There's Still Hope, Introverts!

"Your son really needs to speak up!"

"Why don't you join personality development classes?"

"Marketing? For an introvert like you? You should take up finance."

"You have a lot of great ideas, Tanuj. On paper they look superb. Just make sure you're vocal enough about them."

     Didn't quite catch what I was getting at? Or may be you did. The above four verbatim comments are few of the many that have tried to deride my personality as an introvert, self-centered, a recluse, and even a laconic social outcast. Yes, that climax got a bit out of hand, but that just about covers everything that many "introverts" like me are subjected to at different points of life. This is no self-establishing, putting-my-foot-down article; just a fresh look at what the world of marketing needs in terms of personalities.

     It isn't necessary that we fall into one particular personality category or type. We can be "divergent", showing traits belonging to more than one type. And that's what often confuses and even frustrates the conformist world around us. I'm not trying to imply that I'm remarkable, but just consider this for a moment: can a person enjoy both - socialising and solitude at the same time? It's quite possible, you know.

     I just finished reading a book called "Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain, thanks to a HBR article I stumbled upon. I couldn't help but connect with the book instantly, primarily because I am an introvert. 

     How often do we see extroverts getting all the attention and introverts being sidelined? More often than we can count, yes? And that's no one's fault. Extroverts have an involuntary longing for attention even while they work while introverts prefer concentrating in silence with less commotion around. Introverts prefer listening to talking, think, sometimes even over-think, before they speak, and attach a lot of importance to others' feelings, relationships and rules. In short, and I'm quoting the HBR article here, "introverts focus on the meaning of events around us, while extroverts focus on the events themselves".

     Then what was that I said about belonging to more than one personality types earlier? Does it apply to introversion and extroversion? Yes, it does. It's called being an 'ambivert', and these kinds of people are the future of marketing. Marketing needs more introverts, those who listen to the customers' needs, rather than just shove the product in their face, focus on customer relationships, which also needs them to be a bit extrovert, and ultimately drive long-term business.

     The customer is king, always has, always will be, and is now more than ever before. Naturally listening to the customer becomes necessary and valuable. The consumer is spoilt for choice. Every day you have someone or the other advertising a price off, websites comparing prices of everything right from handbags to mobile phones to real estates, and the consumer, now more than ever, has a voice, all thanks to social media. Social media can make or break a brand, and the world is hooked to it. Feedback, complaints, online wars are an everyday occurrence now and how leaders react to feedback is often decisive. This is where the relationship-building and feelings-oriented traits of introverts come into play.

     

     We no longer live in a world where all advertisements are monologues. Advertisers are increasingly turning to video and image sharing websites to convey their offerings to their target audience. The "voice" that a customer has now is being tapped to make things go "viral", be it a response of a supposedly "dim" female celebrity, or a World Cup campaign. The patience that is paramount to listen to what the customer has to say exists only in introverts, which is why introverted marketers will be more successful in leaving the creation of their brand in the consumer's hands. According to Susan Cain, “An extrovert can quite unwittingly get so excited about things that they’re putting their own stamp on things and other people’s ideas may not bubble up to the surface.” Gone are the days where the brand manager is the whole and soul of the brand; he HAS to work in tandem with his consumers to decide where his brand is going.

     Most of us are familiar with the Pareto Principle, the law of the vital few, a common rule of thumb in business - "80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers". These "vital few" determine which brands are successful and which aren’t. It is essential to engage in deeper conversations with the few key consumers, which is a classic favourite of most introverts. This even helps forge strong ties and helps in long-term relationships.

     I don't mean to say that extroverts have no future in marketing. In fact, marketing is a field where it won't help you if you're rigidly introvert or extrovert. All I intend to say is introverts can offer more than they are generally thought of. And moreover, their traits are indispensable to business. So let's not confine them to departments where there is trivial human interaction, instead let's build a futuristic society with ambiverts who know when to speak up, and when to shut down.