How many people can I piss off?
When I send a really "edgy" email, I get a lot of people to unsubscribe, and a lot of people to order.
When I send a "same 'ol same 'ol" email... fewer unsubscribes. And fewer orders.
Is this strange?
I don't think so.
For most businesses there will be some people who are raving fans, some who are offended, and a whole bunch in the middle.
It looks like this:
---------------
| Raving Fans
|-------------
|
|
| People who
| just like
| to be
| entertained
|
|
|-------------
| offended
---------------
The categories break down like this:
* Raving fans = people most likely to purchase something from you soon.
* People who just like to be entertained = folks who aren't necessarily in the market for your products or services at the current time, but think it might be helpful at some point in the future. These folks sometimes take years to get the right trigger and buy something.
* Offended = Those you rub the wrong way and will never (ever) want something you provide. Sometimes they will be vocal and pissy, but usually they will just unsubscribe, or leave your store, or never come into the store in the first place.
So the objective is to increase the size of the "raving fans" category, right?
YES. If the raving fans are who purchase the most, then your objective should be to increase the size of that category.
A perfectly reasonable business person would provide more value, lower prices, better service, etc.
But soon that tactic provides dimishing returns with high cost.
Then what?
The answer, somewhat unintuitive... is to increase the size of the "offended" category.
When you increase the size of the "offended" category, by the very nature of our universe, you also increase the size of the "raving fans" category.
In other words, you take some folks out of the bottom of the "entertained" category, and some off the top.
Your new box looks like this:
---------------
|
| Raving Fans
|
|-------------
| People who
| just like
| to be
| entertained
|-------------
|
| offended
|
---------------
Without increasing the size of your market, doing any more advertising, working any harder, or expanding your business - you just made more money!
(Just to be clear, the "offended" category includes people who just know they're not the right fit for you - you are simply dis-qualifying some people before getting started, and clarifying your position to those who could potentially be raving fans.)
In other words, don't be afraid to be yourself - be a niche player with a unique voice who pisses some people off. It will only increase your profits.
Travis
PS. Several lessons of Startup Victory are dedicated to finding your Unique Selling Proposition - the magic which attracts the "raving fans" of your market like a labrador retriever to water. Free to try for only 3 more days...