« Previous | Home | Next »

Scarcity: Fanning the Flames of Desire

August 26, 2009

I just read an interesting post from Ryan Healy titled Waiting for a Reason to Buy where he talks about a product he already wanted, was sold on so to speak, but could wait to buy. He had no urgency to "buy it now". Eventually he purchased the product when the person selling the product lowered the price and threw in some bonus offers.

I wonder if Ryan would have bought the product without the bonuses and at the original price if the vendor had created an air of urgency with scarcity instead...

Scarcity - used correctly it's almost like a magic elixir!

How to breathe life into old toys.
My wife packed up two or three bags of our son Walker's toys and put the bags by the door for us to take to Goodwill. It wasn't long before Walker asked why his toys were in those bags. The news did not sit too well with him to say the least! Some he didn't mind loosing (I don't think) but others he wanted to keep. Now keep in mind that we had not seen him play with ANY of these toys in a very long time...

... here's the good part: he played with some of those toys for two days straight and after that has still played with them from time to time.

Scarcity - it's wonderful stuff!

Remember the old saying: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" - kind of the same concept.

Why?
I'll explain why, but only to the first 100 people who continue to read...

When the availability of something we want, or even think we may want at some point in the future, is limited or taken away, our brain reacts and wants it even more. I'm sure this is a deep-seated, primal, caveman survival trait that smart marketers and copywriters are exploiting today with "limited number" and "deadline" tactics.

According to Robert Cialdini in his great book "Influence, Science and Practice" (which I highly recommend to everyone)

We assign more value to opportunities when they are less available.
People generally think something is better or of more value if it is difficult to obtain.
As we loose the ability to get something (sometimes regardless of actually wanting it or not), we perceive to have freedoms taken away. We don't like to have our freedom taken away. Most people will fight to get it back or keep it.

Disney is a master at this... you've seen those commercials "From the Disney Vaults... only a limited number of copies of this DVD will be produced." They have enough great films in their "Vault" that they can rotate "opening the vault" for a particular product and then after a few years do it again.

If you've ever paid way too much for something at an auction and walked away scratching your head wondering what made you keep bidding every time someone outbid you... now you know. Scarcity - each time you were outbid your subconscious kicked in and said get it back!

Creating Desire with Scarcity
If you can build scarcity into your marketing efforts in a way that is legitimate and not perceived as manipulative, you'll definitely benefit!

A lot of online marketers use scarcity when they introduce a product by offering it for a reduced price for a limited time, like 24 or 48 hours. This usually works great. I like to offer my email list an even better price for a day or two before I post about a product. This rewards people for subscribing to your email list and keeps them on the list. You can sign up to my list using the form at the end of this post.

Until next time,
Fred

P.S. As to my question about Ryan, I'd bet that he would have bought the product if he knew it was to be discontinued or somehow limited in availability. Ryan what do you think?

About the Author

Fred Black is an experienced online business operator, programmer, web site developer, father, husband, musician, and songwriter. Visit his Internet Business Blog at: http://www.pqInternet.com.

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the About the Author resource box at the end intact.

Tip Jar: Leave a Donation

Comments: 9, TrackBacks: 0.

Posted by Fred on August 26, 2009 | Printer-Friendly

TrackBack: http://www.pqInternet.com/Blog/mt-tb.cgi/211

Assigned Categories: Internet Marketing

Related Entries:

Comments and TrackBacks

Comments:

From: Gregory E. Nemer

Hi Fred,

I thought I'd better comment on this post before the comment section was closed....

When someone tells me that I "must act now" and that "the price will go up" or there "Are only limited copies available" I am almost always moved to take action.

I already know that it's a sales technique but it still works.... especially if I am confident that the person will follow through with his promise to raise the price or only sell a few copies.

By the way, I read Ryan's article too. He's a very good copywriter and even though he knows all of the psychological reasons behind scarcity I bet he'd still purchase the product if it was limited.
Posted by Gregory E. Nemer on August 26, 2009 8:41 AM
From Fred...

Hey Gregory!
Thanks for the comment. Just a note: I don't close comments... maybe I should but I don't! Some people do that to cut down on spam but I don't.

