Eek-commerce is marketing designed to create an honest sense of fear and foreboding that the consumer may miss out on “something” if they don’t ACT NOW. The biggest problem marketers face today is that consumers are nowhere near as ignorant as they used to be. Through the years, consumers have evolved to become a thick-skinned educated group who are always looking out for expected false marketing claims and over-the-top promises. Access to knowledge at the click of a mouse has created a world of consumers who are informed and know the tricks unscrupulous marketers used to use to create the smoke and mirrors show they needed to sell their snake oil. In today’s world of sales and marketing, the old tricks have been replaced by the new truths. There is no longer a place for lies and empty promises when a single click can discredit claims and a single customer review can cause damage to a brand’s reputation and bottom-line. For the most part, today’s marketers are truthful, transparent and upfront with what is being offered and what will be delivered. Still, survival instincts learned from decades of dubious marketers have created a new type of consumer with a thick skin that modern marketers must somehow penetrate. You can derail the defenses with some unexpected honest and fun eek-commerce marketing to watch your sales rise.
There are inherent human desires to be part of a group or possess something no one else will have. These ingrained character traits cannot be reasoned away, despite best efforts by the consumer. This is an open door for marketers to acquire sales through the timeless, but updated, technique of eek-commerce, where the reality is presented that the consumer could potentially miss out on an opportunity if a decision to purchase is delayed. By creating an honest sense of urgency, marketers can utilize the human innate desires to belong, participate and possess. By talking to the part of the consumer psyche that needs to be “in the know”, that needs to be part of the group, that needs to believe there is a chance to own something very few others also own, marketers can ramp their sales.
An excellent way to showcase the need for the consumer to come to a purchase decision quickly is to use urgent wording in copywriting. Calls to action like “Last Chance”, “Act Now”, “Call Today”, and “Hurry In” all create a sense of urgency in the mind of the consumer. The consumer has arrived to your site, they have found what they were looking for, but now they see that they may lose out on some good deal if they do not put away the buyer hesitation and make the purchase. When the product is good, it will sell itself, but adding a sense of urgency in a truthful manner can help persuade the consumer to push the BUY NOW button and enter their credit card information sooner. Without deceit or false claims, a sense of urgency can create the feeling that the marketer honestly wants the consumer to be able to take advantage of the sale price before prices go up or before stock runs out because someone else bought the last one. Sensible and honest copywriting showcasing legitimate urgency in its wording, without seeming like an insulting marketing tactic, can be the tipping point to turn a curious consumer into a paying customer.
Along with a sense of urgency with stock limits, creating truthful time-sensitive offers can also increase sales. When there is a real chance that a limited stock supply may run out, that there is only time to handle X amount of calls, or that the sale is one day only, consumers can be faster to act with an educated-impulse to hurry their buying decision along. The key here is to understand educated-impulse. While your offer may be limited stock or a limited time, if the item can be purchased from another retailer, the sense of urgency is compromised. This is where your value proposition of why purchasing from your site is the smart choice to make, whether it’s because you have the best price, the most awesome extras or outstanding shipping incentives. Checking other retailers is only a click away for today’s smart consumers, so you have to convince the consumer what you’re offering is simply the best deal they will find, but only while supplies last, so they best act now or they will miss out.
Fear of loss is a huge motivator for people. It could be the fear of losing out on a great price, the fear of losing out on a chance to own a rare item, or the fear of losing out on an offer’s added benefits and bonuses. As long as the fear is not manufactured (or too frightening, like “Buy this item or we will shoot this dog”), your customer will not feel ripped off, duped, or made to feel like a fool. Treat your customers fairly, honestly and as educated people using eek-commerce offers that are believable and accurate, and you can have fun scaring up sales all year long.
