Numbers Are Cool... Sometimes
I’ve spent a lot of time around numbers between studying math and working as a data analyst. Here are two things I’ve learned:
- Numbers are cool
- Numbers are deceiving
Let me show you an example of how numbers deceive you in the marketing world…
Pretend there are two marketers, Jason and Jillian, who you debate hiring for your e-commerce business.
Jason says, “My last client saw an additional $100,000 in revenue over 30 days from my emails.”
Jillian says, “My last client saw a 38% increase in revenue over 30 days from my emails.”
Which is supposed to be more impressive? Tough to tell…
Let’s say your e-commerce business makes $200k in monthly recurring revenue. Jason may seem like your better option because if he could make an extra $100k for you, that would be a 50% increase. Better than Jillian, for sure.
But let’s get more details from Jason and Jillian.
You ask them to explain their results further and discover this…
Jason increased his last client’s revenue from $1.1m to $1.2m. Meanwhile, Jillian increased her last client’s revenue from $362k to $500k.
Now, Jillian looks like the most impressive candidate.
Context matters when it comes to numbers.
How you represent them (as integers vs fractions vs percentages) affects how people perceive them. The stories told by numbers differ based on how the numbers are shown. Sometimes, it makes the number appear more impressive. Sometimes, it makes the number appear less appealing.