TribalWorks

One of the things I discuss with clients is that the process of leveraging consumer tribes is often driven by marketing, but will require you to understand the impact within the entire organization.  Hence, we use the term Tribal Strategy to define our work - of which Tribal Marketing is a part.

Here are some areas of the organization that we consider, capture and revise in the Tribal Strategy plan:

• Operations:
  • Product design and development
  • Production methods and materials (i.e. going green)
  • Guidelines and processes for using Web 2.0 tools
• Finance/Budgeting
  • Ensuring the outputs of the Tribal Strategy Measurement Plan will be compatible with ongoing budgeting requirements
• Human Resources
  • Update/review job descriptions to include new required activities (i.e. events, online interaction, etc)
  • Do you require additional staff with relevant capabilities?

In addition, here are some other functions that may be impacted:

• Management Information Systems (MIS):
  • What data do we need to collect?  What are we missing? How do you translate it into the current reporting format?
• Planning: 
  • Ensure that senior management include Tribal Strategy in their quarterly/annual planning process
• Technologies:
  • What technology do we need to add to execute?  Should we bring technology in-house or should we outsource it?

Please keep in mind this is just a short example.  The actual areas of impact and key points to consider will vary depending on the organization and the situation.