Have you ever noticed how much marketers create a sense of urgency with their messages?
The last email I received from a business coach read something along the lines of, “I’m offering you this package as a basic intro, small risk step. This costs just 50 Euros if you buy it today!”
Companies deliberately send you the message that this deal won’t be available for long.
In this case, the marketer is making a product exclusive to generate demand for it. In other words, the rarer a piece of content is, the more valuable it becomes.
Why Exclusivity Works
The reason a customer will buy a product has very little to do with the product and a lot to do with how the marketing message makes them feel.
When you make a product scarce, you make customers feel like they have been given an opportunity.
This forces them to take action because the opportunity won’t last.
Discounts Create Scarcity
Usually, when potential customers don’t respond to your emails, they are not actually rejecting the offer, but they might plan to buy the product later.
If you allow them a lot of time, they will keep shopping around for a better offer.
Customers do this because the product or service is still going to be there when they come back.
With a limited-time discount, you remove the option of saying maybe later. It will force them to decide to say yes and buy it immediately or say no and miss the deal forever.
This can push the customer from uncertainty to buying a product out of fear because of the fear that the offer will be gone if they come back later.
But you need to have a reason for the limited-time discount. This could be offering a discount during a holiday season or wanting to fill a class. If you give the reason, customers are likely to believe your scarcity.
For instance, you can say “You only have three days to purchase this program at 50% off. Then it will not be available until the next holiday season at the regular price.”
Completely Remove a Product From the Market
Completely removing a program from the market will create a scarcity deadline. Most people will want to purchase the product before it’s gone.
An example could be a live coaching session. Before the event you can write an email to prospective customers saying that they’ve only got 24 hours left to make the purchase.
Then follow it up with several messages via email or on your social media platforms to encourage them to purchase the program.
Offer a Product For a Limited Time
A limited quantity of a product or service can work well with live coaching events where you are keeping the attendance to a certain number to encourage interaction.
The Dark Side of Scarcity Marketing
Using the scarcity principle on a commodity that is always available is unethical.
An ethical way of using the scarcity principle is to offer the first 20 customers a free gift.
This will create a deadline and persuade some people to purchase the program faster when they receive an email.
Contact us to help you create ethical messages that encourage customers to buy your programs.