Customers Don't Buy Products, they Join Tribes

Marty Neumeier said, “Customers don’t buy products, they join tribes.”

You buy a brand (e.g. lululemon) and not another brand because you are sending a signal to the world, such as:

👉 I have good taste

👉 I value quality, style, function, and fit

👉 I can afford it

You don’t want to be a part of that tribe, you want to be a part of this tribe. This is what it means to be a part of this tribe. These are our values. This is what is important to us. This is what we stand for.

This is true for most of our purchases, whether we are conscious of it or not.

So as brand owners, we need to ask – what does it mean when someone goes out of their way, endures a minor inconvenience, pays extra… for our brand. Why do they do that?

Meaning and identity is really important to consumers.