The ISFJ Marketing Profile: Spotting/Sensing/Judging Introverts as Marketers
Most marketing gurus prescribe favorite “marketing musts” – outreach activities they deem necessary for any business owner, manager, or entrepreneur trying to survive and grow. Sometimes the “musts” are relatively new tactics like blogging and tweeting, while other times the “musts” are old standbys like cold calling or networking.
My approach is different. I encourage people to be suspicious of any blanket marketing advice that claims to apply to everyone. Why? Because the unique prescriptions do not take into account the human factor, the role of the different people who carry out the marketing advice. Time and time again, I have seen people struggle with how they are supposed to market when the marketing tasks go against their personality.
Much easier than administering a personality transplant is selecting marketing methods that align with your personal tendencies, beliefs and values, tasks that you can accomplish without venturing beyond the limits of your comfort zone. When marketing tasks match your instincts and habits, requiring a bit of effort, you have a much quicker and less expensive chance of success.
To explore your natural marketing style, start by taking the Myers-Briggs Personality Test. Let’s say the test indicates you’re an introvert, someone who gets energized in solitude and tends to feel drained by social interaction. (An extrovert, on the other hand, feels drained and out of spells when he’s alone and recharges with other people.)
In the Myers-Briggs personality system, an ISFJ (Intuitive/Sentimental/Introverted Judger) is a loyal, friendly, responsible, and conscientious person who strives to create harmony at work and at home. Affectionate, hard-working, and cooperative, ISFJs instinctively believe that others have good intentions and are therefore vulnerable to being scammed. They are quietly sensitive to the feelings of others and adept at arranging a tasteful and comfortable environment.
Personality experts tell us that famous ISFJs include Louisa May Alcott, Johnny Carson, William Shatner, Barbara Bush, Charles Dickens, Nancy Reagan, Melanie from the novel Gone with the Wind, and Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
If the Myers-Briggs tests reveal that you are an ISFJ, you may be quite uncomfortable with the idea of marketing, preferring to believe that virtue, skill, and knowledge should command attention on their own. Therefore, your best marketing tactic may be to partner with someone who enjoys being in the spotlight. You, in turn, support the association in ways that build on its strengths, such as:
Organize friendly gatherings that introduce leading figures in your field to newcomers and vice versa
Delivering free, highly interactive introductory teleseminars that get everyone comfortable with challenging topics and each other.
Create and display a video of you effectively engaging with customers.
Let it be known that you are happy to work with people who are easily intimidated, clumsy, or slow to master certain tasks.
Host “meet and greet” sessions in exotic settings, such as museums, yachts, or aquariums
Send thoughtful and perfectly appropriate gifts to people you want to meet.
Maintain warm and lasting relationships with all the people you have met.
Write insightful and appreciative comments on potential clients’ blogs.
Follow up patiently and sensitively with those who have expressed interest in becoming clients but have not yet signed on to the bottom line.
Tendencies to watch out for as an ISFJ include a difficulty saying “no” to clients and volunteer projects, a tendency to become depressed when people don’t respond as expected, and a horror of controversy and conflict. You need a receptive audience and a positive environment to perform at your best and thrive.