The fun thing about the Internet is that there is always something new coming along. And the really annoying thing about the Internet is that there is always something new coming along.
Being an Internet marketer requires all of us to deal with our attitudes about new things -- especially about things we don’t know much about -- because we run into that situation all the time. Figuring out your Internet personality will help you bring your blind spots out into the open so that you become more effective than your personality would otherwise allow you to be.
So, let’s look at what kind of person you are. Basically, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who break the world up into two kinds of people and those who don’t. No, wait... I got sidetracked. Let me try again.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think something they know nothing about must be hard, and those who think it must be easy. If you think for a moment, you’ll probably figure out which kind you are.
In most fields, this personality trait isn’t terribly important, but not so in Internet marketing. No matter how much you know, Internet marketing constantly puts new things in your face -- things that you know nothing about, at least at first. So, while this might be interesting in a pop psychology Cosmo quiz kind of way, in Internet marketing, the way you react is important for you to understand, so that you know what to look out for.
If you are the kind of person who believes that anything you don't know can't be that hard, you probably have a few blind spots:
You don't tend to hire experts. Even with really thorny problems, such as online ROI analyses, you’re sure that it can’t be that hard. You can do it yourself, right?
You don’t take advice very well. Whenever anyone tries to slow you down, you think of them as a naysayer and you don’t want to be around such doom and gloom. You’d rather work with “positive” people who are as overly optimistic as you are.
You’re not the world's greatest planner. It’s not uncommon to hear you say something like, “Design? We don't have time for that, because we have too many Web pages to create.”
On the other side of the coin is the person who thinks everything new is hard. If that sounds like you, then you probably have a healthy respect for expertise, because you believe experts know what they are doing (and you don’t). But you, too, tend to have some blind spots that can hold back your Internet marketing:
You tend to put off actually doing something. You might think about things a bit too long, gather lots of information, consult the gurus, but then not actually start anything, because it is too risky.
You take “no” for an answer too easily. When you do finally try to get started with something new, you are less likely to be insistent that “we must do this.” You are likely to allow other people to put off the initiative “until we know more about it.”
You see roadblocks as failure. When things go wrong, as they inevitably do when trying something new, you are more likely to throw up your hands and say, “I knew we weren’t ready for this,” rather than just stepping back and trying again.
No matter what kind of person you are (and both kinds explored here are just caricatures of real people), you might think that your way is the best. Or you might automatically think your way is wrong, and you wish you were like those other people.
Instead of patting yourself on the back or pining to be someone else, it’s better to understand your limitations, whatever they are, and to bring those blind spots out into the open. Only by accepting ourselves and being aware of our tendencies can we work against them to make better Internet marketing decisions.
— Mike Moran, author of Do It Wrong Quickly, is a speaker and consultant on Internet marketing.
I think that in order to not have blind spots you need to make sure that you take on a team approach and include both types on the team!That way you get the best of both.
I'm a practical marketer. I can be one or the other, depending on which position is more practical :)
Interesting article! It's the first time to read an article on personality traits on IE. I think it gives birth to good discussion and, as Mary pointed out, a lot of introspection.
Good question, Mary. One way is to make sure that you have something to drive your assessments rather than someone's opinion. (Opinions are like necks--everybody has one.) If you assess your business based on facts and figures rather than just opinions, it tends to make you more introspective because you can't just gloss over where you are falling short.
Great insights here, Mike. But before a marketer -- or any other exec -- can benefit from these views, they must be willing to turn introspective. My question is, How do you suggest getting people to a place where they are willing to look at what they may be doing that isn't to their benefit?
Certainly, supervisor and peer review are key to getting folk to change their viewpoints. But sometimes, a viewpoint is systemically embedded. It can get so bad that the C-level people lead everyone down the garden path because they aren't willing to take a look at what could be mistake or mistakes. We've all seen companies collapse as a result. How do you get those folk on board?
That's it, Terry. it's always baffled me that marketers sometimes spend a lot less energy persuading colleagues than customers, even though you think they'd have that skill.
Interesting post, Mike... I think for a lot of professionals (marketing and others), the world is even more simplistic than you describe: Those who agree with me and those who don't.
What's missing, and what I think you're calling for is an appreciation of our own individual style and an acknowledgment of the style(s) of others (and here's the important piece) adjusting the approach (message, communication medium, project mgmt style) accordingly.
Thanks for the insights, tnieusma. I was not familiar with Locus of Control before your post, so thanks for amplifying my thoughts with a little more schience. It helped me better understand what I've been observing.
Happy New Year and thank you for the very interesting post Mike. What you have said is so true. One's approach to new information, on the internet or elsewhere, is strongly related to their "Locus of Control". Those with a high internal locus of control tend to view new information as a possibility of new things or a challenge to be overcome. Those with an external locus of control may sometimes feel subjected to new information and will most likely be intimidated by the situation.
I couldn’t agree more with the need for people in any situation to be aware not only of their own personality traits, but also of those around them, particularly in their target demographic. If something very technical is presented in a way that is intimidating to those with an internal locus of control, they will most likely not adapt. However, if it is broken into easily digestible parts and presented in basic terms, they will be more apt to embrace your message. We must all remember that on the other side of the web is another person, not just another computer.
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