Can people run their businesses without your product? Probably. It’s theoretically possible to operate a business without your software or service offering. But to keep your business flourishing, your customers must believe they “need” your products and services.
That’s what marketing tactics are all about, isn’t it? Convince your prospects that whatever you have to offer is what they need to make their goals achievable. But how you go about creating this need is what matters.
You can help push your prospects in the right direction with a number of digital marketing tactics. And while it’s easy to tweak a landing page, a call to action, or restructure your shipping policy, none of these actions will move the needle if your target audience doesn’t know about you.
So, before we dive into how to create that need and sense of urgency, let’s first touch on how to tap into your customer base so you know who you’re creating urgency for.
How to Identify Your Ideal Customer
Pay Attention to Advertising Analytics
Advertising analytics are widely available, and you can learn quite a bit about what marketing tactics work and what do not by using free basic services. You may choose to delve deeper and purchase more advanced analytics capabilities, but regardless, you must commit to understanding the story your analytics tell.
Learning where your website traffic comes from gives you valuable insight into which traffic sources to prioritize during an upcoming marketing push. And it’s not just “traffic” you’re interested in, but relevant traffic, or the kind that leads to a higher conversion rate. One route may bring in a large number of people who don’t buy your product, while another may bring in fewer visitors, many of whom do. Identifying the sources of your valuable traffic can give you insight into what your audience understands about your brand and product, how you’ll want to guide them on your site, and the kind of email marketing campaign you should send them.
The Value of Plain Old Consumer Research
And while advertising analytics are powerful and should be regularly re-examined, there is much to be said about old-school consumer research. Email surveys are a great way to identify your customers’ main pain points so you can craft better marketing materials and content to address them. And when it comes to creating a sense of urgency, it’s extremely helpful to understand what matters most to them.
For instance, let’s say your audience’s biggest concern is finding a tool that measures the success of their social media campaigns. And even though your company offers a variety of services, it would make sense for you to create urgency around your social media scheduling and analytics tool.
Ideas for Creating Urgency
Pop-ups and Countdown Timers
This is where some A/B testing will be necessary. Various page elements can have different effects. For some businesses, countdown timers showing how much time is left to enjoy a deal can create a sense of urgency and drive more conversions. For others, a scroll or a series of pop-ups in a corner indicating that a customer has just purchased something can prompt anxiety to engage and drive conversion. A simple message reminding customers of free shipping may increase conversions without requiring any additional action. But it’s essential that you test these elements to see which ones make a difference, rather than just throwing them all on the page and hoping some will work.
Price Anchoring
Price anchoring doesn’t necessarily stimulate need, but it makes customers feel good about their choice. One of the primary reasons for shopping cart abandonment is getting to the checkout page only to see a litany of fees customers hadn’t known about before. People want to know as soon as possible how much their card will be charged. They’re less interested in the cost of the item, the hook-up fee, taxes, and other nickel-and-dime inconveniences. When customers arrive at the final checkout page, believing they know how much they’re spending, don’t spring a bunch of new costs on them.
Instill the FOMO Element
On some level, we know we can get by without every product or service that promises to solve our problems more easily, faster, or more efficiently. But we don’t want to miss out, especially if we think our peers and competitors are enjoying an advantage we aren’t.
Sending promo emails that use language like “Don’t miss out!” or “You don’t want to miss out on this amazing limited offer!” can be all it takes to instill enough FOMO to encourage a purchase. However, the key lies in making sure that the excitement you’re inciting matches the offer. Make sure that whatever you’re promoting with the FOMO tactic actually provides value to the consumer; otherwise, there won’t be any FOMO at all.
Ultimately, creating urgency starts with thoroughly understanding your customer and how your best customers arrive at your site looking to buy. Use that knowledge to guide you on what to promote, and essentially what to create urgency around. Then, try different tactics to see what yields the most success.
