The Art and Science of Finding Your Tribe

Once you answer these questions, you must answer the most critical question of all: How do these beliefs and behaviors align with the values you stand for?

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Source: Age of Majority, October 2017

What kind of environment do you strive to create across channels? How are other components of your brand mission and identity present?

Source: Age of Majority, October 2017

Visit the “Built for Change” microsite for more insights and resources.

MAKE YOUR PRODUCT AN AFTERTHOUGHT

What and who your customers like — and how they behave — is far more important than who they are or where they live.

Even consumers are aware that brands must rethink the way they reach and engage with them.

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Considering your core customers and their beliefs, take time to do some soul searching for yourself and your brand. Here are some questions to help you spark some inspiration:

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Use your website and other digital properties to inspire conversation between fans and followers. • Have team members participate in conversations authentically; encourage them to answer questions so followers will share their honest feedback and experiences. • Communicate the value of participating in a “community.” Focus first and foremost on the benefit of connecting with their fellow customers.

18%

The vast majority (79%) of consumers said they are willing to share relevant information about themselves in exchange for contextualized interactions in which they’re immediately known and understood, according to Salesforce research. Data is currency for your brand, and you can pay customers back by creating immersive, curated experiences that align more closely to who they are, what they want and how they behave.

The UK

Section Three Coming Up Next:

Rebecca Minkoff started as a handbag designer. Now, she is considered a retail innovator and a landmark figure in the women’s equality movement. Her fashions and marketing messaging all revolve around her new mission to inspire women, bring them together and drive awareness around equality in business. As a result, her stores are now evolving to feature events, book readings and more, to help her accomplish this mission.

Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community is 10 million strong and growing by the day. Why? Because the brand focuses first and foremost on using a passion for beauty and makeup to bring its tribe closer together. Members have the power to even build and join their own sub-communities based on their needs and unique situations. For example, there are groups dedicated to different skin types, hair textures and even beauty trends like “Glitter Enthusiasts.” In these groups, it’s all about bringing likeminded people together; the products come up organically and in context of interpersonal conversations.

• Develop partnerships with experts and influencers within your category. • Don’t rely on big-name celebrities to build word-of-mouth for your brand. Look for “micro-influencers” with smaller communities that have the passion and expertise you need to craft compelling content and experiences. • Tap consumer and influencer input to identify and prioritize brand partnerships, tailor e-Commerce experiences and curate assortments.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Winning retailers use digital properties to establish their brand promise and integrate that story into their stores.

21%

When it comes to time and dollars, consumers are feeling stretched. Their attention is being pulled in a multitude of directions — between work, family and personal wellness. As a result, consumers are focusing less on things and more on experiences.

What is your mission from a customer service and experience standpoint?

Where consumers are most receptive to brands communicating positions on social and political issues:

FACT: Consumers want brands to stand for something.

Brands must look much deeper to capture the essence of who their consumer is and what truly matters to them. After all, they could be severely overlooking a group of shoppers that may add unprecedented value to their business. Consider this:

of consumers said brands should make it easier for buyers to know their positions on important issues.

Retargeting campaigns

Email campaigns

What makes your brand story and history unique?

LUSH has developed a loyal following due to its cruelty-free products, and for creating products that align with specific social and environmental causes. The brand’s UK division made the headlines recently for shuttering all of its social media accounts. LUSH Cosmetics UK revealed that it no longer wants to “fight algorithms” to connect with customers, and instead wants to support the return of “old school” customer service.

Is your business involved with any charities or philanthropic organizations?

Create your own community.

FOSTERING YOUR TRIBE IN A POST-DEMOGRAPHIC WORLD

12%

• Capitalize on what makes you different from competitors. • Don’t be afraid to go all-in on an issue that makes sense for your brand and resonates with target customers. • Be transparent with consumers. Use social media and different forms of outreach to show how you’re practicing what you’re preaching.

It is imperative that you are global out of the gate; find your tribe wherever they are in the world and be prepared to compete against global brands.

Innovation is a culture, not a strategy; foster a community that encourages communication and collaboration and rewards innovation.

A New Wave of Disruption Is Coming

Under 35

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

How Retailers Can Build a Passionate Customer Community

Shopper Behaviors Will Only Continue to Change

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phone

What lifestyle are they trying to lead?

Reinventing your experiences and telling more compelling stories is central to surviving and thriving in this new era of retail. If your brand only focuses on implementing the “sexiest” new technology and using social media to post funny memes, your consumer base will quickly see through these shallow attempts at capturing attention.

