Scarcity Principle

Scarcity principle

Pitch idea for selling a small cup of water

Our product is no ordinary water. It refreshes and hydrates at twice the level of ordinary water. This product however only has a limited supply, as it the rarest water found on earth. Many companies want to buy it to incorporate it into their own drinks, and what us to exclusively sell to them. Our company however has decided to sell it through our store locations and bring it directly to you in order to make it more affordable for our consumers. It is sold in small bottled quantities, equivalent to one small cup and can be purchased for a limited time only until supplies last. This product is intended to be shared with the whole population and therefore customers can only buy up to the equivalent of 10 small cups of water at once, in order to stop consumer from hoarding our product for themselves. Orders are filled on a first come first served basis. While we are unsure of the exact quantity of supply and due to its large popularity we predict supply to run out by the end of this year. Customers must act fast to experience this once in a lifetime product before supplies are gone forever.

Describe the particular principle of persuasion discussed in your selected chapter.

The scarcity principle is a powerful weapon of influence and can give a marketer control over consumers’ buying decisions. It states that people assign more value to opportunities that are less available. According to this principle a marketed item for sale becomes more attractive and valuable as it becomes rarer. This principle best holds true under two optimal conditions. First, when an item of value becomes newly or recently scarce and second, when the scarce item is being competed for with others. The scarcity principle applies to beyond material commodities, as it works for messages, communication and even knowledge. Information is more persuasive if one thinks that they cannot get it elsewhere. The scarcity of information about a product can be combined with the available scarcity of the product, to create an increased influence over the consumer buying decision.

How does it work?

The use of these tactics is best known in marketing as the limited number tactic or a deadline tactic. In a limited number tactic marketers take advantage of the scarcity principle by informing customers that a certain product is in short supply and cannot be guaranteed to last long. Customer typical respond by being more attracted to the product because of its limited availability and do not want to feel as though they missed the opportunity. The deadline tactic places a time limit to a customer decision. Customers are faced with the decision to purchase now or they will have to purchase at a higher price or be unable to purchase