My first exposure to Insane Clown Posse was many, many years ago when this friend, who worked for me as a programmer, brought an acquaintence of his over to my apartment to hang out. His friend was in his late teens, all painted up in creepy clownish makeup.

Photo by Doug Kline popculturegeek.com. Creative Commons.

At first, my wife and I were like… “uhhh… WTF!?!?”

But, as with all things relating to perceptions being different than reality, we got to talking to him and realized that he was a pretty good kid… maybe a little old for Halloween, but hey… we all had our crazy phases in life.

So this guy called himself a “Juggalo”, and followed this band, Insane Clown Posse around.

Being a music guy who appreciates all sorts of genres, I went looking… and this is what I found.

A hardcore rap/metal act headed up by two guys from Detroit - Joseph Bruce aka “J” and Joey Utsler aka “Shaggy 2 Dope”.

Their catalog comprises of some fairly over-the-top lyrical styling about graphic violence, misogynist views towards women, and STDs.

I can appreciate their approach because… well I have this demented sense of humor that shows up from time-to-time. In fact, if you cut a hole in my forehead, a 12 year-old would jump out and run around the room telling fart jokes.

As for ICP, well they’re not my particular cup of tea… not earth shattering art… not too awful (although I realize that most people would contest that statement).

Musically, they’re pretty… well… average. Depending on your sense of humor, funny for a few minutes… some good bass tracks and catchy riffs. But I’m not going to camp out for two days so that I can be first in line to buy tickets to a show.

But here’s the thing… Insane Clown Posse doesn’t care if you don’t like them. You’re probably not their target market. And if you're not in their target market, they simply don't care whether or not you exist.

Insane Clown Posse knows who their customer really is, and they cater exclusively to that customer: disaffected, social outcast young-ish people who are seeking to satisfy their sense of belonging to a group.

Sound familiar?

That’s because it is an age-old theme upon which entire nations have been built - Cult Building 101.

And as a business owner or entrepreneur, you should be so lucky as to have your own cult.

Within the past few years, Seth Godin and Malcom Gladwell have both extensively written about building your tribe. Even Madison Avenue branding firms now embrace the idea of “small is the new big” when it comes to targeting your niche audience… particularly with regard to the internet.

In November of 2010, Wired Magazine did an entire feature article on ICP’s success, and talked about how the Juggalo fan base has grown to the point of sustaining the band’s business entirely outside the domain of the traditional music industry’s promotion and distribution channels. They own their audience, and answer to nobody with regard to how they run their business.

And they’ve done so well with this marketing effort, their indie label, Psychopathic Records, does an estimated $10 million per year in sales.

Okay, so Psychopathic Records isn’t going to be a ticker symbol on Wall Street anytime soon, but hey… not bad for a couple of clowns from the Detroit hood selling fairly average music.

But think deeper… they’re not selling music either.

One could argue that they’re selling an experience… and that could be true to an extent.

I would suggest that they’re selling the very thing their audience craves – that missing sense of belonging to a group.

Once that happens, it becomes the classic, Us vs. Them. In fact, in several of ICP’s songs, they even openly state this philosophy in their lyrics.

This is where the lesson gets really deep… so deep that it is a carbon copy of Robert Cialdini’s classic tome, “Influence”.

It starts at the top of the entire ladder with leadership who recognizes this fundamental: understanding your target customer, and crafting your entire business around that customer.

You're not trying to be all things to everyone - that's where so many business owners fall down. They're so afraid of leaving money on the table by not being inclusive, that they fail to be effective at marketing and selling because of the bland, watered down message that they create as a result.

So many businesses proclaim, "We're customer-centric... We're customer-focused...", and then proceed to engage in Sales 1.0 tactics that broadcast a bunch of product features through soul-less, lifeless sales staff who have as much passion for cleaning out their refrigerator as they do for what they're selling.

Now, I’m particularly intrigued by the fact that in the Wired Magazine article, ICP discussed a fleeting idea about being professional wrestlers, which has an entire marketing study of its own waiting on me to complete.

ICP appears to be moving into the event promotion business with wrestling as the main attraction. Their recent 30 minute YouTube trailer to promote their live, outdoor festival, “The Gathering of the Juggalos”, features a bunch of the old WWF celebs, including Rowdy Roddy Piper, and more.

The Gathering will feature as much wrestling as music this year, with a side stage offering all night standup comedy.

To top it off… The Grand Wizard himself, Ol’ Tiger Blood Charlie Sheen announced that he was making an appearance, and that he was now identifying himself as a Juggalo.

The power of the cult.

You should be so lucky to have one of your own.