Hover over the countries.

Embrace A Mission That Matters

EMBRACE A MISSION THAT MATTERS

When people hear “sporting goods” or “athletic wear,” Nike is often the first brand that comes to mind. It isn’t just known for its product innovation and its headline-grabbing sponsorships; it’s known for creating services and experiences that bring fitness freaks together. The brand has several apps dedicated to just that, including Nike+ Run Club and Nike Training Club. Although the brand is front and center, its products are nonexistent in context of the app experience.

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The subscription fashion market is heating up. Rather than quivering at the rise of new players like Le Tote and Stitch Fix, Rent the Runway has expanded into new categories. In addition to leading in formal rentals, they are trying to encroach on competitors' tribes by offering more everyday apparel rentals and even formal children’s apparel. They use data to continually create relevant and immersive shopping experiences, and they leverage their personalization prowess to engage and expand their tribe.

Source: #BrandsGetReal: Championing Change in the Age of Social Media

EMBRACE WHAT MATTERS

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Read on to learn how you can embrace a “tribal mindset” by either adding value to an existing community or building your own. Then, get an inside look into other brands’ approaches and uncover best practices that you can apply to your business.

Read through the other steps and learn how to create an organization that's built for change.

TAKE A STANCE ON AN ISSUE

Having purpose — and an underlying mission — should become the foundation of everything you do, everything you share and everything you sell. Moreover, purpose is central to demonstrating your brand’s authentic relevence to a group of like-minded consumers and to nurturing a community that shares your purpose.

IT’S TIME TO GET STARTED

62%

Online giants like Amazon and Jet.com have redefined convenience. They have built their businesses on broad assortments, highly intelligent pricing algorithms and best-in-class fulfillment operations. They have set a new standard, allowing anyone in the world to get a product whenever and wherever they want it — even within an hour of hitting the “purchase” button.

What and who your customers like -- and how they behave -- is far more important than who they are or where they live.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

This iPaper is the third in a series of six, where we’ll delve into each of the steps you must take in order to cultivate a culture of positive change and empower your team to successfully, and passionately, conquer this disruptive era.

Source: 2018 Edelman Earned Brand Report

Nordstrom is investing heavily in its Local store concept, which is melding the traditional brick-and-mortar experience with more high-touch selling and service experiences, uber-fast fulfillment options, and services such as tailoring and alterations. The retailer is also allowing Trunk Club members to have in-person meetings with stylists, which is bringing the richness of the digital shopping experience to the store.

The US

want companies to take a stand on social, cultural, environmental and political issues they care about most.

Connect To Resonate

It is imperative that you are global out of the gate; find your tribe wherever they are in the world and be prepared to compete against global brands.

• Find ways to bridge the gap between digital and the store. • Offer services that will add value to consumers’ lives. Start by providing ease, convenience and even delight to the store.

Innovation is a culture, not a strategy; foster a community that encourages communication and collaboration and rewards innovation.

They’re being bombarded by so many marketing messages that it’s making them jaded. Or even worse, completely fed up. It’s time to do something more, something far more meaningful, when connecting with your customers. Add value. Inspire them. Connect them to a community that makes their lives richer and brighter.

175%

Tech DNA does not begin and end with the customer experience: it drives everything.

Leading retailers we studied invest in relevant experiences that directly align to target customers’ expectations, history and values as a key tenet of sustainable loyalty.

14%

They embrace digital channels to reach a more targeted subset of the market.

FINDING YOUR TRIBE IS KEY TO...

According to Edelman Research, 56% of consumers believe that marketers spend too much time trying to push them to buy and not enough time thinking of ways to make consumers pay attention. This sentiment is even stronger in western or westernized countries.

TRANSFORM YOUR STORES INTO COMMUNITY HUBS

Winning retailers use digital properties to establish their brand promise and integrate that story into their stores.

[Consumers] want to buy on beliefs. They want brands to stand up on issues that matter to them. Two-thirds literally say, I will buy a brand or I will boycott a brand if they stand up on issues.

Leading retailers we studied invest in relevant experiences that directly align to target customers’ expectations, history and values as a key tenet of sustainable loyalty.

Join and be a valuable member of an existing community.

60%

Aerie has taken a firm stance on body positivity. It was one of the first brands to vow to stop Photoshopping ads and has focused extensively on model diversity. When Aerie first made these pledges, it was a bold move for the category (lingerie), which helped the brand stand out from competitors like Victoria’s Secret.

