Scarcity Marketing

Remember Cabbage Patch Kids, or Furbies or Tekno the Robotic Puppy? These were all extremely popular kids toys that sold out at Christmas time. It was panic in the aisles for parents worldwide. And the toy companies made millions! When something turns into a thing that everyone wants and suddenly there isn’t enough of that thing to go around, it turns into a course of action called Scarcity Marketing. Scarcity marketing is a type of marketing technique that is based on the principle that people want something that is difficult to get. The technique includes product, promotion, pricing and distribution strategies. And… scarcity marketing works. It is the old theory that people always want what they can’t have because they think the grass is greener on the other side.

Many businesses use scarcity marketing, especially in their email division. The following are a few examples and ideas on how you can use scarcity marketing to increase your return on investment with well written emails and Facebook ads.

Based upon the idea that if a product is not available when someone wants it, it will be that much more valuable to them. You can see this idea in any nursery school playroom. One child is playing with a teddy bear and another child is playing with a toy truck. A mother coos at the child with the teddy bear and suddenly the child with the truck wants the bear. Child drops truck, crawls over to the child with bear, a struggle ensues and two children begin to cry. The inability to get what you want causes you to desire it that much more. This also works in marketing. You see the technique used with giving discounts on certain items for a set number of hours. It is urgent to get to the dealership on a certain day or the inventory will be gone.The urgency of the deal is what motivates people to respond. Discounts are great and well worth the trouble, but the fact that a person can not have that discount forever, makes them react.

You don’t always have to lower the price on goods or services for the scarcity technique to work. If you spin the situation to be “exclusive”, “for members” or “today only”, then the need of getting to the items is that much stronger. No matter what the item is or its quality, if it is hard to find, get to or buy, the item suddenly has positive qualities and this justifies the wish to have it. Often times, the thought of losing something will play a big part in decision making. Black Friday is probably the greatest example of scarcity marketing! The fear of missing out on something great will drive people to buy things impulsively.

The most common tactic to use in scarcity marketing is the “almost gone” or” few items left” strategy. People respond when they don’t think they will have a chance to get what they want again. Lost opportunities weigh heavy on the mind. Sending out emails to prospects to let them know that some of your most popular items are selling out fast is a good way to get them to respond in a timely fashion. If they want it, they are going to have to come and get it NOW! Including the number of items that are left at the time of the mailing also creates more urgency. If the customer is buying from you online, you can send them an email telling them that the item in their abandoned shopping cart is selling quickly and remind them to buy it now before it is too late.

“We will deliver within 24 hours” is a common statement to use with the world becoming Amazonized! Ordering before a certain hour to get items delivered before lunch tomorrow has started becoming a common offer for many businesses. People want what they want and they want it now! Businesses have lots of pressure to compete and this is one way to stay ahead of the competition. Next Day Delivery is in very high demand with shipping and delivery being a major aspect of what people order. No one wants to wait the ten to thirty days that used to be common times.

Offer customers a “buy one get one free” or a “free product if they buy another product”. Make your offer time sensitive with a “while supplies last” and you will have a successful sale on your hands. Or you can offer free repair services to the product and free installation or even free classes to learn how to use the product. Freebies with a purchase are a vast market. You can add three months of Netflix or free gas for the car or free lawn care with garden products.

Market to a specific device or app. Email to your mailing list an offer that they can only buy through their phone or a particular app. The discount is only good if the order is through these means. It is exclusive to them and it is only offered for a set amount of time. This scarcity method gets people to respond quickly to the sale and the product.

In today’s digital age, email is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient ways to market to a broad audience. If you’re wanting to reach individuals but perhaps are unsure of whether you’d like to do direct mail to people’s mailboxes, we can help you create a virtual mail campaign directly to people’s inboxes instead. With our highly skilled copywriters, we can create interesting and attention-grabbing emails to send out to prospects. We at