Well, first, let’s define who they are.
NCs are data-driven, quantitative magicians with numbers. They see the world of marketing through a budgeting and financial lens and would rather review excel spreadsheets of conversion rates and KPIs in their office than be out in the field chatting with people.
Number Crunchers wake up in the middle of the night thinking of numbers and different ways to analyze the data. If they had to be stranded on a deserted island, they would bring their prized possessions, a calculator and computer.
Just because you’d rather sit in a room and communicate with your computer, not a person, for most of the day, does not mean that you can’t be good manager or team member. Most NCs certainly can be and many are. You certainly have a natural knack for managing numbers but communicating with non-technical people, particularly Idea People, Hunters and Doers, may pose some challenges.
In fact, Number crunchers are a formidable marketing force when they obtain the proper tools and inspiration. So, in my quest to make all number crunchers truly the most powerful and effective marketers in the room, let me share some key tips I’ve learned that hopefully will be helpful.
- Identify your team members’ marketing personality types and tailor your language and interaction style to fit their preferred styles.
This does not mean that you should change who you are, but rather make momentary behavioral adjustments. For example, if you need to explain a table or statistic to a creative and charismatic Idea Person, it’s in your best interest to keep your verbal analytical reports short and to-the-point. You may also want to display a simple iconographic and pause sporadically to let them and their creative juices jump in.
- Ensure you’re open and receptive to inputs from other team members with different marketing personality types.
You know a lot of data and want to share all of it, and for good reason! But, remember that you also have a lot to gain by considering other pieces of the marketing puzzle (i.e., unquantifiable, qualitative data). Client-focused Information Gatherers and Hunters, for instance, can provide relevant on-the-job sales-related research and information on market trends that may help solve marketing debacles.
- The more tools in your back pocket, the better!
Adding additional strategy and brainstorming mode devices to your analytical workbench will make you an unstoppable marketer. One easy way to do this is to shadow a fellow Information Gatherer and don’t hold back. Ask questions and take some evernotes or use your favorite program, excel.
You are the backbone of a great marketing plan. Without data and your analysis, there is no way to evaluate the success of a campaign, progress of a business model and ROI.
But, remember to continually diversify your tool belt, learn new skills and keep multiple channels of communication with oftentimes differently minded team members. No sweat, right?