What is the Enneagram?
Internal motivation is a tricky thing to comprehend. It inevitably seeps into how each person thinks, feels and acts. The Enneagram test has taken the world by storm over the past few years, using nine numbers to provide insight into our internal motivations.
Each Enneagram number comes with its own complexities, stress points, growth spots and communication preferences. Every person has a way of understanding and adapting to the world; the Enneagram is just another tool to perceive our intricate personalities.
Here is a quick, and by no means comprehensive, overview of each Enneagram number:
Type Ones are purposeful perfectionists.
Type Twos are giving people-pleasers.
Type Threes are ambitious, competitive and driven.
Type Fours are emotional and expressive.
Type Fives are perceptive and creative.
Type Sixes are loyal and engaged.
Type Sevens are spontaneous, adventurous and scattered.
Type Eights are confident and confrontational.
Type Nines are receptive peacemakers.
Business Sense With a Dash of Personality
Human connection is at the core of marketing and internal work atmospheres. Connecting with an audience drives campaigns, boosts sales and increases a company’s lasting impact. The Enneagram provides a new interpretation to “understanding the crowd,” helping leverage marketing tactics towards a specific audience.
How, you ask?
- Enhancing Human Interaction
Not only does the Enneagram help us understand ourselves, it helps us better understand how we interact with others. While the Enneagram isn’t an all-encompassing descriptor of our personalities, it certainly helps us empathize and recognize others’ thought processes and motivators that might be different from our own.
- New Marketing Tactics
Every brand and organization has to identify and understand its target market: its language, behaviors, lifestyle, opinions and preferences. Creating a buyer persona is a creative way for marketers to keep consumers at the forefront of their marketing efforts. In short, a buyer persona is a detailed description of a hypothetical member of your target market.
A recent study from Cintell on audience personas made the discovery that “companies that exceed lead and revenue goals were 2.2X more likely to have and document personas than companies that miss these targets.”
For example, if you’re selling a home security system, consider appealing to the safety-oriented aspect of the Enneagram six’s personality when creating your buyer persona rather than the carefree nature of the Enneagram seven. If your product or service is achievement-oriented, consider the competitive and ambitious aspects of the Enneagram three in your buyer persona.
- Personal Personality Growth
Everyone loves learning more about themselves. As an Enneagram seven, I enjoy reading about how sevens are spontaneous, adventurous and fun. However, the Enneagram also provides a look into blind spots and stress points. When a seven is stressed, he or she becomes critical, avoidant of negative emotions and restless.
Using the Enneagram to take an objective look at yourself, the good and the not-so-good, contributes to an increased sense of self-awareness. A stronger sense of self-awareness helps to maximize strengths and pinpoint areas that need improvement, fostering better teammates, leaders and marketers in the long run.
Looking for more on marketing? We’ve got great tips for you — from Disney case studies to utilizing TikTok.
By Clairemont intern Anna Beth Adcock, a senior at NC State.
