Creating sales urgency works. It is a highly effective tactic for closing a deal with a curious or indecisive customer.
Without a sense of pressure, some customers may delay making a purchasing decision indefinitely, or may not choose the product that aligns with your current sales and marketing goals. In those cases, the customer can be nudged. Creating urgency benefits the customer by driving them to a decision — hopefully one that leads to a satisfactory outcome for both customer and seller.
Creating urgency is not always a win, however. Nor should it be a go-to tactic all the time. In some customer interaction scenarios, creating urgency can be detrimental to forging long-term relationships.
What’s the best sales path forward? How can you create urgency without harming customer relationships? We advise thoughtful, limited-time marketing tactics that incentivize fast choices while minimizing the pitfalls of pressure.
This article explores the benefits of using urgency and why limited-time marketing is among the most effective in-the-moment sales strategies.
The Benefits of Using Urgency to Make a Sale
There are clear upsides to creating sales urgency. However, the tactic must be handled correctly to achieve short and long-term benefits.
Pro-Tip: Creating urgency should not be the only tactic in your sales strategy. Use it sparingly and strategically. Ideally, the sense of urgency is augmented by competitive pricing, a unique value proposition, or enhanced product attributes. Without those factors in play, the tactic won’t foster repeat sales.
Why Limited-Time Marketing Works
Limited-time offers put customers on the clock. They face a decision to buy now or miss out. There’s reduced time to ponder alternatives or run through a pros and cons checklist. Limited-time marketing plays right into every customer’s FOMO (fear-of-missing-out).
Another concept, beyond FOMO, also comes into play: scarcity.
Scarcity builds a belief in customers that something is about to run out. When humans face scarcity of resources, options, or time, their need to act now becomes more urgent. The scarcity strategy works so well that it prompts people to act and purchase products that weren’t on their minds. It’s what makes clearance racks and “last-one” signs so impactful. Customers expect they won’t get a second chance to buy a clearance item later, so they act impulsively and get it immediately.
Advantages of FOMO and Scarcity
Increase Customer Motivation
A reasonable amount of stress motivates customers to finalize their purchase decision.
Decrease Comparison Shopping
A customer can be inclined to act now and forgo evaluating alternatives.
Rapid Sales Boost
Any brand looking for a quick sales bump can leverage either tactic.
Elevates Perceived Value
Purchases driven by deep emotional motives are believed to be a smarter choice.
Examples of Limited-Time Marketing
As the phrase “limited-time marketing” suggests, time is the source of the pressure. Time is a powerful motivator and can be applied to many factors that prompt purchases.
Five Ways to Use Time With Your Offer
- Counting down to the end of a popular product line
- Last units of a model year
- Limited-time availability for specialty or seasonal products
- Limited-time pricing
- The upcoming removal of a feature, ingredient, or attribute
Where to Promote Limited-Time Marketing Strategies
The best application of limited-time marketing is in-store and near the product. Yes, limited-time marketing can be part of a larger awareness campaign. However, in-the-moment messages that connect a customer to the product in a place of purchase are the ideal strategy.
We recommend brands consider using the following formats to promote limited-time offers:
- Countdown timer signage
- Flash sale end caps
- Freestanding display
- In-store digital signage
- Last chance shelf hangers
- Limited edition posters
- Point-of-purchase displays
Limited-time messaging can also work with other media channels and marketing tactics. When moving away from the point of purchase, we recommend choosing a contextual setting. That means ensuring your limited-time marketing message catches people at a time, place, and ideally, a moment of need or connected relevance. For example, campaigns over the last year that warned air travelers that they would need a REAL ID to fly on commercial aircraft. Travelers often saw those messages in airports, travel agencies, and other travel-related spaces.
The Risks of Over-Relying on Limited-Time Marketing
As noted, limited-time marketing should not be a brand’s only selling tactic. After all, something that is always on sale is never on sale. The prolonged use of a limited-time message can create negative perceptions regarding your product or service. Customers expect, and in some cases even like, some pressure. But prolonged, unrelenting pressure will eventually drive them away, lower Net Promoter scores, and increase negative reviews.
Why You Should Not Overuse Limited-Time Marketing
Damages Trust
Customers can feel manipulated, leading to regret or buyer’s remorse.
Increases Refunds or Cancellations
Sales made under pressure often don’t “stick,” especially if the customer wasn’t truly convinced of the product’s value.
Harms Brand Reputation
Word-of-mouth, online reviews, and social media backlash can seriously impact future growth.
Diminishes Customer Lifetime Value
A pressured sale might bring a single purchase, but not the long-term loyalty of a satisfied, repeat customer.
Ready to Improve Sales with Limited Time Marketing?
Creating compelling limited-time marketing tactics and point-of-purchase displays is only one aspect of in-the-moment marketing — a strategy created by Momentara. We turn in-store, out-of-home, and event promotions into useful touchpoints that sync with the customer’s routines to encourage behaviors. The Momentara approach makes your marketing messages a welcome, impactful, and natural part of the customer’s day.
Whether your marketing needs focus on creating limited-time urgency or you’re intrigued by the omnichannel opportunities offered by Momentara, we invite you to reach out. We bring you the technology, experience, production, scale, resources, and national presence to build certainty and programmatic success.
