The element of surprise

I know winter has arrived - it has finally changed from warm rain to cold rain – and in the last few weeks we’ve had a good drenching. 

This brought the inevitable wet floor underfoot and to my amusement there was a sign in my office saying “Wet Floor”. 

Apart from the fact that I’m obviously easily amused, the reason this entertained me was because the sign is there almost every day, and this was the first time I've actually seen the floor wet.

The problem is, the more the sign is used, or any communication for that matter - especially where it shouldn’t be used – the more people tune out of it and begin to ignore it. 

It fails to get cut through.

Whether the communication is for health and safety or customer loyalty it should have the same purpose - to change behaviour.

• If your predominant form of loyalty communication is a points statement, showing points earned, redeemed and a closing balance
• If your statement is sent every month or every quarter
• If your statement is sent with un-targeted inserts or statement messages

Guess what – it’s going to fail to get cut through.

You need to shake thinks up a little and surprise people.