When humans were still living in the caves, we needed to be a part of our community. We didn't want to be part of the conflict. Being part of the conflict involved risk of being left alone. Power of humans comes from groups. We couldn't live alone when there was wild animals trying to eat us. Being part of a community meant surviving. Today we are not living in caves nor trying to escape wild animals. But our instincts are the same. We want to be part of the community. We need our tribe and its acceptance. Teenagers hang out with people who listen to the same kind of music, or dress the same way. It is not coincidence that my best friend liked the same video games as I liked when we were kids. Maybe I chose him to be my best friend because of similar kind of taste in games. We still play the same games together. I bought a Playstation 4 because he also had it and we needed the same platform to play together online. Some PC gamers call themselves the PC master race because they use PC as a platform for gaming. PC is better for gaming, but PC master race is just an tribe for those who think that PC players are better people than those ones who use other platforms for gaming.
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| PC is the best platform for gaming, but it won't make the people better than others |
How can companies benefit from these "tribes"? According to Set Godin, companies should recognize the tribe to which they want to sell their products. For example made to measure suits making company should target those people who are interested in high quality men's classic style clothes. They are a tribe. There is a Finnish website Keikari that posts articles about men's classic style. There is even a forum where people talk and sometimes argue about style or just sell and buy used clothes. That is a tribe which individuals have the same kind of interests. Tribe involves people that are really passionate about something. These people are innovators and early adopters. They try new things that are related to their passion. When these people get exited about something, big masses usually follow them.
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| People waiting for iPhone 7 to be released |
Let's have an easy example. I have always been a huge Pokémon fan. When Pokémon Go was released, I downloaded it right away. There was a group of us who want to know everything about new Pokémon games because it is our tribe. I loved the game so much that I played it for many hours a day. The game got a really big hype. All of us huge Pokémon fans loved it so much that we told about it to our friends and to everybody over the internet. Everyone knew that the game was big success. Without us who were so passionate about Pokémon that we downloaded it even before it was officially released in our country, the game wouldn't have been a hit. There always needs to be those super fans that are sharing the posts of their passion on their Facebook or Instagram page, because without them, the big masses won't even hear about it. If nobody knows the new product, nobody is going to try it. To get these superfans interested, the product must be remarkable.
What does remarkable mean? It is something that leaves a mark. Something that makes people call their friends and tell about it. It doesn't have to be good. But it has to be special. Everybody knows that Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Who else has painted Mona Lisa? Quite many actually. But there can be only one who is the first one to do it. And the first one will be remembered. Be the first one. Doing something that nobody else has done is being remarkable. Eddie Van Halen was the first one who used "tapping technique" and he is remembered from that. Van Halen is one of the most famous guitarists ever, but not because of his technique. Actually guitar teachers say today that Eddie Van Halen uses his own techinque incorrectly. He uses index finger, when actually middle finger is better for the use. How weird is that.
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| Eddie Van Halen using his signature techinque: tapping |
It wasn't a long time ago when some products had labels "as seen on TV". Television was one of the best places to market products. Not anymore. Before internet there was not targeted marketing. Marketers didn't have ways to track what customers needed or wanted. Local newspapers were the way to reach for the individuals in specific area. Tofay we have the techology for that but the knowledge of our emotions hasn't changed.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the theory that has propably influenced the most marketing. Abraham Maslow proposed his theory in 1943 and it is one of the best known theories of psychology. According to the theory individual's basic needs should be fulfilled before moving to the next level in the pyramid. These levels are divided in to five different catefories starting from the bottom and the most important ones.
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| Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid |
Physiological: Includes basic need as hunger, thirst etc. We all have tried to study when in extreme hunger or when bladder is about to explode. Not an easy task. Tired person makes really bad decisions and thus it is not safe to drive a car when eyes are as heavy as bricks. We all know that you should never go to grocery store when really hungry. Our body screams for quick sugar because of the low blood sugar. It is wise to eat something before going to shopping or you can't make decisions. This is the reason why shopping malls have restaurants or coffe shops where to get more energy. Tired and hungry customer is less likely to buy than a satisfied one.
Safety: These needs include personal security, financial security, health- and well being and safety net agaisnt accidents or illnes and their adverse impacts. "Buy more vegetables and stop smoking" say wealthy people to those ones who are poor and without a job. According to Maslow's theory, people who don't feel themselves safe can't make good decisions in a long. At least not as often as people that feel safe. People who are financially safe can make decisions that will protect them in the future. Poor people can't plan their future as much if they have no money to invest in.
Love/belonging: We all want to be loved and heard. Babies cry when they need the warmness of their mother. We all need to get touched and cared for. Free hugs-campaign got a lot media attention because everybody were surprised of the amount of the by walkers who wanted a hug.
Tribes that Seth Godin talked about goes in this catedory. We all want to belong to certain groups and get attention from other group members.
Fun fact: according to researches men with relationship live longer than men with no relationship.
Esteem: We tend to do decisions that make us feel good. Buying clothes that make us look good is a good example. We could use almost anything that we want, but it doesn't grow esteem. People who haven't got love from their parents and those who have gotten physically abused are more likely to suffer from mental issues. Depression is one form of mental illness and it has been our national chronic disease for way too long. Depression prevents affected indiviual from doing almost anything and that involves working and taking care of basic needs. Mental abuse also causes mental illness as much as physical abuse. Don't feed diseases with nasty jokes or sarcasm. They are not polite ways to communicate.
Self-actualization: Final level in the hierarchy. Need to fulfill one's potential. I have said this few times before. I love to develop myself. I need to know more about everything. And I want to see how far I have come. Some people have higher will to fulfill this need than others. Without this need there wouldn't be progress. We all have different kinds of interests but in the end everybody wants to see some kind of progress. That is the reason why we are still studying after 12 years of school.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is over 70 years old and is the first one of its kind. It is no wonder that is has received some criticism also. Theory is not flawless. Maslow even added one more level to his theory. But that is years after he proposed the first version and nobody refers to the newer one. I like the older theory, but I don't think it should be taken too literally. It doesn't explain flow, but it isn't wonder since flow theory was invented over 30 years later. (Viveka asked me to write about flow next time and since it was first request ever, I have to do it).
Hierarchy of needs was one of the reasons why I wanted to study more psychology and it has helped me a lot to understand human mind. We're really complex animals and because of that, there are multiple ways to create succesful marketing. Some people just want to see numbers of prices. For me that is just too boring. I like to see facts and stories in marketing messages. I like to see creativity and therefore unoriginality is a big turn off for me. Being remarkable is something that I want to aim for.
On Saturday our rugby club Espoo rugbyclub had annual gala #iceawards. It was fun to see friends wearing suits. Big contrast to muddy shorts and shirts I see them wearing on pitch. Unfortunately I was getting sick and I skipped the after party. Finally few pictures of the gala. Have a nice week!
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| I'm an Ice Bear |
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| Nice amount of new players in the club |
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