The Scarcity Strategy

How was your Easter? I hope you had a great one shared with family and friends.

Living in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Easter is synonymous with BLUESFEST – a five-day music festival of all things blues, roots, rock and funk. The festival started in 1990, growing in size, length and popularity over the 35 years since. But for the last few years it been struggling first with two consecutive cancellations post covid, followed by two years of poor attendance. Paired with a lack of government support for music festivals in general and insurance companies backing away from flood cover, they couldn’t sustain themselves any longer.

The organisers announced that this year was going to be the last ever Bluesfest. To go out with a bang, they secured an extraordinary line up of headliners including Crowded House, Hilltop Hoods, John Butler, Tones and I, and Toto (to name a few). The strategy worked. Not only did they sell out for the first time in years, they were able to sell enough tickets to effectively bankroll another festival! On day 1 this year – they started advertising that tickets were already on sale for next year. Hooray!

The scarcity strategy is an effective one. When products or services are perceived as exclusive, premium, or limited, their perception of worth immediately increases. A fashion brand I worked with adopts this strategy when announcing their upcoming drops. They promote the new capsule, highlight limited pieces, and countdown the launch date on their website. Often – these items sell out within the first few minutes. Their customers are literally waiting to hit their refresh buttons ready to make their purchase!

How can you adopt the scarcity strategy in your business? What can you put on a limited offer?  How can you create the perception of premium? Whether the Bluesfest crew really were planning their last show or not, their strategy worked. Letting people know that they were not a forever guaranteed option pushed the punters to invest early, and this shored up investment for their future.

Further, think about how you can reward your customers for buying early. Think about discounted rates, loyalty points, extra perks or special treatment. Appreciate and respect loyalty – as loyal customers provide assurance and a platform for continued growth.

I for one, respect that if I want to continue to enjoying live music on my doorstep every Easter, I need to front up the cash and buy the tickets early. We’ve lost so many music festivals in Australia because of consumers waiting until  the last minute to buy tickets. As customers and consumers, get behind the events and brands you love so they have a fighting chance of survival in difficult markets.

Here’s to many more Bluesfests in Byron!