You're Invited!

How do you create excitement and exclusivity online, when a click of a button seems to find any product any time? One way is with invitation-only, limited-time events.

One successful example of the technique is Totsy.com, which also practices niche marketing, targeting moms with diaper bags, maternity clothes and strollers, according to the Associated Press. 

To make sure customers buy now, rather than waiting and maybe forgetting, members are alerted to f lash sales for individual designers 48 hours in advance. Each sale lasts for 72 hours.

However the method does depend on discounts to drive the excitement:  Discounts range from 40 percent to 70 percent.

Limited availability also factors in: The labels are mostly European, with limited distribution.

However any retailer can create an invite-only sale — for best customers, for new customers, for customers you haven’t heard from in a while, even for people whose birthday is this month. It’s easy to segment your email list and then link from there to a special page on your site that only those with the exact URL can see. Even easier, if your online shopping software supports coupons, is to give them a unique coupon code (though be aware that today’s networked shoppers share these pretty widely, so don’t count on a limited number of replies).

You can even use the technique in the real world, inviting shoppers to a special after hours event. Customers love to be in the in-crowd, just make sure the event really does feel special: that the incentives are significant, whether sales or exclusive merchandise, and that the invite list is not just everyone you can find.