Content Marketing: The Scarcity Principle: How to Create Demand

It is often crucial to know how to generate demand for your products or services. This will make the difference between reaching your sales goals or missing an opportunity. Scarcity marketing techniques are a reliable way for brands to generate demand. These tactics tap into people's desire to avoid loss and get something special.

You may not be aware of scarcity marketing tactics, but you are likely seeing them everywhere. We'll be looking at the most effective ways to use them, and some examples from brands that are doing it well.

Quick Take-Aways

• Scarcity marketing plays on people's fears of missing out or their aversion to losing a product or service.

• Customers will be motivated to take action by emphasizing the limited availability of products, using time to create urgency, or highlighting demand with social evidence.

• Marketing strategies that emphasize scarcity must be done in moderation and should be authentic — brands could lose trust or come off as aggressive.

The scarcity principle: What it is and how it works

All of us want what we don't have. Scarcity marketing, by definition, is a way to communicate the availability or difficulty of a product. It plays on the fear of missing out, or FOMO, as we all know it today.

Hubspot recently conducted a survey of 300 consumers to find out how they feel about products that are in short supply. 45 percent of respondents said that they are more likely to purchase or learn about a product if it is not in stock.

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You can use scarcity marketing to tap into the natural desire of people to get something immediately to avoid losing it later.

Content marketing: How to create demand

Limit your availability

It is possible to create demand by emphasizing the limited availability of your content, whether that's because there's low supply or intentional limited production.

If a product is in high demand, customers will be more likely to tell others about it. Products that are limited edition (i.e. Limited edition products (i.e., only a limited number of these products will be made before they are no longer available) have an exclusive feel that encourages people to act fast.

Notices of low stock

Low stock notices can be a simple and easy-to-automated scarcity marketing strategy. These are especially effective when combined with personalization strategies. Sending customers combined messages about low stock and abandoned cart will remind them that the product they were considering buying is no longer available. This will create a sense of urgency in the customer that will encourage them to act.

Google is straightforward and makes use of the tactic well with this abandoned cart email example.

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Amazon is another company that has a very effective low stock notice strategy. You'll notice the low stock status of any item you see on their product pages in large font. This notification will make it clear that you should not wait to purchase if you are thinking of waiting.

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Items in limited editions or special editions

Brands often create demand by deliberately limiting production to make it more difficult for customers to get the product they want. This taps into exclusivity and increases sales.

This tactic is often used by large brands who can rely on their existing customer base to increase demand for limited-edition products. Brands can also create limited-edition products that are tied to a specific event.

This is something Coca-Cola does often and well. One example of this is the limited-edition packaging they use for each soccer world cup. eBay has the 2014 edition for sale 7 years later.

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Although it may be easier for Coke to use this scarcity strategy at scale, it is possible for smaller brands to produce limited edition products. It's crucial to understand your customers.

Are there any particular causes, events, or initiatives that you could build a limited-edition product around? Your products will be limited edition if you sell handmade and/or unique goods, either individually or in small batches. Do you know of any other creators or brands that could partner with you to create an exclusive or special product set? This tactic can be used in many ways.

In your content marketing, you should also consider the unique nature of your products and emphasize why they are special (i.e. Handmade, paired with products from a partner brand, or important to your customers (for example, when they are connected to an event).

Create time limits

Customers will be unable to ignore a time limit for product availability. It doesn't matter if you have a sale that lasts for a set period of time or a seasonal product. Leveraging time is a great way to generate demand. Let's take a look at some examples.

Next-day delivery

Next-day delivery is almost a given in today's world. Customers are ready to act to receive their goods sooner than expected because of instant gratification. Let's go back to Amazon. This tactic is used more often by Amazon than any other brand. They highlight delivery times for products when you search for them.

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Amazon will show you when the product is available for same-day delivery if you click on it. If I place my order within 55 minutes, my Echo Dot could be delivered today. Even though my order is not urgent, I will likely place an order right away so that I can get it sooner.

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Limited Time Discounts

A discount that is only available for a limited time period can be a great opportunity to increase your content marketing efforts to generate demand. Make your discount visible by sharing it via email and social media.

Strategic discounts can be used to increase the demand for a product. Everybody would like to pay less for the product they desire, so discounts encourage people to take action to ensure they don't miss out.

Seasonal offers

Because they are unique, seasonal offerings attract attention. You can also create positive emotions with them by celebrating holidays or times of year people love.

This is what the coffee giants do well. It's evident every year, when people are excited for Dunkin Donuts pumpkin spiced lattes to be available every fall or when Starbucks launches their holiday cups.

Starbucks has been doing this for so many years, that there is a dedicated fan site counting down to the release of the red holiday cups.

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Seasonal offerings are subject to seasonal scarcity. Because they are only available at certain times of the year, people desire them when they are available.

Social proof can help you highlight demand

To create the illusion of scarcity, highlight the high demand for a product. Customers will be more motivated to buy if there are many people already purchasing the product. How can you draw attention to this demand? Social proof is one of the best ways to highlight this demand.

Display testimonials

Research has shown that 93% of consumers now seek reviews before purchasing a product. Even if the review is from someone they don't know, most consumers will trust it. By highlighting reviews and testimonials of satisfied customers on your website, social networks, and product pages, you can use them. This will not only highlight the quality and value, but it also tells potential customers that your product is in high demand.

Use hard numbers

To effectively communicate demand, you can use numbers to show it. This is what Groupon does very well. Groupons deals are already very limited in quantity and have a set time limit. Groupon does a great job showing which deals are most popular by listing the exact number of transactions under each listing.

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This tactic uses social proof to create an enviable demand cycle. The more purchases made, and the greater the social proof, then the more purchases will continue to be made. This is what we call effective demand generation.

Display real-time activity

This will allow you to take your previous strategies to the next level. Customers can see how many people are looking at the same product at the moment. This is particularly useful for products with limited availability.

This is what Etsy excels at. Most of the products on Etsy are handcrafted and limited in quantity. It shows how many people have this product in their shopping carts when you look at it. Customers are more likely to act when they see others doing it.

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Marketing scarcity with a purpose

While scarcity marketing has proven to be a reliable way to generate demand for products and services, it does have its drawbacks. Brands must stick to scarcity tactics that are genuine and should use them in moderation.

A brand will soon catch on if it continues to infer that a product is in great demand even though it isn’t. Customers will be less likely to believe what they say in the future if it happens. Customers may feel pressured to buy if scarcity marketing is used excessively or is too aggressive.

It is a good idea for you to consider how scarcity tactics can be used to generate demand. Consider your entire marketing strategy and determine where it is most compatible with events, product launches, and other factors.

Also, think about how it can be integrated into your regular content and promotions (such as social proof content that always appears on product pages). You can plan ahead to ensure that your messaging remains genuine and purposeful.

With great content, you can increase your brand's demand

Are you ready to produce consistent, high-quality content that converts customers and grows your audience? Marketing Insider Group can help create a custom content calendar and provide ready-to-publish content every other week for a whole year. ).

To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, visit our Content Builder Service.