As I lay there nestled in my bed, visions of sugar plums most certainly weren’t dancing in my head. In fact, I barely slept a wink. I tossed and turned, wondering what treats might be left for me under the tree, and listening attentively for the pitter-patter of hooves on the roof.
When morning came (6am to be exact), my brother and I burst out of our rooms to wake up our parents in a frenzy of energetic shrieks and uncontrollable bed bounces. Once they’d given in to our torment and slipped on their dressing gowns, my father would return the Christmas Day abuse by making us wait at the top of the stairs while he went down to “see if he’s been.” Those few minutes always felt like an eternity. “For goodness’ sake old man,” I thought to myself. “How long does it take to look and see if there are any presents under the freakin’ tree??”
While I didn’t appreciate his tactic at the time, looking back on it I realize the built-up suspense made the experience that much more satisfying. It magnified the element of surprise that I think is the best part about any gift-giving occasion – both the surprise of what you’ll receive, and the surprise of those who receive what you give.
It should come as no surprise then (pun intended) that this element is also important when giving and receiving information. For example, when you’re competing against potentially dozens of other companies for a client’s business, adding some sort of surprise in your message will set you apart from the pack. I am, of course, talking about the good kind of surprise (such as “You’ll be among the first to access our brand-new alert feature that puts the voice of your customers at your fingertips”) and not the bad kind (such as “It’s going to cost you about $10,000 more than we initially thought”).
No matter how crowded of a market you’re in, there’s always a way to stand out with a creative message that your audience won’t be expecting.