• Reach out to your customers. Ask for their feedback to see what issues and causes are top of mind. • Look for alignment with your brand’s mission and the causes you’ve supported in the past. • Drive tangible change by altering your corporate strategies and practices. This will show that your “public stance” isn’t just a marketing ploy.

CONNECT TO RESONATE

What are they passionate about?

FIND YOUR TRIBE: BUILD IT OR JOIN IT

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Huckberry was created to be equal parts store, magazine and inspiration. The brand’s online experience is tailored using input from real adventurers — from wildlife adventurers to environmental activists. Products are curated based on their feedback and include commentary on the participants’ experiences and passions for the Earth. It’s a great example of tapping an existing, passionate community, while also fostering an entirely new one within the context of the e-Commerce experience.

Tech DNA does not begin and end with the customer experience: it drives everything.

Establishing a relevant value proposition.

Driving long-term loyalty and recurring revenue.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

WHY ARE THESE NEW BRANDS SO SUCCESSFUL?

• Determine what lifestyles, hobbies and activities align with your brand. • Think of the experiences you can create and the services you can offer across channels to support specific lifestyles. • Make your products an afterthought — or nonexistent — in these experiences; wait for your customers to opt in to get more information or show interest in more shopping-oriented tasks.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Source: Accenture

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WHAT CAN YOU DO?

It’s no secret that as an industry, we are tasked with navigating — and responding — to greater change than ever before. Not only are the disruptions themselves significant, but the rate at which these changes are happening has accelerated. Although it feels like the sources of change and disruption are multiplying, we’ve found that they typically fall into three core megatrends.

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People — of all ages and in all markets — are constructing their own identities more freely than ever. As a result, consumption patterns are no longer defined by ‘traditional’ demographic segments such as age, gender, location, income, family status and more.

none of the above

MEGATREND 3

India

• Collaborate with charities, non-profits and other organizations that align with your brand’s values and mission. • Partner to develop a strategy for in-store events and omnichannel marketing campaigns that will raise awareness and generate buzz. • Don’t let partnerships be “one and done.” After events and campaigns reach their completion, find ways to turn collaborations into true partnerships.

The path to building a scalable, successful retail business isn’t what it used to be. Rather than focusing on brick-and-mortar first, cutting-edge brands are starting online and then building digital, hyper-local communities.

COMING SOON

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DISRUPTION IS REAL. AND IT’S A REAL PROBLEM.

MEGATREND 1

What experiences and events do they invest in?

How do your customers spend their time?

be global early

WHAT’S POST-DEMOGRAPHIC CONSUMERISM?

WHAT THEY DID:

foster an innovation mindset

55 & Older

Retailers must prepare for “recombinant innovation,” which is the practice of using and recombining existing technologies to form completely new experiences and use cases. The key to adapting? Having a foundational technology platform to build upon.

Section Two Coming Up Next:

a radical change in an industry, business, strategy, etc. especially involving the introduction of a new product or service that creates a new market.

The Art and Science of Finding Your Tribe:

FIND YOUR TRIBE

Source: Sprout Social

“Belief-driven buyers” have major spending power and influence... and they’re making their presence known.

LOOK BEYOND THE BASICS

Up to 64% of consumers said they are buying from or boycotting brands based on a company’s stance on a social or political issue, according to Edelman research. Rather than looking at this as a potential problem for your business, look at it as an opportunity to build closer connections with the people who have similar beliefs and values.

If that’s not reason enough for you to stand for something, Kantar Consulting found that brands with a high sense of purpose have experienced a brand valuation increase of

WHAT THEY DID:

Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman

YOUR CUSTOMERS HAVE NO SHORTAGE OF BRANDS TRYING TO SELL TO THEM.

Below are key best practices that will help you in either scenario. There are also examples of brands that have seen success implementing these principles.

The megatrends driving industry disruption bring to light one new reality: Because consumers have access to more options than ever before, the notion of being a “one-stop-shop” is gone forever.

38%

In this era of post-demographic consumerism, there is more opportunity than ever to build and support a diverse tribe that revolves around your brand story and culture. But before investing, there are a few key questions you should consider in order to understand your customers on a deeper level:

Additionally, marketers and brands are no longer the tastemakers and trendsetters. People gravitate to influencers and others who align with their values, their tastes and to the sensibilities of their tribe, with demographics playing a far smaller role than ever before.

