The Psychology Of Gated Launches
On Black Friday, any deal is a good deal, and this mentality comes from a combination of anticipation, adrenaline, and delayed gratification. You’ve probably already heard of the marshmallow test.
In a study conducted by a Stanford University professor, children were given a choice between eating a treat placed on the table right in front of them or waiting it out and then receiving twice as much the reward.
Spoiler alert… most people ate the marshmallow!
This, in a nutshell, is the psychology of gated launches.
3 Simple Steps To Run A Gated Launch
- Password protect your website (I know what you’re thinking… no one will be able to access your site!) Well, you’re wrong!
- Let your VIP list know that they will be getting early access to your sale or new launch and will need a password to enter the site!
- Launch your promo for the first 2 hours (or whatever time frame you decide on) to your VIP list.
The Results Of A Gated Launch
As far as results go, my own experience, a gated launch can yield about a 50% sales difference versus a regular all-out launch. In this example we did just over 250K in a 24 hour window.
You create this effect that rather than somebody planning to buy one thing, they go in and they probably get caught up and they buy 2, 3, 4, 5 things--it’s an incredible effect.
It’s worth investing the time.
Password Protect My Site? Ya right!
The results above should be a nice nudge for those of you who may be wary about locking down your site for any period of time, thinking that this could lead to losses in sales.
However, customers who come across the locked site either come back at a later time or figure out what has to be done to get access.
Either way, it’s a win-win and gives your brand exclusivity.
Use Your SMS List!
The “gated launch” is a strategy that not only generates huge sales but also helps you convert leads from SMS lists and VIP groups.
For their last Little & Lively sale, Jordan shares how they launched without running a single ad, but still went on to do six figures for that sale. These and all things considered, the residual effects can potentially be as incredible as the immediate.
In the long run, investing in this strategy can (and should) eventually lead you to the tipping point wherein you can launch without ads, spending less on acquiring customers and more on scaling your business even further through innovative marketing initiatives.
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Jordan West is The CMO at Little & Lively Clothing, The CEO at Mindful Marketing (A performance marketing agency for high growth e-commerce brands), and The Host of the podcast “Secrets To Scaling Your E-Commerce Brand”
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