Whatever your stance on FOMO marketing, it works! Here’s a brief overview of the most important FOMO marketing tools:
1. Creating Urgency Through Artificial Scarcity
This includes anything that gives buyers the impression they will miss out if they don’t decide in time. Be it a seasonal countdown (Christmas/holiday/New Year), general time constraints, or various discounts on different days (deal of the day/week/month). A proven method for quantity limitations is displaying minimal stock levels, which conveys high demand and encourages quicker purchases. Previews of upcoming new, higher prices, with the suggestion to quickly secure the current lower price, also create purchase pressure.
Tourism sites display the (preferably small) number of available hotel rooms and – particularly nasty! – the deals already missed. You can see in real-time who just snatched up the last room. But even the simple addition of “while stocks last” provides a small impulse that brings in more customers. Those who are aware of the power of words here have a clear advantage.
Opening offers for a specific location, such as “The first 100 customers receive an extra gift,” cause queues to grow in front of shops in the morning. Here, both time and location are limited. Scarcity works through exclusivity. Deadlines and limitations put people under pressure and simplify marketing activities.
-
2. One-Shot Deals
If you want to persuade customers to make a quick, one-off purchase, the one-shot deal is a welcome advertising practice to increase conversion rates and generate leads. For example, just before leaving the website, a special last offer is displayed via an exit-intent popup – “Before you leave us, don’t miss this offer.” Language, images, and large buttons should convey excitement. Since the customer already has one foot in the door, you shouldn’t let them leave so easily. Skillfully executed, if not purchases, at least email addresses can be collected.
3. Groups and Communities
Exclusive groups and communities with few available places or time-limited access options have long been very successful in the USA. A private club, a brand with limited special editions exclusively for members, often sends the demand and price for these products soaring to utopian heights.
4. Social Proof
“Others also bought…” a phrase probably familiar to all of us. In marketing, and especially in online marketing, the principle of social proof is widespread. On social media platforms, the number of likes and followers strongly influences perception by others. The same, of course, applies to products advertised (online).
This strategy is particularly effective when something is already in the shopping cart, customers are actively browsing product pages, or have made contact. Live displays of the names and locations of other users who have just made a purchase can provide the final push to increase the conversion rate in such moments. If someone is about to complete a purchase and sees that friends and acquaintances have also bought another product, this significantly boosts sales.
5. Reviews and Ratings
Good test results, expert or customer reviews of products, testimonials, and influencer marketing also capitalise on the phenomenon of purchase decisions influenced by external validation. But beware! Negative reviews harm the brand just as much as positive ones can bring an enormous boost for good leads.
6. Bonuses and Vouchers
A bonus for first-time buyers of a new product or vouchers with 10, 15, 20% discount are also popular representatives of FOMO marketing. But a classic free delivery works in the same way. FOMO can also be effectively triggered in email marketing: with a reminder or a discount code for items already in the shopping cart, or exclusive offers for subscribers. An eBook or whitepaper provided free after purchase also ensures that the product can be optimally used.
Advantages, Disadvantages, and Risks in FOMO Marketing
Positively and responsibly implemented FOMO marketing cleverly utilises customers’ existing willingness to buy. Thus, FOMO generates more sales and more leads. Ethically questionable, poorly executed, and excessively used FOMO marketing appears manipulative and tends to deter customers. These customers then turn to competitors with a more nuanced approach. Studies https://strategyonline.ca/2015/03/09/the-impact-of-fomo/ have also shown that FOMO can trigger negative emotions such as jealousy, envy, sadness, or disappointment. We should diligently avoid these feelings with our customers. Who wants to set negative emotional anchors!?
The typical societal unease of missing out drives people to act – purchase decisions are among them. If the fear of not buying the product is greater than the fear of buying the product, then the purchase is completed. The theory is that simple. As a company, we can make good use of this effect. However, we should also view the “game with fear” critically to be able to use it positively for ourselves. Because: FOMO works!
