"The more you hide it, the more I want to see it."
~Said every parent at one point or another
Were you that kid who snuck a peek at the presents under the tree?
Were you ever attracted to someone that played hard to get? Did it drive you CRAZY and make you want him or her even more??
When you were warned, “Don’t touch!” as a child, did that spawn a tantrum or a covert op?
It’s the lure of the forbidden fruit.
And it’s been plaguing humans since Adam and Eve.
And marketers, savvy people that they are, know how to use that powerful lure to pique our curiosity, drive us wild with desire, and whip us into a frenzy about their products.
You might think that only plebeian businesses would employ such gossamer tactics.
YOU’D BE WRONG.
Nordstrom department store just played this diabolical trick on its customers to whip up
excitement for their anniversary sale.
Nordstrom! I couldn’t believe my ears when our clients, Kathy and Diane DeCocq, told us of their experience at the beloved retailer.
Now, Kathy and Diane are intelligent, well-educated, successful entrepreneurs. They have created an innovative home inspection business, run and operated by women in a male-dominated industry. These smart, accomplished women wouldn’t fall for these tactics, would they??
Read on. Kathy told their story.
“We were at Nordstrom over the weekend to browse and look at clothes. On the second floor, where all the high end women’s designer clothes are, they were having a preview event. All the clothes were behind yellow tape, stanchioned off so that you could look at them, covet them, but you couldn’t touch them or buy them. Staff was behind the tape working the displays in front of us onlookers. There was an enticing mix of clothes that were part of the new fall collection, clothes that were part of a super-secret clearance, and one of a kind items. There was signage everywhere displaying the dates that certain groups of people could access the clothes… to go behind the ropes. The first group allowed in were Nordstrom’s most prestigious cardholders, Icon Status Guests.
The workers behind the tape played their parts well. ‘So, do you have the Icon card?? Will you be shopping soon??’
‘No, we won’t be coming in until the peasants are allowed,’ we replied sheepishly.
The strategy was genius. Everything was staged according to tiers. The higher the tier, the sooner you got the ‘privilege' of buying those things.
I wanted to buy all of that stuff now! Get an Icon card! Max it out!! I need all of this NOW!! And why? Because I couldn’t have it.”
Diane understood exactly what was happening based on her 20 years of retail experience. “If you wanted to sell something, you created energy in that department. We called it ‘blowing it up.’ When we wanted to bring attention to an area, we would start to rearrange everything. That’s exactly what they did in Nordstrom with all the workers behind the yellow tape. They moved things, changed final prices, put things out, created energy. You could see it, and if you leaned over the ropes you might be able to touch some of the clothes, but you couldn’t buy them! You wanted that prestigious card to get at that stuff the soonest!
Had they not been behind the yellow tape, we would have walked right on by, never noticing any of the clothes.”
Along with the physical barrier, Nordstrom created a visual barrier, too. The use of the bright yellow tape was everywhere. It created an internal desire in every customer in that store.
There were sections mixed in amongst the roped off sections of merchandise you could buy right then and there, but nobody seemed to care about that.
“I want the stuff that’s behind the yellow line! Who cares about this crap you can get at right now?!” laughed Kathy.
Nordstrom, like other smart retailers, know that forbidden fruit is the sweetest.
Diane and Kathy said they’d go back to the store when they were allowed to shop the forbidden ailes. And I’m sure, being the intelligent, well educated, successful women they are, they showed great fiscal responsibility and restraint.
But not if Nordstrom had their way!
You can use the technique of forbidden fruit in your marketing, too. You can create a sense of scarcity by:
limiting the amount of products or services available..."There are only a few available at this special price!"
limiting the time available to purchase..."This offer ends at midnight on the 31st!"
There are many other ways to create a buzz, and we'll discuss those in an email coming soon to your inbox! Stay tuned!
Diane and Kathy DeCocq are the proud owner-operators of Haven Home and Property Inspections. They are setting the industry on fire with their unique approach. Being women, they have a unique perspective, viewing a house not just as a structure, but a place you call “home.”
For home buyers, that means they’ll conduct a thorough inspection with your family in mind. They’ll discuss issues in terms you can understand: those that are minor, easy fixes, those that will take a professional’s touch, and those that are potentially serious, helping you make a confident decision about your purchase.
For sellers, they’ll inspect your home and show you the repairs you can make to leverage the best selling price possible.
And for realtors, they’ll perform the detailed inspection you need and will deal with the buyers in the way you want, in a calm manner without industry jargon.
Visit Haven Home and Property inspections at www.haveninspect.com