We no longer live in a linear world. Simply going from point A to point B is a much more complicated proposition today.This is truly the case in marketing. Think about the traditional classic marketing funnel, the one with a large opening at one end that funnels down to a small opening or point at the other end. The funnel suggested THAT customers start with awareness, move to research, go to consideration, comparison shop and then buy.

Human beings have always relied on one another to survive. From the dawn of man, we banded together to perpetuate our species, to meet basic needs such as protection, food and childcare, and to derive comfort and pleasure from the company of others. This primal instinct to think, feel and act based on the broader needs and beliefs of an extended community still lives in us today. We continue to rely on one another both for tangible needs and intangible needs, such as emotional support and love.

The radical changes in our world are actually heightening the influence of primal instincts on tribes and their individual members. Let's look at the key factors that make this instinct so crucial for brands and marketers today.Our complicated world/lives are making traditional business and marketing models obsolete. It's no news that our time-starved, balance-challenged, technology-fueled lives can be messy and complicated — or that our unprecedented access to information can simultaneously create empowerment and confusion. As we are bombarded with more and more options and decisions to make within compressed timeframes, we turn more than ever to the tribe for guidance and comfort.

The evolution of marketing is well documented. The success of AMC's TV series “Mad Men” highlights and romanticizes the earlier days of mass marketing and advertising. Set in the 1960s, the show depicts a time when a focus group and a martini were all you needed to figure out how best to appeal to customers.

Data are everywhere. Anyone with a smartphone is his or her own (not so private) data point. Technology—and an ever–growing need to track, measure and optimize ROIs—has fostered a corresponding need to analyze and understand data.

It’s safe to say that changes in the economy, technology, business demands and customer needs during the past two years have created a new world for direct marketers.

Measuring the impact of marketing campaigns has become both complicated and enhanced in a multichannel world. Traditional methods of looking at cause and effect relationships between a set of activities and a set of behaviors no longer give marketers a complete or accurate picture of events.

Database and direct marketing have always been driven by tracking, measurement, analytics and in some ways, ROI. Historically, the idea of "brand" has been given a relatively free pass when it comes to direct, measurable accountability.

Data are everywhere. Anyone with a smartphone is his or her own (not so private) data point. Technology—and an ever–growing need to track, measure and optimize ROIs—has fostered a corresponding need to analyze and understand data.