Light A Fire Under Your Prospects
Light A Fire Under Your Prospects
Just the other day I saw a commercial for the movie The Jungle Book. Its out of the Disney vault and for a limited time you can buy it for your family. But hurry because soon itll be going back in the vault for another 20 years. Whoa the kids will be 25 years old by then! Better buy it now!
The marketing technique that Disney is using is called creating a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency gets people to take action. And its one of the principles of marketing promotions that can significantly increase your sales.
Think of it this way. Even if youve created a great marketing message its appealing and compelling the prospect still has to take action. And despite your best efforts the prospect may procrastinate or delay purchasing indefinitely. If you want to get that prospect to take immediate action you need to ask. And HOW you ask will determine how successful you are.
One of the ways marketers light a fire under their prospects is to create a sense of urgency as part of their call to action. That is making an offer available for a limited time. Why? As human beings its in our nature to want to move quickly so as not to lose out on a great opportunity.
You may have seen some of these other examples:
Oneday only sales
Limited time offers/discounts/coupons
Offer good through date
How can we leverage human nature in our own marketing?
1. Think of legitimate ways we might be able to offer a product or service for a limited time. Sales to reduce inventory overruns and surplus items or closeouts are all targets for this approach. If you have a services business consider offering introductory pricing for a new service.
Incidentally sometimes market forces create a builtin sense of urgency. Consider the residential mortgage lending industry. When experts speculate that interest rates may go up its in the customers best interest to lock in the current lower rate. That gets them to take action immediately. And its a WINWIN. In what ways can you create a limited time offer?
2. Use language to create the urgency in ways that are consistent with your industry’s norms. The abovementioned mortgage lender should use language that is different from what is used in the infomercial business!
3. Include this in your calltoaction. And where is that? You can include this technique wherever you describe your offer including your direct mail pieces advertising on the Web and even during your networking.
4. Use integrity. Any great persuasive tool can be misused. So dont be dishonest or manipulative. That would tarnish your brand. The goal is to create the most compelling message possible to give your prospects a sense of excitement and anticipation regarding the wonderful experience theyre about to have with your product or service. The most reputable companies in the world use this technique effectively. And so can you.
About the writer: Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group Inc a fullservice marketing firm serving small to midsized organizations. To receive Pats free Marketing Tips! newsletter go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/Resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.ThePriceGroup.biz.
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