What Is Urgency Marketing?

In its simplest form, urgency marketing is about crafting marketing promotions in a way that drives immediate consumer response. It allows marketers to achieve their goals faster and can fundamentally change how consumers feel about a brand for the better.

The Psychology That Fuels Urgency Marketing

Urgency marketing can drive significant response over a short time, thanks to psychology principles such as:

ANTICIPATION

The act of looking forward to something, like a purchase or an experience, is pleasurable for a consumer.

Take eating a chocolate cake for example. Neuroscientist Matt Johnson told Quikly that the moment right before taking a bite of chocolate cake is actually more rewarding than the bite itself.

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SCARCITY

Researchers believe scarcity is an adaptive trait from the earliest days of mankind when survival depended on the ability to perceive limited resources, like food and water.

Even though we've evolved as a species, we continue to process scarcity cues similarly. Consumer Psychologist Dante Pirouz told Quikly that when a consumer perceives something is limited they become hyper-focused on it. That’s because heightened cognitive processing kicks in, which often elicits anxiety when forecasting the future absence of said rarity.

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SOCIAL PROOF

This concept implies consumers will adapt their behavior according to what others are doing. But social proof goes beyond a person’s desire to fit in, according to Consumer Psychologist Dante Pirouz.

She believes this type of behavior is based on who people tend to intrinsically trust, which is why referrals are so effective at driving sales growth.

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COMPETITION

The innate desire to win is another evolutionary trait, dating back to when tribes needed to fight for resources in order to live.

Today, we don’t have to rely on competing to survive, but brands have found that injecting some fun competition into promotions can be an enjoyable, motivating experience for consumers.

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The Value of Urgency Marketing:

GENERATE SALES WITHOUT HEAVY DISCOUNTING

Urgency marketing is not all about discounting and heavy hits to margins. Incentives like early access, loyalty currency, plus-up offers and more are just as effective.

CREATE DEMAND AND INCREASE PERCEIVED VALUE

Increase perceived value and consumer response around promotions, changing the way consumers view your marketing for the better.

ACHIEVE MARKETING GOALS FASTER

Tap into consumer psychology any day of the year to immediately motivate consumers around the activities that will get you to your goals.

GET THROUGH TO DISTRACTED CONSUMERS

Consumers are distracted and empowered with purchase decisions, making it all too easy to tune out even their favorite brands. Urgency marketing cuts through the noise.

ACCELERATE CRM GROWTH

Motivate key actions around CRM growth — across email, SMS, loyalty, mobile app and social marketing — to benefit your brand both in the immediate and in the future.

Common Urgency Marketing Tactics

Black
Friday

Amazon
Prime Day

Limited-release
Launches

High Demand/
Low Inventory

Checkout
Timers

Flash
Promotions

Surprise &
Delight Events

In-stock
Notifications

Leverage Urgency Marketing With Quikly

BUILD ANTICIPATION

Tease your promotions to build excitement and demand ahead of time. You’ll generate significant digital interest and do so fast.

IMPLEMENT TIERED OFFER STRATEGIES

Launch tiered reward structures (that decrease in value based on quantity claimed or time lapsed) to create a promotional scarcity that motivates consumers to act.

FUEL DEMAND WITH SOCIAL PROOF

Use social proof to motivate key actions, such as referrals. It will instantly accelerate acquisition and fuel mass participation within your promotions.

INCREASE REDEMPTION RATES

Offer consumers better rewards for faster responses. The achievement of responding fast enough will change perceived reward value, increasing redemption rates.