Influence through “Scarcity”

Social researcher Cialdini tells of an experiment in which two groups of people were asked to rate choc-chip biscuits.

Group A took theirs from a jar containing ten biscuits; Group B took from a jar with just two biscuits.

The result? Group B rated the biscuits higher on almost every measure – even though the biscuits were identical.

This is scarcity at work. And it’s a very useful “influence” technique.

Here are some ways to use “scarcity” to get better results from your writing:

• Scarce time – Imposing deadlines on your readers will motivate them to act sooner rather than later (because “later” is probably “never”!), e.g. “Offer ends 30 June.”
• Scarce amount – Your product will be more attractive if it seems rare or exclusive, e.g. “special edition,” “Limited offer” or “Exclusive release.” Be specific if you can – “Just five left” trumps “Just a few left.”
• Scarce information – Research shows if you limit access to a message people value it more and find it more persuasive. Can you structure your message so your readers believe it’s restricted information, e.g. “Exclusive members-only offer”?

Booster 1: “Scarcity” works better when people think something’s newly scarce – i.e. when it hasn’t always been in short supply, but suddenly becomes so. E.g. “Unprecedented interest means only 45 seats left!”

Booster 2: It works better again when people realise they’re competing with others for scarce resources. A common real-estate sales ploy is to tell wavering buyers someone else is also interested in the property.

Have you seen other examples of scarcity at work? Please let us know with a comment below…