In a world where businesses are exposed to hundreds of messages, emails, advertisements, presentations and sales approaches every week, one of the greatest challenges is not necessarily persuading someone. It is getting their attention in the first place.

This is where novelty and surprise become powerful.

Human beings are naturally sensitive to things that are new, unexpected or different from the pattern around them. When something breaks with what we were expecting, attention returns. We look again, listen more closely or try to understand what has changed.

For MSPs, this has important implications. Much of the IT industry uses remarkably similar language, imagery and sales approaches. Websites promise proactive support, peace of mind, trusted partnerships and enterprise-grade security. Presentations follow familiar formats. Sales emails often sound almost interchangeable.

There is nothing inherently wrong with these messages, but familiarity creates a problem: when everything sounds the same, very little is remembered.

Novelty and surprise offer a way to break through that familiarity. The key is understanding that being different is not enough. The most persuasive use of novelty combines something unexpected with something relevant and genuinely valuable.

Why The Brain Notices What Is New

Novelty is not simply a marketing concept. The human response to new information has deep roots in the way attention, learning and memory operate.

Research by neuroscientists Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel used functional brain imaging to investigate responses to novel images. Their work found that genuinely novel stimuli engaged areas including the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, regions associated with dopamine and reward-related processes.

The significance is not that every new idea automatically creates pleasure or guarantees better memory. The more interesting point is that the brain appears to treat novelty as information potentially worth investigating.

That makes evolutionary sense.

For most of human history, a change in the environment could be important. A new sound, unfamiliar object, unexpected movement or sudden change might represent an opportunity, a threat or information that required learning. Ignoring everything unfamiliar would not have been a particularly effective survival strategy.

Modern life is obviously very different, but the underlying tendency to notice change remains.

This is why a surprising statistic can wake up a room during a presentation. It is why an unusual piece of direct mail may be opened while a conventional brochure is ignored. It is why a genuinely different perspective on a familiar business problem can generate far more interest than another repetition of advice people have heard many times before.

For MSPs, the practical lesson is not that every communication needs to be shocking. It is that attention is easier to gain when the audience cannot completely predict what is coming next.

Novelty, Surprise And Distinctiveness Are Not Quite The Same Thing

Although they are closely connected, novelty, surprise and distinctiveness work in slightly different ways.

Novelty concerns something new or unfamiliar. A prospect may encounter an idea, service, format or experience they have not seen before.

Surprise occurs when something differs from what was expected. A client might expect a technical quarterly review and instead receive a clear, commercially focused discussion that helps the leadership team make better decisions.

Distinctiveness is about standing apart from the surrounding context. Something does not necessarily have to be completely new to be distinctive. It simply needs to contrast meaningfully with everything around it.

This last point is closely associated with the work of German psychologist Hedwig von Restorff. Her research gave rise to what became known as the von Restorff Effect or Isolation Effect: the tendency for an item that stands apart from surrounding items to have an advantage in memory.

For an MSP, this raises a useful question.

If a prospect looks at five MSP websites in one afternoon, what will they remember about yours?

If all five businesses use photographs of smiling people wearing headsets, describe themselves as trusted partners and promise proactive support, technical expertise and peace of mind, the prospect may struggle to distinguish one from another.

The answer is not necessarily a dramatic redesign or a deliberately controversial message. Distinctiveness can come from greater specificity.

An MSP that says, “We provide proactive IT support for growing businesses” sounds competent but familiar.

An MSP that says, “We help manufacturers keep production running when ageing systems, cyber risks and unplanned downtime threaten the factory floor” immediately feels more specific.

The second message is not unusual because it is louder. It is distinctive because it understands a particular world.

Why Surprise Makes People Think Again

The brain is constantly making predictions.

We anticipate how conversations will develop, what an email is likely to contain, how a sales meeting will begin and what a supplier will probably say next. These predictions make life more manageable because we do not need to analyse every familiar situation from the beginning.

Surprise interrupts that process.

Researchers studying prediction error examine what happens when reality differs from expectation. Research into novelty and memory increasingly considers novelty within this predictive framework: prior expectations can influence whether something feels novel or surprising and how that experience affects learning and memory.

This is important because it shows why surprise can be useful in persuasion. A well-judged surprise makes someone reconsider their existing assumptions.

Imagine a prospect who believes all MSPs are broadly the same.

During a sales process, one provider immediately starts talking about its services and credentials. Another spends the first meeting asking commercially intelligent questions, then returns with a simple visual map of the operational risks discussed and three questions the prospect should ask every MSP being considered, including them.

That second experience violates the prospect’s expectations in a positive way.

The surprise is not a trick. It comes from receiving more thought and more value than expected.

That is a form of surprise with substance.

The MSP Industry Has A Familiarity Problem

Technology changes rapidly, but much of the language used to sell technology changes remarkably slowly.

This creates an interesting contradiction. MSPs work in an industry built around innovation, yet their marketing can sometimes be highly predictable.

