The Power of Scarcity: Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions

Drive revenue and grow your business by using the powerful concept of scarcity

Scarcity  isn't just one of the key principles of influence, it's arguably the  most powerful—invoking the kind of primal instincts that were essential  to our ancestors' survival. It's also the explanation for why, in the  mid-1990's, $29.99 Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls were being scalped for $7,000  apiece.

And yet, for all its power, scarcity is a principle  that's little understood, even as it's frequently employed in sales and  marketing campaigns. Research on scarcity is published mainly in  academic journals, not easily accessible to the mainstream public, and  often written from an economic, rather than psychological, point of  view.

In The Power of Scarcity, Dr. Mindy Weinstein leverages her  deep expertise in both marketing and psychology to reveal how this  influence principle can be used to boost sales, win negotiations, spark  action, develop community, build customer loyalty, and more. As a  digital marketer and doctor of philosophy in psychology, she brings both  practical and academic insights to explain the psychology behind  scarcity, why it has such an immense impact on decision making, and how,  used correctly and ethically, it can influence the people who buy your  products or services.

In these pages, you'll gain a deeper  understanding of why and how scarcity works in business, and  specifically how different types of scarcity messages—supply related,  demand related, time related or limited edition—affect our brains.  You'll see it in action from multiple perspectives, through case  studies, research findings, and eye-opening interviews with current and  former executives (from brands that include McDonald’s, Harry &  David, and 1-800-Flowers), as well as real-life customers' firsthand  experiences.

For anyone involved in sales and marketing today,  The Power of Scarcity is a rare find, combining the best research on the  subject as well as hands-on, tactical ways to apply the psychology  behind it to knowledgeably harness that power to bolster your business.