Tempt the Frugal to Spend

Frugal consumers derive pleasure from extending the lives of their current possessions rather than trading the possessions in for newer versions. Researchers at HEC Montréal describe the frugal as not wholly against consumption, but rather as highly skeptical about consumption. Unlike tightwads, the frugal don’t find it painful to spend money. Instead, they are open to investing both their dollars and time if this would maintain the value of what they own.
     This, then, is one basis for tempting the frugal to spend. Offer maintenance services with the benefits statement that such services keep items in tiptop condition. Arrange for special orders of add-ons which allow an old product to better handle current demands. Provide training in how to repurpose an obsolete item for another function.
     To sell additional items, recognize the appeal of slow fashion to the frugal. “Slow fashion” refers to consumers’ desire to purchase items they’ll want to use for a relatively long time. Slow fashion is part of the drive for environmental sustainability. This provides another lever for tempting the frugal to spend, suggest study results from University of North Carolina-Greensboro. To employ this lever, emphasize one or more of three points in your marketing:

• Fair trade manufacturing practices so the welfare of workers is respected. 
• Local origins for the raw materials, the production, and/or the supply so that a good portion of the item’s retail purchase price will sustain the quality of life near where the purchaser lives. 
• Backstories for the items so that the lore surrounding the product or service is preserved. 

     The HEC Montréal studies revealed yet another tactic for tempting frugal consumers to open up their wallets: Make a case that what they currently own is considered inadequate by others whose opinions they respect. This triggers the frugal consumer’s resistance to wasteful behaviors. Using an inadequate product is wasteful, since you are not getting the most for your time and money. Frugal consumers are especially sensitive to self-perceptions and perceptions by others that they are ineffective or inefficient.
     In the research studies, the arguments of item inadequacy were on either functional or aesthetic bases. The functional concerned specifications of the item, while the aesthetic concerned the style. The two were equally effective. Either type from a source a frugal consumer considered to be authoritative successfully moved the consumer toward getting rid of an item with which they had been previously satisfied.

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

Click for more…

Loosen Up Tightwads’ Wallets
Slow Fashion Up
Shelve Self-Control with Risk Mates
Sketch Item Aesthetics If Appreciated
Close In on How Shoppers Close Out Use