Let’s say you want to go to a restaurant to celebrate your anniversary.
Which of the following restaurants seems like the better choice?
a) A restaurant that you can just show up at, sit down and eat, or b) A restaurant that you must book months in advance to get in?
The logical choice (provided everything else is equal) would be the first restaurant.
Yet I find myself picking up the phone, and making the reservation at the second restaurant… the busy one.
Researchers Worchel, Lee, and Adewole asked participants to rate two jars of cookies. Initially, both jars contained 10 cookies each. Then, they removed 8 cookies from one jar.
Now that people had to choose a cookie from those jars, most of them chose a cookie from the jar containing only 2 cookies… because those seemed more scarce, and therefore… better.
I’m like every other consumer.
So I tend to associate limited quantity with higher quality. It is a mental shortcut people have developed over time, and it’s normally helpful.
For example, there are millions upon millions of no-name watches sold on AliExpress, and then there’s Audemars Piguet, who only produces 36,000 pieces a year - most of them cost around $20,000.
Most people will assume that if something is scarce then it must be better.
Some marketers use this principle in a less-than-ethical way. For example, lying that “we only have 9 copies of this digital PDF left.” It still works. Once.
How do you use this ethically in your marketing?
Always have a believable reason why your stuff is scarce.
Even if it’s a digital PDF download, make sure you come up with something. Even if you do something as simple as a limited amount of copies sold, don’t do the “we only have 9 copies left.” Instead, be upfront that you’ve decided to only sell 50 copies of your ebook to limit competition or something. That will have a much bigger impact.
Next…
Scarce items also feel more exclusive. This will also make the item seem more desirable.
Remember the watches I mentioned? Since they will only produce 36,000 pieces a year, the minute you buy one you become a part of a pretty exclusive club - not only because you’ve been able to drop $20k on a watch, but also because you got a watch that a very limited number of people can get.
How do you use this in your marketing?
Add something that creates an air of exclusivity around your offer. For example, if you’re selling a course, why don’t you add a Slack group or a Facebook group as a bonus that only people who bought your product can hang around in… and then mention that they’ll only get access for as long as they buy before a deadline (scarcity PLUS urgency!)
Finally…
Another thing about scarcity is that scarce items make people feel powerful.
In other words, when you have access to something other people want but can’t have, it makes you feel more powerful.
In your marketing, don’t forget to explain how whatever you’re selling is going to give your customers an advantage other people don’t have - and never will, because they either don’t know about your offer or won’t act on it.
So these are a few basic ways to use scarcity in your marketing no matter what you’re selling.
If you’re not doing any scarcity tactics right now, you need to start… like yesterday. Because the difference to your bottom line is going to be huge.
To your success,
Paul Hanson
P.S. Scarcity is what makes many collectibles achieve higher valuations! Think creatively and use this to your advantage!
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