6 Habits to help you become a more curious (and successful) marketer

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it makes for a successful marketing professional.

To be a good marketer, you need to be three things:

Creative, adaptable, and empathetic. However, according to a report by Survey Monkey and Adweek, one of those traits is often overlooked in the pursuit of marketing excellence. That trait is curiosity.

If you think about it, an effective marketer is one who always has to know more – about the product, the brand, the audience, the competition.

In my experience, not asking these questions can often be detrimental.

Curiosity serves as a foundation for creativity. Curious individuals are often the ones introducing ideas into an organization.

It also serves as a strengthening tool for the mind. The act of being curious, being bold enough to ask questions, actively listening, wondering why things are the way they are is crucial to personal and professional development.

This strengthening helps marketers adapt faster, tackling roadblocks better.

Clearly, curiosity is a quality we should all seek to nurture. Most people think curiosity is a natural thing. But while some individuals are more inclined to it, we can all cultivate curious habits to help us become better marketers.

So today we're going to look at six important habits that are common among curious marketers. Let's get into it.

Start with questions, not answers. 

We’re all guilty of the latter, often assuming the data is going to provide all the answers we need. But it doesn’t mean jack sh*t if we don’t have the right questions to begin with.

If you develop a campaign exclusively based on information presented to you, you’re already constrained by a pre-existing framework built on responses to someone else’s questions.

So, what’s a marketer to do?

Determine what you need to know BEFORE looking at any data. Give free rein to your curiosity. Ask your own questions. And continually assess whether you need more information than what’s provided. This will exponentially strengthen the basis of your campaign.

Ask generative and divergent questions.

Facts are important, but so are the reasons behind the facts. Open-ended, generative questions, which ask about feelings and motivations, help uncover those reasons. So ask these kinds of questions of people you’re trying to better understand, communicate with, or market to.

So, what’s a marketer to do?

Ask abstract questions, like 'what if…?' and 'why did you choose x over y?' Avoid yes/no questions, because they often cause respondents to adhere to preconceived notions.

Be non-judgemental and seek context. 

Judgement! Kills! Curiosity! And with it! Creativity! Avoiding being judgmental doesn’t mean dismissing findings or conclusions because you’re worried about how they seem.

It means you should probe for context surrounding your findings. This can reveal overlooked insights and motivations, or even hidden biases about certain groups or campaigns.

So, what’s a marketer to do?

Don’t think in terms of wrong and right behaviours. Explore the circumstances that may lead people, including yourself, to deem those behaviours right or wrong. Then explore further.

Maximise feedback. 

I get it. Sometimes feedback hurts. But that’s only if we perceive feedback as criticism. As marketers, we can’t take ourselves so seriously. The reality is, customers, clients, suppliers, and colleagues, all supply necessary feedback. Choose to view this as an alternative viewpoint that can help you explore insights and opportunities you may not have considered.

So, what’s a marketer to do?

It's pretty simple--just ask for feedback! It’s crucial to your growth, both professionally and personally. Learn to leave your ego out of it. If it doesn’t make sense to you, ask why until it does.

Take risks. 

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Even if you’re asking the person in line with you at the supermarket why they’re buying that particular item. The only thing you risk really is someone telling you to f&%k off, and what’s that in the grand scheme of things?

Other risks are bigger, like an out-of-the-box campaign. Obviously, that one’s a little scarier. But with great risk comes great reward, or so they say.

So what’s a marketer to do?

Venture outside your comfort zone, and then do it again, and again. Expand its boundaries over time. Zig when others are zagging. Covering new ground is the best way to uncover new cool sh*t.

From curious to competent.

The executive search firm Egon Zehnder found that executives with extraordinary curiosity are usually able, with the right development, to advance to C-level roles.

Leaders may say they value inquisitive minds. But, in reality, we know stressful work conditions and pressure can often stifle curiosity, as will leaders who view it as too risky and inefficient.

Being such an important component to our success, we should strive to take our curious cultivation into our own hands, or risk marketing mediocrity.

After all, you’re not a cat, are you?

-Sophie, Writer