What Does It Mean to Build Your Tribe?

An important part of any long-term business strategy is to build a loyal base, or tribe, that feels invested in the success of your brand enough to come back again and again. The pool of one-time customers available for your business is not enough to sustain it, so it’s essential to come up with ways to attract people who want to be a part of your business. This task of creating a tribe is not just about buying and selling—there’s a deeper connection that people have with brands and companies when they really allow those entities to become part of their lives. Here are a few of the best ways to establish your business within a community and construct a tribe out of it.

Establishing a Voice

What does your company stand for? Why should a customer come to you for their goods or services instead of another company? What is special or unique about your company? When you answer these questions, you can begin to establish a voice that speaks to what about your business stands above the competition. When there is a shared sense of purpose between the voice of the company and the customer, the reasons for being in business become self-evident, and you’ve begun to build a significant and sustainable tribe.

Making a Loyal Base

Remember that appreciation leads to loyalty, which is necessary for business success. The customer always has more choices than the business, meaning that if they become unsatisfied with the company, then they can simply leave the tribe and go elsewhere for their needs. Therefore, it is critical to never take your customers’ loyalty for granted. A good strategy to maintain a loyal base is to act as if you just established your business yesterday, even if it has been many years. This will keep you hungry to impress customers with your dedication to providing a great product or service and maintaining their loyalty.

Offer Incentives for Loyal Members of Your Tribe

Many businesses take the often-traveled path of focusing their marketing efforts on increasing their customer base while ignoring their pool of long-term customers. While attracting new customers is important for growth, it is equally important to retain the customers you have already in your tribe because they are its lifeblood. Offering discounts and special programs available just for long-term customers from time to time is a good idea.

Building your tribe is an important part of being successful in any business. If you take these tips to heart, you can achieve success in building a tribe around your business that means more than just dollars and cents in the long run.

For more tips on building your business, check out this article: How to Use Local Festivals to Market Your Business