Law of Annoyance

There are many companies out there who base their business and marketing strategies on the Law of Averages. It doesn't work!

Victor Antonio, a marketing speaker, used the analogy of a nightclub to describe the idea of the Law of Averages. You go up to a woman and ask her for a dance, she says no, so you move onto the next one, and the next one until the 14th one says yes... but then a track comes on you can't dance to, so you have to start again. That, Victor Antonio explains, is the Law of Averages. The more people you ask, the better your chance of getting a 'yes'. I see, that makes you look like a desperate dick.

This is the idea behind all those amazingly annoying cold calls you get from about 11 o'clock onwards. They spend their whole day having people scream and shout and swear at them to go away, because they are talking to people who simply are not interested. I mean, who is really going to say yes to double-glazing just because someone called them up in the middle of their lunch.

Apparently, we are one of the luckiest households in the country, we've managed to win £10,000 worth of double-glazing three years in a row. And yet, we still haven't won that damn lottery.

According to Victor Antonio, we should embrace negativity and rejection as part of the marketing game, but why? If you're calling 100 people and only getting 2 or 3 yes, or maybes then how much time and effort have you had to waste to get there. Stop worrying about how many people you've managed to call, and start concentrating on who you're trying to talk to.

As a marketer and business owner, I want to be talking to people who are actually interested in my services. I don't need a radio ad (who the hell can see what my photography is like, let alone remember my web address), or a witty TV advert (a good advert doesn't make me drink a certain type of beer, or buy a certain washing up liquid) or a whole page spread in a magazine (positioned just nicely between the letters section and the sports pages).

If you're out to annoy your potential customers, then by all means keep making those calls - but I can guarantee you'll be the last person they think of when they are looking for a service you provide.

All Lobsters are Red

'People don't want that...'

'If you were a woman you need...'

'When you're over 60 you...'

I hear comments like this all the time. Endless lists of expectations that are more often than not unfounded and without evidence.

Just because a million white, British families enjoy caravan holidays doesn't mean that 100,000 Indian families wouldn't. Invite them along and let them see what it's like. You'll probably find that when they enjoy it, they'll talk to their friend's about it and, before you know it, 100,000 Indian families are enjoying caravan holidays, and that customer base continues to grow.

Recently, I photographed a client as a portrait for her mother's birthday. The client was adamant that her mother would choose a regular 'seen it before' studio portrait. So, I took the studio shot, but then moved into the kitchen and took a few photos there. The client was more relaxed and less concerned about how they looked, where their hands were and what they were wearing.

So, what image do you think the client's mother chose? That's right, her mother went against her daughter's expectations and chose a portrait that was taken in the kitchen, when her daughter was more relaxed.

In truth, it doesn't matter how well you think you know you're friends, family or customers, they can always surprise you. In my case, people want to see a photograph of you, not how you can pretend to look like. If you have a product, and it's not going to be popular to that main section of the bell curve, you need to figure out how to make your product attractive and interesting to the long tail of that curve.

Ignore expectations and go for the unusual option and you're sure to get the best prize.