What tulip mania can teach you about marketing
When you think of the concepts of abundance and scarcity, it may bring up such personalities as Deepak Chopra, Ekhart Tolle, Gabrielle Bernstein, or the movie The Secret. They teach us that the Universe is abundant, yet we often operate in scarcity. And that may very true for the concepts they are referring to: love, happiness, health, wealth.
These concepts have their flip side. While we want abundance of good, an abundance of french fries, corruption and environmental pollution isn't desirable. And while we don't want scarcity of good, the scarcity of disease, greed and bad decisions would be desirable.
In marketing and business, abundance can be bad for our business, and scarcity good. How?
Over-saturation drives prices down, while scarcity drives them up. In Tulip Mania that occurred in the Netherlands at the turn of the 17th century, tulips became a coveted product. Although accounts vary about how accurate reports are, it seemed at the height of the craze, even one tulip bulb would sell for the price of an estate! The scarcer they were, the more valuable they became. Now, the tulips themselves didn't change - they were still just flowers. They didn't get sprayed with gold or get studded with diamonds. The product remained the same, but the perception of desirability changed and thus the cost was driven up to insane proportions.
How can you use this to advantage in your business?
Limited time only. Limited edition. Only 3 spots left. Invite only. What do all these have in common? They create a perception of scarcity. These kinds of things trigger our natural anxiety of FOMO (fear of missing out). We avoid that feeling because it doesn't feel good, and thus want to get in on the action before it's too late. Key is, that the product needs to be perceived as valuable to that customer. If you tell me that Justin Bieber will be in town and will sign the chest of the first 100 people to walk through the door of his venue, I'll stay home thank you very much. But if you tell me that Def Leppard is playing the final concert of their career, I will be up at the crack of dawn trying for those tickets, channeling my 80's glam rock obsession all the way to the box office.
You have to make yourself into a coveted product. There is no doubt of the abundance of photographers on the planet, so you must become the tulip among them. I hear so many photographer say - I can't charge more for my services, because other photographers are offering the same thing at a cheaper price. Remember that the tulip didn't change, it was still a flower. The perception of its value changed. The power lies in changing the perceived value of you and your product. Paired with the concept of scarcity, you have now created conditions where people will want to pay the price you request.
Ways to introduce scarcity
Build a unique and compelling story around your brand. People love to hear incredible stories and when they get invested in the story, they get invested with you. Putting up a generic website template, throwing a few images into a portfolio along with a contact button and never leaving your house to talk with people (outside of shooting) won't do it. But a rich About page that talks of your journey, a curated portfolio of inspirational images, and your personality oozing with every handshake, will. Sue Bryce is a great example - a story from fear to success, and now she helps others in the same situation. People like her are scarce and therefore she stands out.
Offer features not offered elsewhere. The tulip was still a tulip, but had colours that many hadn't seen before in flowers, and after being injected with a virus - tulip breaking virus - it broke the colour up into amazing variations. They were considered luxury and exotic and sought-after. So what can you do to make your products or services sought-after? What would your clients love? A money-back guarantee to garner trust? Prints on metal with every package? A loyalty program with amazing perks like a a coupon to an incredible local restaurant? When you think every single thing in photography has already been done, think again. The Brenizer method is one example, as are shadow-box mini sessions.
Exclusivity or invite-only offers. Want to make people feel like rockstars? Make them feel like they're in the inner circle, getting something above the general crowds. You can do this effectively through a newsletter that gives your former clients first dibs on most popular summer or Fall shooting dates, or gives them 30 holiday cards if they are one of the first 3 to book.
Use specials and discounts sparingly. If you offer mini sessions every other week, it doesn't motivate people to act. They'll just be another one next week. Create scarcity by crafting a special offer that will be around for a very short time, and only happens at a certain time. Take the Red Cup campaign offered by Starbucks. Only offered at Christmas, for a limited time. People flocked to the stores and it created its own tidal wave of social media. Ask yourself what would happen if they had run the campaign every month. Would it have had the same impact?
Abundance is still a good thing - of personality, talent, great customer service, patience. Just apply in the proper places for best results!
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