Have you ever thought about how your personality might affect the way you approach your marketing? In this podcast we’re going to figure out how to come up with marketing strategies which will suit your unique approach. First, I’ll introduce you to a model of personality created by Gretchen Rubin, and then we’ll figure out how to apply it to your marketing.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the All-in-Whin Marketing Method. I’ve been working hard at updating my signature course for 2020, and the next cohort opens in February. Click the big yellow button below to get all the details and register for early bird access.
Learning about your personality
I love talking about personality – it was one of my favourite things to learn about when I was doing my degree. Gretchen Rubin’s model of personality The Four Tendencies isn’t intended to describe all elements of a person’s character, it only looks at two specific things.
- First, how do people respond to external expectations (obligations and tasks given to them by other people)
- Second, how do people respond to internal expectations (the goals and projects they’ve decided on for themselves)
Gretchen has researched and written extensively about this framework, if you’re interested in learning more, she has written two great books Better than Before, and The Four Tendencies. She also has a lot of resources on her website and there are several episodes of her podcast, The Happier Podcast, which specifically address the framework as well. Upholders can check out episode 35, Questioners are covered in 36, Obligers feature in 37 and Rebels are the focus of 38.
The Four Tendencies
In the episode, I share three questions I want you to answer about yourself. Each question is multiple choice and has four categories to choose from. Listen to the podcast and have a think about which is the best description of you. Your answers will determine which of the below categories your fall into.
Category A – Upholders
Gretchen describes the first category as people who “respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expectations.” If you’re an upholder, you’ll be great at completing tasks assigned by others, and ones that you give to yourself. You can help make time for marketing by putting it in your diary each week and treating it like any other meeting or appointment – if it’s in the diary, you’re committed. Make sure you have committed time to focus on big picture goals and remember it’s ok to sometimes be flexible and change up your approach.
Category B – Questioners
Gretchen describes them as people who “question all expectations and will meet an expectation only if they believe it’s justified.” If you’re a questioner, you’ll be great at sticking to your own personal resolutions and goals, as long as you believe their worthwhile. As a questioner, you might be thinking you need to go away and do more research before you are ready to put stock in my recommendations. And that’s absolutely fine. Check out the links I’ve given you for Gretchen Rubin to find out more
Category C – Obligers
They do really well at responding to other people’s expectations, but have a complete block when it comes to their own. If you’re an obliger, you are really great at getting things done for other people. Obligers are wonderfully generous people, in that regard, but as a business owner, you need to find a way to spend time working ON your business, for yourself. Find a friend, a coach, or even a virtual assistant, to work with you and keep you accountable. Whenever you say YES to somebody, you have to say NO to someone else, so think about who’s losing out when you neglect to work on your marketing.
Category D – Rebels
The last of the four tendencies that Gretchen Rubin described are the Rebels. As she described it “Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.” I’ll own up to it – I seem to slot pretty firmly into this category myself. If you’re a rebel, like me, then expectations make your skin crawl. If you don’t WANT to do something, there’s a good chance it’s not going to happen. I try to focus on the Identities which I have that are important to me, and whenever I can, I think about the Consequences of my decisions. Sometimes neither of those strategies work, and I spent my afternoon reading on the sofa when I should be recording a podcast episode. That’s fine too. You’ll get there. You do you.
The Four Tendencies framework, developed by Gretchen Rubin, is a brilliant tool for business owners to help customise their approach to marketing. How do you respond differently to internal and external expectations?
Get in touch
Personality and marketing is such an interesting topic, so if you have any questions you’d like me to answer, feel free to send me a direct message. My Instagram handle is @thewhinco or you can email me if you prefer, and of course you can subscribe to Whin Big on Apple Podcasts.