WHAT THEY DID:

86% of marketers overestimate how much consumers under the age of 35 spend, while 72% underestimate how much consumers 55 and older spend.

CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY

find your tribe

WHAT THEY DID:

Part of creating an engaged brand tribe is being authentic; creating authentic experiences that encourage authentic connections. To do this successfully, you must sometimes put sales aside and focus more on education and empowerment.

21%

65%

More specifically, a tribe is:

How do you strive to connect with consumers, whether they’re buying from you or not?

of consumers said CEOs should engage with social and political issues, while 52% extended that to other executives.

Push notifications

What social, economic and/or environmental issues matter most to your executive team?

CREATE IMMERSIVE, CURATED EXPERIENCES

What was important to your founders? How did this set the foundation for the brand?

Social ads

To better understand how these trends are impacting the industry, we’ve studied dozens of retailers — retailers from different categories, pursuing a variety of target customers, and retailers executing different growth strategies. Through this analysis, we found the organizations that are thriving in the era of constant disruption display a consistent set of behaviors and practices. We were able to break these methods into six key steps that we believe every retailer should follow in order to create an enterprise built for change.

In the past, it was considered brand suicide if you took a stand on a controversial issue or developed a position on a political cause. Consumers today are looking for a brand that speaks... They’re looking for a brand that speaks to them on a deeper level and connects them to people who have similar beliefs and values.

Belief-driven buyers are “deeply connected” to brands with purpose and “are more willing to buy their products, stay loyal and defend them than the average consumer,” according to research from Edelman. The survey also found that belief-driven buyers were the majority in every market, age group and income level.

Find Your Tribe

47%

be digital first

In the context of commerce, it’s about connecting your brand to its own — or an established — way of life. We’ve found that in a world of endless choices and competitors who are quick to steal your thunder (and your business), finding your tribe is crucial.

develop Tech-DNA

print advertising

WHAT THEY DID:

Nurturing authentic relationships.

Section Four Coming Up Next:

Once you establish alignment between your customers’ values and beliefs, and those of your brand’s, you can determine the best way to find and engage your tribe.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO FIND YOUR TRIBE:

59%

social media

SAY GOODBYE TO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL RETAIL

FACT: Consumers want values to be present (and consistent) from the top, down.

58%

You may think you already have a set community based on data you have about your customers. You may find that most, or the vast majority, of consumers fall into a specific demographic group — either by gender, age or location. While demographics are certainly part of finding your tribe, they are no longer the primary identifier. We’re now in the age of Post-Demographic Consumerism.

MEGATREND 2

64%

tv/radio

disruption

Traditional Approaches to Growth Are Dead

• Use customer behaviors, feedback and even user-generated images to add fuel to your data arsenal. • Allow people to easily access peer data and information, so they can make more informed decisions. • Create an online shopping experience that allows people to search as broadly, or as specifically, as they need. • Use what you know about your customers, including browsing and buying behaviors, as well as survey, social and service feedback, to further tailor product recommendations and outreach across channels.

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of global consumers prefer to purchase from companies that reflect their own values and beliefs ... and will avoid companies that don’t.

They use innovative content and engagement tactics to foster communities that share a core set of interests, beliefs and behaviors. Most importantly, they continually contribute to and empower these communities, resulting in deeper, more meaningful relationships.

Source: Accenture

“Finding Your Tribe” is all about knowing who your ideal customer is and fostering a community around them.

WHAT THEY DID:

63%

64%

175%

DO SOME (BRAND) SOUL SEARCHING

Visit the “Built for Change” microsite for more insights and resources.

WHAT THEY DID:

find your tribe

Put simply: the explosion of choice proves you can’t be everything to everyone. This is especially true in an era when consumers expect the brands they buy from to add value to their lives.

“A social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.”

Building an authentic brand story.

What are their core beliefs?

CONNECT TO RESONATE

Source: U.S. 2018 Edelman Earned Brand Report: “Brands Take a Stand”

Delight Customers

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be digital first

National brands and department stores that have lived by the “one-stop-shop” mantra are being picked off, one by one. Meanwhile, more focused niche brands are thriving.

Unsurprisingly, 84% of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business, according to Salesforce research. In-store events, classes and other experiential retail practices can help shoppers feel the sense of community and understanding they now crave.

25%

Delight Customers

be global early

3/6

foster an innovation mindset

24%

develop Tech-DNA

over the past 12 years compared to the median growth rate.

The opportunities are plentiful, and the benefits are undeniable.