Nobody wants to miss out on something fun, interesting, or valuable. In fact, the fear of missing out is so strong that it has spawned a new acronym in everyday language—FOMO. But this principle isn’t new to direct mail marketers. It’s been the basis of scarcity and urgency techniques for years.
What are scarcity and urgency techniques and how do they work?
Stimulating a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
People have an innate desire to be part of exclusive experiences or to secure limited opportunities. By suggesting that the recipient needs or deserves something they don’t have (but others do), you can effectively trigger FOMO and compel them to act. “Don’t Miss Out on the Must-Haves of the Season! Grab Yours Before They’re Gone!”
Creating Time-Sensitive Offers and Limited-Time Promotions
Once you have someone’s attention, you want to encourage them to act before they get distracted. This is the power of time-sensitive offers. The recipient may have a genuine desire to make a purchase, but once the moment passes, they may forget about it and move on. Or maybe the sense of urgency begins to fade. Time-sensitive offers capitalize on that narrow window of time when you have both the recipient’s attention and their desire to buy: “Last Chance Alert: Offer Expires Tomorrow!”
Emphasizing Exclusivity
Everyone wants to feel special, and customers are no exception. Encourage purchases by making them feel like they are part of an exclusive group. Create the sense of high-demand and limited availability to stimulate an urgency to buy before the product becomes inaccessible: “Be Among the Few to Experience Our Exclusive Home Essentials! Get Yours Now Before They Run Out!”
Don’t Forget the Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA)
There is an innate human response to respond to commands. This is why such seemingly simple commands like “Buy now!” Or “Call to secure your spot!” can be so powerful. You can design the most aesthetically pleasing direct mailer, but without a call to action, your audience may simply appreciate the beauty of your marketing piece but feel no urgency to act. This is a simple but profound truth in direct marketing—always include a CTA!
Leveraging the psychological impact of scarcity and urgency is a tried and true method for boosting response rates. Capitalize on psychological concepts like FOMO, exclusivity, and limited-time offers to move recipients to action—not just later, but right now.
