How to dance to your own tune?
Life at the juncture of PACE and PAUSE
Last time at an Above and Beyond show I saw the crowd dance to their tune for 2 hours. Then the crowd asked for an encore. They had to oblige. So they played for half an hour more. The crowd loved it. More merchandise was sold. More booze followed. More joined the fan base. It was a give-and-take process. Both the DJs and the fans got to stroke each and in the process became closer.
Marketing is something similar. It means dancing to the tune of the consumer. If not then a brand is out of the buying consideration.
The essence of marketing is about getting closer to the customer. That happens best through a give-and-take policy.
So, while the marketers dance to the tune of the consumers, they in turn make consumers dance to their tune too.
Today the tune of marketing is very fast-paced. After all, it is the era of EDM (electronic dance music).
The name of the tun is FOMO. Fear of missing out.
FOMO is a marketing tactic that convinces consumers to take action fast. That’s what is making them buy, decide and consume fast.
If they are not seen with a certain product at a certain time, they feel left out.
Human beings are social animals. They like to belong to a group of people. Be appreciated. Loved. Praised. Keep them away from people and they will go insane in a matter of a few days. Solitary confinement was designed based on that insight.
So on what does fear of missing out depend?
Most of it hinges on the marketed idea of how to keep up with the world.
And who decides what to, how to, and at what pace to keep up with the world?
Marketing. FOMO marketing.
Oh, you are not wearing the latest shoes from Vans? Oh, you are not investing in crypto? Oh, you have not yet changed your phone? Did I see you in the same t-shirt last week? How many pairs of shoes do you have? Get done fast. Limited period deals. Etc. etc. the rabbit hole.
Pace is damaging.
Think about these.
Fast fashion. The fashion industry is now categorized into slow, fast, and ultra-fast fashion. It indicates the frequency of new merchandise being brought to the shop floor. Zara, the Spanish fashion giant, created the category of fast fashion. They bring new merchandise every 2 weeks. And Zara fans must buy every time that happens. Even if they don’t need them. Some Indian apparel brands have introduced ultra-fast fashion.
What is this leading to? Overconsumption.
Apparel production is the 2nd largest polluter in the world, you can imagine the damage that it is doing. That pace of consumption is damaging to the planet. Deadly to the consumer as they stretch their wallet beyond their means.
Fast food. There is a category called fast food. I never understood the concept. Food is food. We must give some time for the acid in our saliva to break down food for us to get the best taste out of it. We must allow the receptors of the taste buds to send the signal to our brain and decipher the taste.
Instead, here is what happens.
We eat, both, slow-food (if there is such a category) and fast-food fast. Our mind is racing in many directions. Except not towards the food we are eating.
Fast delivery. Time-bound home delivery of goods is a whole new segment. There are categories in that too. Delivery within 15 mins or 20–25 mins. Meanwhile, a few delivery boys skip their meals and don’t rest enough. They become delusional and meet with accidents.
Fast delivery leads to two types of damage.
It puts the lives of the delivery heroes in danger. And it makes us less organized. We can order what we want when we want. No planning is required.
Build fast. Fail fast: The world of entrepreneurship has caught up to the mantra of doing things fast too. They ask you to quit your 9–5. Give yourself a year. Burn yourself out to become borderline delusional in building a business. Because you should build fast and fail fast.
Why not take it slower? Start a side hustle along with your 9–5? Test the ground. See if you are made for it and then take the plunge.
But no.
We belong to a group and everyone in the group is doing it. So let’s do it.
So what has FOMO done to us?
It has tuned us to react fast and react more and think less.
Very often we don’t know why we abuse. We don’t know why we emptied our wallets over the weekend while shopping. We don’t know why we enroll in courses that will never take our careers to greater heights.
We don’t think because we are bombarded with close to 1000 plus ads a day. That numbs our thinking process.
Welcome to the 5th P of marketing. PACE!
So does pace make marketing more effective?
When we walk or run faster than we should, we fall on our faces. Literally and Figuratively.
That’s what has happened to the health of the world.
The vicious cycle of fast consumption and overconsumption has led to an unhealthy and warm world beyond imagination.
So, there needs to be an antibiotic for pace.
Pause could be the one.
Take a step back. Pause before an action.
Stepping back has spiritual significance for me. Along with science, I studied spirituality for 3 years in college. No, I am not a wacko. Yet.
Stepping back means taking a brief pause before taking an action.
Simple.
It allows you to ask the following questions:
Do I need to do this?
- Do I need to swear?
- Do I have to eat that surgery doughnut because some crazy self-help guru has told me it is alright to indulge?
- Do I need to be a rebel for the heck of it?
- (you can ask the rest of the questions as it suits you)
Why should I do it?
- Should I quit my 9–5 job and get into entrepreneurship?
- Should I (you can ask the rest of the questions as it suits you)
How else can it be done?
- How else can I conduct market research?
- How else can I communicate the product benefit more effectively?
- How else can I bring more meaning to my life through work?
Pausing to ask these questions does magic.
This pause is akin to that 30 secs rest we get between a cross-fit set. It recharges our bodies.
In this case, it will recharge our minds to think better and think clearer.
For 11 years the fast-paced world of marketing made me abuse a situation and people without much reason. Abusing never helped a situation. It made it worst. But it gave me a fake sense of control and triumph. So I did it. Then I started to pause before abusing. It showed me that abuse had no use. Now I pause often and abuse less.
It took me 3 years of decision-making time to get into entrepreneurship. Many of my friends got into it quickly. Pausing from following them made me think deeply. I wasn’t ready for entrepreneurship. Also, I needed the financial backup before hedging my bet on entrepreneurial success (whatever that means).
So I still keep my happy 9–5 job and do my side hustle. That’s the game that suits me.
The pause makes us take control of our life. At least to an extent.
The Pause makes us dance to our tune.
Not to the tune of the world. Or marketers. Or anyone else’s.
When my entrepreneurship mentoring program didn’t work I paused. Several well-wishers asked me to keep going. Yes, I did. But through pauses.
It made me redesign the curriculum. It helped me invent my philosophy of information management. The 3 layers of the learning system.
So pause before taking action or between actions and you will dance better.
