How to manage consumer tribes

Abstract

This paper reviews concepts of marketplace community, and considers the strategic opportunities and challenges communities present to marketers. Current attempts to operationalise consumer tribes by marketing consultants appear to conflate consumer tribes with brand communities. Alternative guidelines to foster specifically tribal approaches are considered. In particular, managers are advised to facilitate tribal consumers' roles beyond purchase, by offering points of passage and hybrid community platforms within ‘seed networks’. These are fluid and interdependent networks of people, places, brands, objects, discourses, myths and feelings where consumers assemble playful, passionate, and entrepreneurial community around the linking value of multiple products and services. This approach is applied to the board-sport tribes that are facilitated by the action sports brand Volcom. Future research directions are considered.

Keywords:

• community
• consumer tribes
• brand community
• seed network
• consumer empowerment
• Volcom

Acknowledgements

The author extends sincere thanks to an anonymous reviewer who pointed out new literature and generously offered ideas to develop the argument.