The same stock images appear repeatedly. The same claims are made. The same content topics return in slightly different forms.

“How To Protect Your Business From Cyber Crime.”

“Why Your Business Needs An IT Support Partner.”

“The Benefits Of Moving To The Cloud.”

These subjects may be important, but if the audience has encountered dozens of similar articles, familiarity can weaken attention.

A better approach is often to find a fresh angle on a familiar subject.

An article about ransomware might begin with the first 60 minutes of a real, anonymised incident and explain what happens operationally while the leadership team is still trying to understand the scale of the problem.

A Microsoft 365 article could ask several engineers which single security control they would keep if they were allowed only one, then explore where their answers agree and differ.

A backup article might begin with the question: “Your backup report says everything succeeded last night. What does that actually prove?”

The underlying subjects are not new. The perspective is.

This is an important distinction because MSPs do not need to continually invent new services to benefit from novelty. Sometimes the greatest opportunity lies in explaining familiar problems in a way the audience has not encountered before.

Creating Marketing People Actually Want To Engage With

Novelty can be particularly useful in direct marketing, where the first challenge is simply avoiding immediate deletion or disposal.

Imagine two pieces of direct mail arriving at the office of a managing director.

The first is a polished brochure describing managed IT, cyber security, cloud services and strategic technology advice.

The second is a small puzzle-based package connected to a genuine cyber security lesson. Solving it reveals a useful assessment, piece of research or invitation to test a real aspect of the company’s security.

The second has several psychological advantages. It is unexpected, creates curiosity and requires participation.

However, the puzzle alone is not the persuasion.

If the recipient solves it and discovers an ordinary sales pitch, the experience quickly becomes disappointing. If it leads to genuinely useful information that changes how they think about a business risk, the novelty has served a valuable purpose.

The same principle applies to video, webinars, events and social media. An unusual format may attract initial attention, but the substance determines whether the experience strengthens or weakens the MSP’s reputation.

Novelty opens the door. Value determines whether people stay.

Positive Surprise In The Client Experience

Some of the most valuable opportunities for surprise appear after the sale.

This matters because MSPs are not transactional businesses. Their commercial success depends heavily on long-term relationships, retention, expansion and referrals. Creating a positive surprise for an existing client can therefore be just as valuable as capturing the attention of a prospect.

The most effective surprises are often relatively simple.

A new client may expect onboarding to involve technical disruption, forms, password changes and confusing instructions. Instead, every employee receives a short, friendly guide explaining what is changing, who they can contact and exactly how to request help. A short introductory video allows them to see the people behind the service desk before they ever need to call.

A director may expect a monthly report filled with technical data. Instead, they receive a concise explanation of what happened, what patterns have been noticed, what was prevented and what deserves attention next.

A client may expect its MSP to close tickets. Instead, it receives a proactive call explaining that several apparently unrelated support requests appear to have a common cause and that fixing it could remove the problem altogether.

These moments are memorable because they exceed the expected level of service.

The client expected support and received insight.

The client expected technical complexity and received clarity.

The client expected a supplier and encountered an adviser.

This is where surprise becomes commercially powerful.

Discovery Can Be Part Of The Experience

One interesting way in which businesses use novelty is through discovery.

Hidden features and so-called Easter eggs in technology products provide a useful example. Their appeal is not necessarily the feature itself. It is the pleasure of finding something unexpected, showing someone else and becoming part of the conversation around it.

MSPs can apply the principle of discovery without copying the tactic literally.

A cyber security assessment might be structured so that the client progressively discovers how different risks connect rather than receiving a long list of findings.

A webinar could reveal a real scenario piece by piece, allowing attendees to make decisions before discovering what happened.

A client event could include an anonymised incident exercise where teams work through an unfolding cyber attack and discover how apparently small decisions affect the outcome.

These experiences do more than transmit information. They create participation, curiosity and stories people can retell.

That matters because information is more valuable when people engage with it rather than simply receive it.

Novelty In MSP Sales Conversations

Novelty can improve sales conversations without making the sales process strange or theatrical.

In fact, one of the most powerful ways to surprise a prospect is simply to be more useful than expected.

An MSP might begin a meeting by saying:

“Before we talk about our business, we’d like to give you three questions we think you should ask every MSP you’re considering, including us.”

That is unexpected because it appears to help the buyer make a better decision, even if the eventual decision favours a competitor.

The approach can reinforce several persuasion drivers simultaneously. It demonstrates confidence and authority, provides value through reciprocity and signals that the MSP is comfortable being assessed properly.

Another approach might involve returning to a second meeting with a simple visual representation of what was heard during the first. Not a proposal and not a sales deck, but a clear map connecting the prospect’s operational concerns, technology dependencies and risks.

Again, the surprise comes from thoughtfulness.

The prospect expected to hear about the MSP.

Instead, the MSP demonstrates that it was listening.

