People’s minds are set to want what they can’t have. That’s why the marketing sector has been using this tactic to make people buy. The strategy of using scarcity has been proven effective and has rarely failed in creating an email marketing campaign.
“The psychology of scarcity is aversive. It encourages us to feel stressed. It encourages us to think that certain things are important that may not be. And it encourages us to believe that we may not be able to obtain these things, since they may be in short supply,” writes Ron Breazeale Ph.D.
Marketing Campaign
Have you received frequent emails from people you don’t know? Some of them might have gotten you curious that you click on them just to get frustrated. Because all you find are marketing newsletters offering you to avail of their limited products, good deals, sales, and more.
Marketing campaigns through emails or websites are effective in communicating with your potential customers. If you create a well-written campaign, you will persuade your reader to engage in your company.
Scarcity On Websites
You might see ads(sometimes pop-ups)informing you of the company’s limited supply or time offerings. Often, this type of scarcity tactic by some online shops, on your social media, and other websites you visit will make you impulsively click purchase.
“It is fairly easy to just put an arbitrary deadline on an option. Therefore, it is easy to utilize,” writes Jeremy Nicholson M.S.W., Ph.D.
The psychology of scarcity has been an effective marketing campaign either on websites or email. It’s our human nature that when there is lesser supply, the more we are attracted to buying the item. It’s always the name of the game for us; we want to have those things that are hard to get.
A customer has the tendency to panic once he hears that an item is the last of its piece or it was produced at just a minimum amount.
You can see some of this kind of campaigns on Booking.comasthey do this with their hotels. They will sometimes show how many times a hotel has been booked on that day. This is to show which hotel people prefer to stay for their vacation. So, when you’re someone who’s going to visit the same area, you’ll immediately book your stay before all rooms got booked up.
“Starbucks and other purveyors of pumpkin spice take full advantage of this principle, only allowing us access to these things at certain times of the year. This way, we look forward to them, crave them, talk about them, and even count down until that fine September day when the lattes are released to the world again. If we could have them all year, chances are, we wouldn’t want them quite so much,” writes Jaime L. Kurtz Ph.D.
Another way they communicate scarcity on their site is by telling how many rooms are left unoccupied or how many people are viewing the same type of room you are currently looking at.
Scarcity In Email Campaigns
The same smart scarcity strategy is used in most email campaigns we receive on our inbox. When you subscribed to some newsletter, enroll, or shop online, you probably have received some of these emails.
Simple email letters can make you feel special when it tells you that you are one of the lucky few to own a particular item. You may also feel important when you are offered to enroll in a course or register to attend a webinar with limited seats.
Who would not want a good deal from the Banana Republic when they offer exclusive secret savings when you make a purchase through their email campaigns, not to mention the free shipping and free returns.
Well, I admit that even I got hooked on most of the scarcity email campaigns I receive. I am just happy and lucky enough that they are not only well written to get my attention but happen to be true.
Being true on your scarcity campaign is essential to keep your customer’s trust not just in your products, but in every word you put on your campaigns.
And yes, I can say that scarcity tactic still works as long as there is sincerity to it.
Reference:
Fernandez, M. (2018, May 1). 34clever scarcity examples to skyrocket your conversions. Retrieved from https://optinmonster.com/scarcity-examples-to-boost-your-conversions/.