo of any retail store, Yes you are getting it right, It was a Harley Davidson motorcycle brand.
Do you know why people want to buy from these brands? The answer is simple to stand out, Nobody has gonna this much amount of time to come and explain to everyone what they are, what they believe, and further, why should anyone listen to them? They express these by owning the brands which match their belief system. In either case, they have to buy the product, why not go for brands who own them, who believe what they believe.
Belief does it play that much important role to make a company multi-billion dollar brand, who owns people, who have a mission. We have to dig inside the roots of our ancestor’s time, going back in time, where these all belief-complexity origins.
In the pre-historic period, humankind depends upon hunting in order to feed themselves and their family, a woman is taking care of their kids and a male goes out hunting to get food for them, Going out for hunting and leaving only their spouse to the taking of their kids is a risky move. Any wild animal can attack anytime or uncertain risk factors are involved in this. Now in order to minimize the risk, people for tribes with a common culture who celebrate their festivals know what their day to day routine looks like, who have shared their thought process. And now this tribe has a responsibility to take care of their children’s spouse and their family, this tribe owns their TRUST.
We tend to trust people with the common belief system, you simply don’t trust the advice of a tourist besides a man living near your house to own anything. and people leaving near home or speak their language simply gives them the belief that this person is trustworthy, It just feels right.
This is the primal instinct we trust and we believe brands with a common mission. Everyone wants to be a part of the success or something “Larger-than-life”. They join your revolution.
Tesla, a car company becomes a new standard of luxurious car brand, it not only defines what the industry would look like but also how it functions. Before Tesla, there were already established luxury car brands in the market.
Rich people already had safe efficient, luxurious, and status-driven cars. Tesla cars didn’t increase the status of luxury car owners as smart or wealthy. Elon Musk also knew that their early 50,000 buyers had perfectly fine cars. So, he created a car that changed the story for that specific group of people. A story that reflected them as “Tech Geeks” and “Environmentalist”. Well, that is responsibility. Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world!
Wealthy people want to feel different and powerful, and with great power comes great responsibility. Being an Environmentalist is that responsibility and giving them this power is what Tesla is doing with its electric cars.
Buying from a brand is like a marriage between two people when two people with common beliefs are getting together from dusk till dawn, they would share the same value, same belief and most importantly they trust each other. That is why people say you should be a friend with your partner first, and later husband or wife, because a bond of friendship only happens if you enjoy some kind of belief and fun moments unless it’s a business-oriented relation or it’s love. Even in the case of love feelings come firsthand in-order to survive both persons tend to trust each other. And when trust emerges everything becomes a playground for exploring different aspects of relations.
Another great example is a Spiritual cult, A social group, A dog lovers group all form with a set of common beliefs. And same applies to be a part of some paid club member and on a corporate level, Brands are such cult, Companies are those tribes.
