Almost all marketing techniques take into account the peculiarities of human psychology. This approach helps to increase the impact of advertising and provides more powerful motivation to buy. In this article, we’ll talk about FOMO marketing and how to use it to boost online sales.
FOMO Marketing Principles
Most customers feel uncomfortable if they do not have time to respond to an attractive offer or miss important news. By stimulating this fear among potential customers, marketers manage to stir up even the most passive users.
FOMO (fear of missing out) marketing is a technique that uses psychological triggers to appeal to the desire to seize an opportunity while it is available. The tool activates a person’s inherent fear of missing out on something beneficial and prompts them to take targeted action here and now. The fear of disappointment in the purchased product overshadows the reluctance to regret a lost profit.
Effective FOMO Techniques
Limited time
Impulsive buying is often driven by ticking clocks. Therefore, the most common way to use FOMO is time constraints. Time-bound offers look more valuable. The tighter the framework, the higher the motivation to buy becomes.
You can use this trick to draw attention to:
- shares;
- sales;
- special offers;
- interesting events.
Countdown timers help emphasize bounding boxes. Seeing them, potential buyers often do not think much about the necessity and benefits of the product, but buy it as soon as possible. You can place timers on landing pages, the home page of your eCommerce website, product cards, email newsletters.
Limited offers
The next trick is about limits, taking into account the desire of each customer to feel special. eCommerce brands often offer access to private clubs and sales, limited collections, and VIP offers.
Use this method to sell truly exclusive products or services available in limited quantities. Customers often buy products knowing that they will soon disappear from the online storefront
Social proof
Social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tools. When a potential client sees a positive response about a product, the thought immediately arises: “If others have already bought this product and are so happy with it, then it is worthy of my attention.” Moreover, you can motivate customers to leave reviews by offering small bonuses and discounts on subsequent purchases.
Social proof formats:
- text and video reviews;
- reviews, recommendations, unpacking;
- ratings;
- numbers (number of views, reservations, purchases, additions to the wish list, and so on).
Herd instinct
According to psychologists, most of us succumb to the herd instinct. This phenomenon is also relevant in online shopping. Therefore, on the pages of online stores that use FOMO marketing, you can often see information about what others are buying.
Recommendation blocks that works the best:
- “Bestsellers”;
- “Most Viewed Products”;
- “Products that are most often added to favorites”;
- “Together with this product they buy”;
- “They are in demand now.”
This information is also shown in separate pop-up windows. When a site visitor sees that a certain product is popular, they wants to buy it.
Deficit
Deficiency is another powerful psychological trigger. If there is very little of a product left, its value automatically rises in the eyes of the consumer. However, this technique should be applied exclusively to popular products that buy really quickly. If all the goods are in short supply, the audience will not believe them.
There are 2 types of deficits. One is related to a limited quantity of products, the other is related to a limited time during which you can take advantage of the offer.
The emphasis on scarcity is created by:
- Free gift on a specific day of purchase.
- Displays the number of items remaining in the warehouse.
- Red signature on the product card marked “Ending.”
- The status “TOP of the week/day” for one of the products, posted on the main page.
- On Sale icon, indicating that the product is not in stock for a long time.
Bottom Line
Urgency and scarcity are powerful psychological motivators and can dramatically increase your online store’s conversion rate and drive sales. Introducing these methods into your eCommerce store can set you apart from your competitors, whose race for the attention of bottom-line shoppers is a losing game.
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