How to Use Scarcity to Influence Customer Decisions

Shep Hyken interviews Mindy Weinstein, author of The Power of Scarcity: Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions. She talks about the four types of scarcity and how businesses can use them to create community, loyalty, and excitement around their brand.

Top Takeaways:   

·      When an organization makes customers feel special by getting something that appears to be hard to get, they endear customers to the company and make them feel connected to the brand.

·      Our brains are wired in a certain way to react to scarcity. Businesses can use this in a positive way to emphasize value and communicate how working with them through their products or services is in their customers' best interest.

·      Most people think of scarcity as FOMO(fear of missing out), but it is so much more than that. There are four types of scarcity:

1.    Time-related scarcity - when products or services are available for only a set amount of time.

2.    Supply-related scarcity - when a limited number of products are available or when companies want to create a feeling of exclusivity or uniqueness.

3.    Demand-related scarcity - when customers are excited and want to make sure they can purchase a product before it is gone.

4.    Limited edition – when there is a special or rare version of a product that customers love to collect.

·      When companies create a scarcity mindset and communicate it well to their customers, it creates a sense of control where the customer feels they have the power to decide when and why they want to buy.

·      When companies create a mindset of scarcity with products that customers enjoy (for example, limited edition sports or movie memorabilia), they show that they truly know their customers and how to engage with them.

·      Plus, Shep and Mindy talk about how successful companies use the scarcity mindset to create amazing customer experiences. Tune in!

Quote: 

"Scarcity creates community. When done right, incorporating scarcity can help brands create loyalty, excitement, and bond with their customers."

About:  

Mindy Weinstein is the author of The Power of Scarcity: Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions. She is a marketing instructor at Grand Canyon University and a program leader for The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Business School.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.

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