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vangogh
01-19-2009, 11:02 PM
While it may seem odd avoiding loss is a stronger motivator than potential gain.

Karon Thackston wrote a good article (http://www.marketingwords.com/blog/?p=312) highlighting the above.


Fear of losing out on something is a greater motivator than the desire to benefit. Dan Ariely (among many scientists and marketers) have proven time and time again that we - as consumers - don’t like to lose. So, when a national chain store announces it’s going out of business, we immediately gasp then rush out this instant to buy everything in sight before it’s all gone.

Thoughts? Do you incorporate loss avoidance into your copy when appropriate?

seolman
01-19-2009, 11:23 PM
I've never used that tactic in my writing but it's an interesting idea. Whenever we're about ot raise prices we just schedule the price hike and *POP* - up they go. Now I'm going to consider an announcement - "as of XX date our prices for 'this' or 'that' will be going up" to see if it stimulates some business (obviously in a bit more creative way). Interesting article.

Thanks for the heads up Steve.

vangogh
01-20-2009, 12:57 AM
I've seen the concept mentioned quite a few times. It's also why many of us will keep subscribing to something we don't really use. We're afraid to lose it so we keep paying to get it.

cbscreative
01-20-2009, 11:01 AM
The numbers show this to be true, that fear of loss is a good motivator, but I believe it can easily backfire too. When you read the way some copywriters adopt this principle, it begins to sound like the proverbial high pressure salesman. Used correctly, it can work very well. Used incorrectly, it smells of manipulation, and I think most people pick up on that and instinctively resist it.

vangogh
01-20-2009, 02:17 PM
I think the backfiring is in poor implementation rather than the concept itself. Anything can backfire if you do it poorly. For me the takeaway here is to understand the fear of losing something is a powerful emotion that can get people to take action more than other emotions.

You won't always find a place to make use of that information and I wouldn't suggest trying to force it in where it doesn't belong, but it's good to remember for when and where it's appropriate to mention.

KristineS
01-20-2009, 03:26 PM
I'm not a huge fan of this type of technique, but more because I think some people take it to far than because I think the technique itself is bad. I think it's like any other call to action used in Marketing or Advertising, it can be used for good or evil. The intent of the salesperson creating the sales piece matters more than the technique that is used.

seolman
01-20-2009, 03:33 PM
It just proves the point that good writing is an art. I would want some of my clients to take advantage of the prices before I raise them but I would want to word it so it didn't sound like a cheap sales pitch...

the goat
01-20-2009, 04:33 PM
I use another angle of this theory on a custom shirt site I have. We make the shirts limited editions.

This way we can send emails to our customer list, or make announcements that a certain shirt will be discontinued soon. This motivates someone who was on the fence to act and make a purchase.

It also helps because this is a local business, so people know they will own something that not everyone else has.

cbscreative
01-20-2009, 05:56 PM
Sometimes, the implementation here can provide a dangerously fine line to walk. Right now I am thinking of computer backup. The fear of loss should scare anyone into doing proper backup. Most people seem to realize that the danger is real, yet the majority seem willing to admit that they are not doing backup as well as they should. This would be a case where the majority seem to believe they need to be more diligent about backup, yet the fear of loss still does not provide enough motivation.

If someone is too honest in pointing out the dangers of data loss, even with the best of intentions, the honesty will backfire. It's not that people don't believe the message, it's just that the fear of loss is not enough in this example. This is one case where you actually have to soften the fear to not be perceived as using scare tactics. Like every other principle out there, you have to be careful how and when you use it.

orion_joel
01-20-2009, 06:20 PM
This tactic is actually very very over used, and yet people still consistently fall for it very often. All of my suppliers have announced over the last month or two prices increases coming because of the Australian Dollar to US Dollar. While i could have taken advantage of that to my customers at this point i haven't and probably missed out.

Really though how often do you hear a tv advertisement end with "Hurry before it is all over". Anyway this is one piece of marketing i have attempted to shield myself against because it is really what is the making of impulse buying.

seolman
01-20-2009, 06:23 PM
I don't know Joel...if there was a Violet Crumble involved I could go for the offer...(I just finished off a bag brought over to Costa Rica by my Aussie mate). I lived in Baulkham Hills for several years outside Sydney. Finally got my crumbles...

vangogh
01-20-2009, 06:34 PM
I don't think there's anything specifically bad about appealing to loss avoidance. I think most of the bad examples are people going too far and maybe trying to overly scare someone. That's really not the fault of the idea, it's the fault of the person writing the copy. You can go too far with anything. It's just as bad to promise that reading your new ebook will guarantee the reader can make millions.

Steve I'm not sure your computer loss is the kind of thing the article is talking about with loss. I think it's more the price is going up next week kind of thing. People who weren't sure whether or not to buy may be more willing because they're afraid they won't get the same low price again.

For a non business example I'll take you back to college. I remember we used to go out every weekend to the bars. A lot of the time some of us didn't really want to go, but still we did, because we didn't want the night we didn't go to be the one really good night everyone talked about the next few months. So we'd go in order not to risk missing out on something I think that kind of thing is what the power of loss is all about. It's more about missing out on an opportunity.

goat has it right with the t-shirts. Tell people one will be discontinued and many people who had been sitting on the fence about buying may now make the decision to buy because if they don't they may never have a chance to. It's not about losing the shirt, but losing the opportunity to buy it in the future.

Dan Furman
01-20-2009, 10:23 PM
It's more about missing out on an opportunity.


Yup - that's it. Nobody wants to be the one left out. That's why those "get rich quick" pages keep working - because there's a strong desire to not be the one left behind.

vangogh
01-20-2009, 11:28 PM
We can make all the fun we want of those long "get rich quick" pages, but they continue to exist because they work.

I was reading another article about viral propaganda theory (http://www.seo-theory.com/2009/01/20/an-introduction-to-viral-propaganda-theory/), which is also an interesting article on a somewhat different subject. The post talks about an experiment


Participants, all female, had to rate 222 faces based on physical beauty on a scale from 1 to 8. Afterwards, researchers told each participant either that the average score was higher or that it was lower than her rating. Some participants were told the average rating was equal to her rating. The researchers then chatted with the participant before suddenly asking the participant to do the rating again. Most subjects changed their opinion toward the average.


I think this study goes toward the same basic instinct that loss avoidance appeals to. As Dan said no one wants to be left out. We have a tendency to seek the norm to be like others as a survival mechanism.

cbscreative
01-21-2009, 02:27 PM
I know my example was a slight deviation from the main point here, but I was extending the principle here a little further. If you were to present the data backup issue as an "opportunity" to back up before you miss out, it would probably be a lot more effective, and it would adhere more closely to the same principle being discussed.

vangogh
01-21-2009, 04:04 PM
An opportunity to back up before missing out does fit better. Maybe calling this the power of loss isn't really the right way to name the idea. It's more the power of missing out.

orion_joel
01-21-2009, 07:42 PM
It could potentially still be loss, as you are may be will lose the opportunity forever. With the right copy you could probably make thousands, by advertising something like

"Your data is at risk, $100 Backup Service. Make sure you don't lose your data FOREVER."

While that line is pure fear bait, there is a certain potential group that it could work to convince to buy.