The power of microtribes

The Future. Companies have long endeavored to make the most revenue by noticing trends early, betting on them and expanding them for the mainstream in order to capitalize on a larger audience. But now, there’s a new consensus on the smartest growth strategy: focusing on “microtribes” with very specific interests and loyalties, which means that brands will likely start catering to a larger number of small interest groups rather than one, all-encompassing one.

Consumer demand is king
Businesses across industries are learning that optimizing growth strategies for a large general public using things like new products, membership programs, and sales incentives isn’t what’s most successful these days. Enter microtribes…

• Microtribes are groups of consumers with shared niche interests that are more interested in having their specific community marketed to rather than being swept up in the general audience.
• These groups have risen in popularity due to recent years of increased social isolation and social media platforms encouraging users to connect with communities they relate to most.

The future is niche
Companies have long cut costs — and jobs — as a way to protect themselves ahead of a downturn in the economy. Now, they’re doing it out of economic potential, choosing instead to redirect finances that normally would go to marketing budgets for a broad audience to save them for the savvier and more lucrative approach of marketing to more targeted interest groups.