By Marcia Yudkin

Experts estimate that introverts, people who tend to be more reserved and need to withdraw periodically to replenish their energy alone, comprise at least one-third of the population. Yet some companies are not reaching these people in their marketing efforts since their messaging is aimed at extroverts, people who tend to thrive on social interaction.

As a long-time introvert advocate and a career coach for a clientele of mostly introverts, I have observed what works—and doesn’t work—to reach this market. Here are eight examples of popular marketing pitches that are likely to succeed with the extroverted majority, but will flop with introverts.

Marketing tactics that won’t work with introverts

1. Earnings brags

Screenshots showing amounts of money earned during units of time have become popular in the promotion of digital marketing programs. The underlying idea here is that the monetary numbers serve as incontrovertible proof of the validity of the program being promoted.

Introverts, however, tend to find such evidence unconvincing. First, since they would never voluntarily broadcast their own earnings, this tactic obviously comes from someone unlike them. And the supposed proof doesn’t indicate what they themselves would earn. Second, introverts don’t necessarily accept the word of a braggart. They are more likely to believe data coming from a neutral source, such as a governmental or academic study.

2. Name dropping

Some marketers display photos of themselves arm in arm with famous figures like Oprah Winfrey or Richard Branson. This is a ploy for credibility by association. But to an introvert, this tactic, or saying that one “shared the stage” with Bill Gates or George W. Bush, doesn’t boost one’s standing at all.

Introverts don’t accept the idea of an aura of trustworthiness that transfers to others who have arranged to be nearby. Sharing stories about well-known individuals you or your business have worked with makes an even worse impression on privacy-minded introverts, because they see this as a sign that you don’t respect confidences.

3. Numbers of customers

To extroverts, lines like “200,000 subscribers can’t be wrong!” or “Join the thousands who get their lawn care from XYZ” seem like clinchers. But since introverts care much less about following in the footsteps of the Joneses, this approach has little persuasive power with them.

In one survey I conducted of self-identified introverts, 69% said that the number of subscribers a blog or website had was irrelevant to them, while 21% said that kind of a popularity pitch made them not want to subscribe.

I once saw an ad praising a doctor by saying that he ran a clinic serving “over 20,000 patients.” An introvert may react to this by thinking, who wants a doctor who cares about such numbers? Who wants to be treated as a statistic rather than as a unique patient?

Along these lines, when my survey asked whether knowing that a local financial advisor had received national publicity was impressive, a number of respondents volunteered that this decreased their appeal. One commented, “I don’t want or need a celebrity for an advisor. I simply want someone who understands my needs and goals, and manages my portfolio accordingly.”

4. Saying large is small

Avoid calling a group of hundreds of people “small.” Introverts imagine themselves feeling overwhelmed and lost in a group of that size. To introverts, only a gathering of a dozen or fewer feels comfortably small. They may gear themselves up to attend events larger than that, but it’s a turnoff for them when organizers of an event boast that they’re limiting attendance to create a (supposedly) more intimate ambience, yet the event still constitutes a big crowd.

5. Pressure for a quick decision

Introverts dislike being put on the spot with unexpected questions. They likewise prefer to make decisions when they feel ready, not under pressure.

When a website, company, or salesperson offers a deal with a short countdown or deadline that does not allow the customer to think things through, introverts will do their best to escape and look for another time or a different opportunity to buy that product or service.

6. Talking head videos

Especially if they can read fast, introverts like getting written information. They lack the patience to sit through a video that could just as easily—and more efficiently—be presented in text.

To the introvert, it seems like the talking head in the video wants to gratify their ego by appearing on screen. On the other hand, if a video demonstrates useful information, such as how to do something or how something works, introverts will watch without complaint.

7. So-and-so just bought

On my first visit to a site selling specialized skin-care products, I noticed a line along the bottom giving the first name, last initial, and hometown of customers who had just purchased from the site. Although the site defended the practice when I asked them about it by saying the semi-anonymity protected buyers’ privacy, introverts don’t want their purchases publicly exposed, even to that extent.

While extroverts may feel reassured knowing that others are buying at that moment, introverts would rather know that their privacy is completely respected.

8. Too much personal information

Will you get to the point already? That’s what an introvert is thinking when someone on a video call or face-to-face narrates a long personal story or blogs about trivial everyday things before getting to the business at hand.

Extroverts are more willing than introverts to go along with a marketing guru’s advice to be “vulnerable” by talking about their ups and downs. However, when they reveal certain setbacks like multiple divorces, losing custody of their kids, or a bankruptcy, introverted listeners, readers, or viewers may wonder why they should take that negative information in stride. An introvert would certainly not confess such failures to strangers. For introverts, then, you should minimize personal revelations.

Is it worth changing your marketing?

So should it matter to you whether you alienate the introverts among your pool of potential customers? That depends, of course, on what you sell and whom you sell to. By considering these tips—and perhaps conducting an informal survey of your unique customer base—you can make a more intelligent marketing decision.

Post by: Marcia Yudkin

A long-time introvert advocate, Marcia Yudkin now publishes a weekly Substack newsletter called Introvert UpThink, which exposes the many ways introverts are misunderstood and stigmatized in today’s society. A basic subscription is free.

Company: Introvert UpThink
Website: www.introvertupthink.com
Connect with me on Twitter.