How often do we come across an offer which feels irresistible and literally drives us to snap it? The fear of missing out, FOMO, as we call it, is a new-age marketing technique aimed at attracting potential customers. This strategy not only works well but also creates a lasting impression on the buyer that they walked away with a great deal.
The objective of FOMO Marketing is to inspire customers to act. The entire strategy is built on the psychology of fear of missing out. The FOMO technique is becoming highly popular among entrepreneurs and e-commerce start-ups hungry to generate traffic and drive sales.
Marketing strategies are getting smarter and more innovative with the increasing competition. The relentless pressure on marketers to capture market share and drive sales has resulted in FOMO marketing taking precedence over the last few years.
Marketing strategists keep coming up with new and creative marketing campaigns integrating the FOMO technique as their key strategy.
Let us understand 12 eCommerce FOMO techniques that are being widely used by organizations to achieve their marketing goals.
Sales Offers
Every second e-commerce website you bump into, you will find discounts and sale offer running across the products. Buy one get one free, 50% discount, buy one and get a 30% discount on another product to name a few. These offers are then made available for a limited time prompting the customers to act.
Most e-commerce retailers try to encash the popularity of discounted products on sale. They duly understand that customers are always eager to buy products at a lesser price and discounts are a great way to draw them.
Sales and discount offers are considered ever-reliable FOMO techniques in the e-commerce space and will never go out of fashion.
Free Shipping
When the buyers realize that they will miss out on the free shipping offer, they consider buying the product.
Moreover, sellers tend to offer free shipping over a certain threshold. It encourages the buyer to add more items to their cart.
Reminders for Incomplete Purchases
Customers who leave items in their carts seem to react positively once they are reminded about the abandoned cart.
Reminders encourage the customers to complete their purchases. This FOMO technique works well if sellers offer limited-time additional discounts on the items lying in the cart.
Display Stock Information
While shopping on your favorite e-commerce site, you must have seen the stock information on the screen. How often do we see this – Only 2 items are in stock.
A feeling of scarcity generates a sense of urgency to complete the purchase before the item runs out of stock, opined an eCommerce website development company.
Displaying Product Views
Displaying product views is a great way to stimulate customer interest in the product. A high number of product views implies that the product has something unique about it and is popular among buyers.
This is a great strategy to push sales of the products which are best-selling as well as profitable. By showcasing them on top of the site, the chances of customers buying them are high.
Time-Bound Sales
A time-bound offer if attractively placed and priced, has the power of driving a high number of customer traffic.
A limited-time offer tempts customers to go for the purchase and not miss out on the deal.
Countdown Timers
Countdown timers have the capacity to create pressure on customers. The timers keep building a sense of urgency in customers.
If an offer is well-promoted and is able to create a buzz and anticipation, customers more often or not get pulled to it.
Limited-Edition Products
Valuable products that are advertised and offered on e-commerce sites as a limited edition, may relate well with the customers.
Normally, marketers keep a Limited-edited version strategy as a non-frequent sales drive. For example, a gold-plated mobile phone with a limited number can arouse high interest in high-end customers.
Displaying the Number of Items Sold
This FOMO strategy is quite popular with e-commerce sites. Prominently displaying the number of items sold can urge the customers to go for the product.
If the products are displayed with positive Customer reviews and testimonials, they can do wonders. The majority of customers check product reviews before buying any product. The reviews add as a deciding factor for a purchase. The combination of counts sold with reviews is a good FOMO strategy.
Conducting Webinars and Live Events
Live events and webinars hosting for exclusive products is an effective strategy to generate excitability.
Product demonstrations if conducted in a live event can bring a high number of customers and improve product visibility. Most mobile phone and digital product companies deploy this strategy to push the sales of their newly launched products.
Benefit Comparison
Retailers have turned really smart by comparing the potential benefits of the product offer to the immediate costs of not taking it.
Benefit comparisons are basically presented to customers to take full advantage of the available opportunity. The product availability may be time-bound or otherwise.
Early Access
This strategy has been quite popular with mobile devices and product companies. We frequently encounter companies giving early access to products online before making them widely available in physical stores.
Early access to newly launched products or services generates a great amount of excitement among customers. It gives a feeling of exclusivity and immediacy to the buyer.
It is a natural feeling of authority to the buyer: I have the product; you do not have it. I am one of the early owners of the product. Companies understand this psychology and fully leverage it.
Final Thoughts
These 12 FOMO techniques are proven and time-tested. They have done remarkably well to help achieve the overall marketing objective of the organization.
Besides these 12 FOMO techniques, there are other strategies that marketers and retailers use to successfully employ FOMO techniques to draw customers to their sites.
Many marketers are using personalized recommendations and product suggestions based on customers’ browsing history. Purchase history is also factored in to create a sense of urgency.
Few companies are using Flash sales on niche products to encourage immediate purchases. Few companies deliberately create the buzz for products and keep them on the waitlist. By keeping the product on a waitlist, they ask the users to sign-up before availing of the discount.
Customers are also drawn to exclusive deals and promotions. These exclusive deals are offered to a particular set of customers like e-mail subscribers or members of loyalty programs. Offering premium packages or VIP experiences is an example of an exclusive deal.
Few e-commerce retailers offer referral bonuses to existing customers. Most of the time, this strategy works. Customers do not want to miss out on referral bonuses.
Likewise, there can be numerous FOMO techniques available to e-commerce retailers and marketers to increase traffic and drive sales.
While implementing FOMO techniques, transparency, and ethical standards must be established. They must not misrepresent customers. Any technique built on misleading customers may fire back and affect the brand and loyalty.
Marketers must be mindful that customer looks for value and quality for the price they are willing to pay for a product or service. Unethical practices can irrevocably damage customer trust and harm a brand’s reputation in the long run.