Why Novelty Eventually Wears Off

Novelty has an obvious weakness: what is new today can quickly become familiar tomorrow.

A surprising experience repeated too often stops being surprising. A marketing format copied across an industry loses its distinctiveness. A creative campaign can generate attention without producing lasting commercial results if there is no substance behind it.

Research into novelty and memory is more complicated than the simple claim that “new things are always remembered better”. Reviews of the evidence have found mixed effects, with outcomes depending on factors including the type of novelty, context, expectations and experimental conditions.

This nuance is useful for businesses.

Novelty should be treated as an amplifier rather than a substitute for quality.

A clever campaign can make a strong proposition more noticeable. It cannot turn a weak proposition into a good one.

An unexpected gift can reinforce a strong client relationship. It cannot repair consistently poor service.

An unusual presentation can capture attention. It cannot compensate for shallow knowledge.

An innovative sales approach can create interest. It cannot sustain trust without evidence and expertise.

This is why novelty works best when it leads towards lasting value.

Combining Novelty With Other Persuasion Drivers

Novelty and surprise become particularly powerful when combined with other drivers of persuasion.

A surprising story can strengthen storytelling and emotion because the unexpected turn makes the narrative more memorable.

An unusual question can create curiosity and open an information gap that the audience wants to close.

A genuinely unexpected insight can strengthen authority by demonstrating that the MSP sees something others have missed.

A thoughtful surprise can reinforce reciprocity because the client receives more value than expected.

A distinctive community, event or client experience can strengthen unity by making people feel that they are part of something different and worthwhile.

Future pacing can also benefit from novelty. Showing a prospect a better future is more persuasive when that future includes possibilities they had not previously considered.

The strongest persuasion rarely depends on one psychological driver operating alone. Novelty is particularly effective at gaining attention, but what happens next determines whether attention becomes interest, trust and action.

Practical Questions For MSPs

MSPs looking to use novelty and surprise can begin by examining the most predictable parts of their own customer journey.

Look at the website. Does it sound genuinely different from the local competitors, or could the company name and logo be replaced without changing the meaning of the page?

Look at sales presentations. Does the prospect have to sit through company history and service lists before reaching anything relevant to their own business?

Look at proposals. Are they documents to be read, or experiences that help the prospect understand something important?

Look at onboarding. What is the emotional experience for the client’s employees, particularly those who may be nervous about change?

Look at account management. Does every review feel the same, or does each meeting reveal useful insights that the client was not expecting?

Look at content. Is the MSP repeating the same industry messages or finding new ways to make important subjects genuinely interesting?

These questions often reveal opportunities that do not require large budgets or elaborate campaigns. Sometimes the most surprising thing a supplier can do is listen carefully, explain clearly or provide value before being asked.

Be Unexpectedly Good

There is an important boundary between valuable surprise and damaging unpredictability.

Clients do not want an unpredictable MSP in areas where consistency matters.

They want predictable security standards.

They want predictable communication.

They want predictable response processes.

They want predictable competence.

The surprise should come from receiving more thought, insight, care or value than expected.

That distinction matters.

The objective is not to be unpredictable. It is to be unexpectedly good.

In a crowded MSP market, novelty and surprise can help a business capture attention, become more memorable and give people something worth talking about. However, the real opportunity is not to become louder, stranger or more theatrical than everyone else.

It is to identify where the industry has become predictable and ask better questions.

Where could the business communicate differently?

Where could it make a familiar subject interesting again?

Where could it replace a generic experience with a distinctive one?

Where could it create a positive surprise that demonstrates genuine thought and care?

Where could it give a client something more useful than they expected?

Novelty can capture attention. Surprise can interrupt assumptions. Distinctiveness can make a business easier to remember.

However, the strongest use of these drivers always combines three things: something new, something unexpected and something genuinely useful.

That is where attention begins to become persuasion.

References

Bunzeck, N. & Düzel, E. (2006). Absolute Coding of Stimulus Novelty in the Human Substantia Nigra/VTA. Neuron, 51(3), 369–379.

Quent, J. A., Henson, R. N. & Greve, A. (2021). A Predictive Account of How Novelty Influences Declarative Memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 179.

Reichardt, R., Polner, B. & Simor, P. (2020). Novelty Manipulations, Memory Performance, and Predictive Coding: The Role of Unexpectedness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14.

von Restorff, H. (1933). Über die Wirkung von Bereichsbildungen im Spurenfeld. Psychologische Forschung, 18, 299–342.

Karis, D., Fabiani, M. & Donchin, E. (1984). P300 and Memory: Individual Differences in the von Restorff Effect. Cognitive Psychology, 16(2), 177–216.

Chee, Q. W. & Goh, W. D. (2018). What Explains the von Restorff Effect? Contrasting Distinctive Processing and Retrieval Cue Efficacy. Journal of Memory and Language, 99, 49–61.