GLOSSIER: SHEEP SYNDROME

Morning and of course, Happy New Year!

Wow, what a year 2022 was. Seriously. 

The ups, the downs, the chaos, the triumph, it well and truly had it all. 

Who knows what 2023 has in store for us but if it comes anything close to 2022 I'll be happy.

I also wanted to take a quick second to thank you for taking the time out of your day to read, share and leave feedback on my Growing Viral articles this last year - it really does mean the world. 

On that note, 65% of you didn't get around to reading last week's article, probably because it was Christmas day - understandable. 

So I'll link it HERE if you want to give it a quick read before we move on.

Now let's get into this week's breakdown where I dive into something I hate more than anything in the world - and why using them is a genius marketing move. 

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Breaking Down The Strategy

This last week we gave the whole team a well-deserved break to allow them to reset and regenerate before the new year. It also meant that I could have a "no work" week too - you can probably guess how that turned out. 

Let's just say it was my first and last attempt at a "no work" week for a while. In other words it's been a logistical f*cking nightmare. 

One thing the week off did allow though, was a little relaxing trip to London with the Mrs. Nothing special, just some shopping, a bit of sightseeing, and a lot of trying to navigate the underground (being a northerner sucks at times). 

And it was great, the most fun I've had in a while by far. But the whole trip there was one thing that just kept pissing me off... and that's QUEUES.

Every store we wanted to go into. Queue.

The Mrs wants to go in Charlotte Tilbury? Boom 40 minute queue. Ugg? 30 minute queue.The Ordinary? Another 30 minute queue. And Glossier...Well, I refused to go in that one. 

Just look. 

Absolute Joke. 

And if having to shuffle around a rammed Charlotte Tilbury wasn't bad enough. Slap a 40 minute queue onto it too. Fuming I was. 

At first, I thought it was just bad organisation - a nightmare for the stores. I was stood there slating them "They must be losing tonnes of customers?" 

But then we got in line for a queue outside Carhartt - don't even ask - and every single person who walked past the queue stopped to see what everyone was waiting for. It was like sheep syndrome.

The second they saw everyone else in line they just HAD to see what was going on. You could see the curiosity spark in their faces as they walked by. 

But that wasn't the crazy part. The crazy part was the percentage of people that would join the queue after nearly walking by. 

They clearly weren't that excited about Carhartt, I mean, they literally had no plans to walk in - they were halfway walking past. 

But the queue, THAT is what perked their interest. 

And that is where it clicked for me. 

These queues aren't there because of bad operations, lack of efficiency or a stupid man at the door. 

It was a marketing tactic, a VERY effective marketing tactic. 

They created scarcity by only letting a certain number of people into the store. ↓That then caused an outside perception of huge demand with a queue.↓That queue then led to even more demand. ↓That demand then saw the scarcity inside and decided it was worth it to get inline to try and get in there before the queue got even longer.

And you can probably guess what happened the second they stepped foot in that store after waiting 40 minutes.- They purchased more- They purchased quicker- And they spent more money 

Every business' dream. All from the simple marketing tactic of creating a queue. 

Now we know how Glossier did it, but how can you create the same effect with your business? 

1. Create scarcity. 

Important to note that none of this works with 0 demand, so before you do anything - find a way to get people to want to start working with you. When you do, begin to limit the number of clients/customers you take on. Now you have scarcity. 

2. Create a queue

For shops, it's easy, it's literally a physical queue. For businesses that operate online, it's slightly harder. 

Nonetheless, you have to find a way to stack up demand. 

The easiest way to do this is to have a waitlist, but whatever way you choose - find a way to store your demand. 

3. Showcase that demand to the world

There's a reason queues always get in the way and that's because stores want you to see them. 

Now you need to figure out a way to showcase your demand to all your other prospects. 

Whether you choose to:- Add a waiting list to your website that shows the number of people on the waitlist.- Let prospects know of the waitlist from the start.- Or talk about being booked up in your marketing. 

Just find a way to showcase your demand.

Because the second prospects start seeing that you're in demand, they'll instantly see you and your business as more desirable. 

And once that kicks in...

They'll purchase quicker. They'll purchase more.And they'll spend more money. A beautiful trio of outcomes. 

Right, that's all for today. 

Drop me a reply with your biggest goal for 2023 - interested to see what you all have planned. 

Oh and once again, Happy New Year!— Niall

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This has been a breakdown of marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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