Scarcity and value are closely linked. Many industrialists and marketers have understood this all too well by manipulating this natural law for their benefit. Artificially creating the scarcity of merchandise, collector’s items or even talent in the marketplace can dramatically increase the price of an object.
The hard part is identifying uniqueness in a world where geography matter very little. The attorney that was down the street was scarce because access to him within a city limit was part of the geographical reality. When we can shop with our fingers on our keyboards and find another that can offer similar services, his scarcity value evaporated. There is more access to other options.
Your own market and business have places of abundance and scarcity. The key is identifying the two and highlighting the latter. Some ways to find the scarcity include:
- Finding the difficult processes
- Differentiating what takes true artistic talent
- Seeing if there is anything comparable on Google
- Knowing where you have a speed advantage
Once you find the scarcity, build your reputation on it. This will keep you from blending in with the crowd. Avoiding commoditization is a battle everyone is facing and sometimes, innovation can be found in simply identifying and emphasizing what is rare.
What are you finding is scarce?