Yes, it's funny how even knowing the tactics being used does not stop us from responding to them. Robert talks about that in his book. For each tactic he gives countermeasures! Yet he gives examples where he still ended up buying something he didn't need!

By the way, I still have not read your book, but I will.
Posted by Fred Black on August 26, 2009 10:50 AM
From: Brian

I definitely understand using the scarcity technique to create desire but I see it being used so much with internet marketing that I'm unsure if its even legitimate in many cases. Point being, it's almost a turnoff for me as a potential customer as I feel that it's nothing more than a "tactic" being played on me. How can an ebook be limited in quantity for example? Doesn't make sense...
Posted by Brian on August 26, 2009 11:20 AM
From Fred...

Brian;
You can limit an eBook by only selling x number of copies, or taking it off the market after a set period of time. As I mentioned in the article, a lot of people introduce something like an eBook at a reduced price for x number of hours, days, or for a number of copies. After that the price goes up. For example, you could introduce a new eBook to your email list for $35 for 24 hours, and then on your blog or website for $50 for 24 hours, and then set the price at $100.

Some products require updating, so you could announce that it will no longer be sold after a certain date. Then update the product and reintroduce it a few months later. Offering your current customers the update for free or for a small upgrade price.
Posted by Fred Black on August 26, 2009 1:50 PM
From: Ryan Healy

Hey Fred!

Thanks for linking to my article. I really appreciate it.

As to your question -- yes, if the creator of the product had said he was going to take the product off the market, I probably would have purchased at full price.

And, funny that you mention it, because he actually DID say he was going to remove it from the market -- about 3 weeks after I had purchased.

Which made me feel really good about buying when I did. :-)

@Greg - Thanks for the compliment! Since I'm a sales guy, I'm basically one of the easiest "marks" in the business. What can I say, I love a good sales pitch.

@Brian - I totally agree with you. Fake scarcity is a turn-off for me. But I've been amazed by how well scarcity can work, even when that scarcity isn't legitimate. (I've seen a lot of "inside" stuff in my work for clients.)

Thanks again, Fred, for mentioning my article and writing about it.

Ryan
Posted by Ryan Healy on August 27, 2009 9:43 AM
From: Cindi

Well...this was thought provoking. Do you think this scarcity tactic would work on my kids? For example: "make your beds before they are no longer there to sleep in?" All kidding aside, just like Brian said in his comment. It is a turnoff to me also. I feel the skepticism rising when I see those words. It's just like the offers of receiving something "free"....yeah, with the purchase of...so how is that free?

Posted by Cindi on August 27, 2009 12:23 PM
From Fred...

Cindi;
That's where the skill of the copywriter comes into play... making you understand that it's limited but not making you feel you're being manipulated. And, it has to be truthful. If I say I'm going to sell a product for $25 for 24 hours and then the price will go to $50, I'd better raise that price to $50 when I said I would. And if someone emails me and asks to get it for $25 after that price has been raised, I'd better tell them no. Otherwise my legitimacy will erode. If I say I'm only going to sell 500 copies then I'd better take down the sales page after 500 have been sold.

As for your kids and their bed, yes, in extreme cases of bad behavior you can start taking things away. I know one parent who had to take the door off their child's room. I've read about others who have removed furniture piece by piece, including the bed until the bad behavior stopped. This is typically with teenagers with pretty bad problems though!

Posted by Fred Black on August 27, 2009 2:14 PM
From: Jonathan

For a number of years I bought into the Guru's advice about using scarcity, expiration dates and other means of enticing (pschologically manipulating) people to buy. I recently have become convicted that these methods are disingenuous and I don't like them being used on me so I've stopped. If it means less sales so be it, at least I'll feel better about the way I do business.
Posted by Jonathan on September 4, 2009 11:00 PM
From: packaging materials

A lot of lives are just plain clogged up with goo. I'm not talking about actual gunk that you can see, feel, or even wash off. If it were only that easy, the goo would be gone from most people's lives... well maybe. It's really affected me.
Posted by packaging materials on September 9, 2009 2:35 AM