Micro Persuasion: The Power of Scarcity

He gets it! (steve Rubel, that is). Check out this well-worded piece on the power of scarcity.
The Power of Scarcity

How to Win Favours...

A week ago, a reporter at the The Ottawa Citizen called me up to ask my opinion on the scandal that had engulfed one of the municipal agencies in charge of waste management contracts. City employees had been receiving gifts from one of the firms bidding on a major contract. So I told them what the research has proven over and over again... if you receive a gift, especially when it comes to you as a result of your professional position, the odds are you will feel a strong urge to repay that gift. Physicians, medical specialists, and especially politicians, they all deny it, but the research clearly shows otherwise - gifts work. Period.

Read the article here.

A Little Taste of the 2007 CMA Convention

What Makes an Effective Gift?

In speeches and workshops, I discuss the principle of Reciprocity, which shows that people feel obligated to give back to those who have given to them. The best way to invoke this principle? Be the first one to give.

Read this story from the blog Marketing Genius from Maple Creative. It's a perfect example of the power of eciprocity and why we call it the "big bang" of influence and persuasion.

I think that what makes this "gift" so influential is that it meets the three criteria for an effective gift:

1. Significant ("and not just any old Milwaukee's Best. No, the good stuff!")
   
   
2. Personalized ("A few of us on the board thought that you and your Maple folks might have an interest in beer."
   
   
3. Unexpected ("The day before the three-day, Memorial Day weekend. Envision the Maple Creative office suite. Enter Marc Weintraub ... with a push cart and cargo in tow!")

For those in marketing, think about the gifts you offer to clients and potential clients (you know, the pens, the sunglass holders, the sticky pads that everyone throws out...). Are they personalized? Significant? Unexpected? If not, you may just be wasting your money on items that don't carry much value for the people you are attempting to influence.