Not THAT Scarcity

People tend to want things more when they believe they are less available or might become unavailable

That's what Robert Cialdini told a generation of web marketers, and that's how everything has always been available for a limited time ever since - or not available at all, by design.

?? Did anyone ever try this in water, though?

Before you kill me on the spot: yes, I know, 1.2 billion people in the World receive intermittent water supply.

(And I acknowledge it may sound out of touch of me to highlight that they value water even more, probably because of that.)

But.

Even if we brush it off, and only focus on Paul O'Callaghan 's famous crisis-driven adoption accelerator. What if this simple trick could manufacture a crisis?

The Water Tech Paradox

We're in quite a special situation in the water sector, right? While water itself is becoming increasingly scarce, we're doing everything we can to make our water technologies constantly available.

24/7 support, unlimited access, always-on monitoring... you name it!

Here's what I'm wondering this week: what if this abundance actually hurt our marketing effectiveness?

But we're in the water sector, we're all engineers, I know. So let's look at some hard facts:

• According to the 13'745 LinkedIn "wastewater" ads I analyzed last year, the ones with time-limited offers received 27% higher engagement than their always-available counterparts
• When CarboNet created their "Big Spring Show" with limited participation slots, it became a key momentum driver for their business
• When Qatium presented their open beta, it attracted 150 utilities in three months, proving that FoMo worked even for a field as "dry" as hydraulic modeling
• When Salinity Solutions marketed their "Mule" demonstration unit, it was traveling around the country as a Rock Band would do - and it landed them impressive partnerships
• Bigger fish, similar strategy: Veolia limits the access to its distribution network and technology partnerships depending on the value assessment and cultural fit. You get in, you better make it work!

(That's from the top of my head, if you have more, call me out in the comments ??)

If we look broader, the overall "tech" sector boasts the following metrics:

• Products with artificial time constraints show 3x higher user engagement
• Limited-time offerings drive 50% higher conversion rates
• Waitlists can increase launch-day sales by up to 200%
• Time-bound promotions generate 2.5x more leads

Hence my question:

Can we apply Scarcity in Water Tech?

I guess you won't know if you don't try, right? So here are 5 Ideas to test things out:

1. The Pilot Window

Instead of running continuous pilot programs, create specific enrollment windows. Announce that you're accepting only 3 new pilot partners this quarter. Watch how this transforms your "maybe interested" prospects into "where do I sign?" customers.

Now, beware: Nothing kills credibility faster than fake scarcity. You want your customers to become long-term partners right? When you create scarcity, it must be genuine and value-driven

What to do instead: Base your scarcity on real constraints like pilot capacity, expert availability (see below ??), or implementation resources.

2. The Expert Access Strategy

Rather than providing unlimited consultation, create "Office Hours" with your technical experts. Make these sessions exclusive and time-bound. Utilities and industrial clients will prioritize these interactions more than if your experts were always available.

What you want your customers to think: that specialist is SO BUSY, he must be THE absolute killer in his field of expertise

3. The Launch Wave Approach

Instead of making your new technology immediately available everywhere, release it in waves. Create a waitlist. Let the anticipation build. Make being an early adopter feel special.

Real Example: Most start-ups I interviewed on the podcast did that anyway! When you have limited capacity, you're focusing by design. But if you just "do it," it's a limitation: if you make it a strategy, it becomes a feature.

4. The Premium Feature Window

Offer advanced features or enhanced performance for limited periods. Simple, right?

Now beware, water is a bit too essential. So you can't apply scarcity to core water treatment functions or emergency services.

What to do instead: Apply scarcity only to premium features (it was in the title, I know), additional services, or new product rollouts.

5. The Early Bird Advantage

Create time-bound pricing or terms that reward quick decision-makers. I would paradoxically expect this to work especially well in the water sector, where decision cycles are typically long.

Provide your champions within organizations with a concrete reason to push for faster approval!

Why I believe this would work in Water Tech

As I touched on, I expect you to think: "But water tech is different - we're solving serious problems!"

Exactly. That's precisely why scarcity marketing can be so powerful here. When you're addressing critical challenges, creating moments of focused attention and decision can actually lead to better outcomes!

The goal is not to make your solution hard to get but to make it worth getting!

Ready to try it? Start with one principle. Test it. Measure it. And tell me about it!

Just don't wait too long to start - this advice expires at midnight! ??

(Okay, it doesn't really expire. But see how that made you pay more attention?)

I know I'm late with this release of both the newsletter and the podcast - and it was heartwarming to read your messages asking me where I had gone!

My kids wanted to see New York; we had a blast, a loaded weekend...

But better late than never, right? ??

?? This week on the podcast: Altillion

So if you believe that all the above is just a typical example of:

Let me get to some battlefield-tested water entrepreneurship insights from this week's conversation with Jay Keener , Altillion 's Co-Founder and CEO.

Just some of the gems you'll mine (pun intended) in this conversation:

?? The power of pivoting: Jay's success came from being willing to dramatically shift his business model within, literally, months.

How to apply the advice: Follow where the recurring revenue actually is, not where you initially thought it would be.

?? The charm of the "coopetition" game: Instead of seeing other players as pure competitors, Jay actively seeks collaboration opportunities - even with potential rivals.

???? Get your hands dirty: Despite being CEO/CFO, Jay spent nights sleeping in his truck doing field installations. That's how you get invaluable insights that purely office-based executives miss!

?? Follow the pain points: Rather than starting with a whiteboard dreaming up business ideas, Jay's successful ventures came from actively engaging with industry and identifying real, pressing problems that needed solving.

(but how do you know what's real? Follow the money - back to the recurring revenue remark!)

This, and much more, is available on your favorite podcatcher and on YouTube!

?? Snacking Content

?? Sooo many fundraisers this week, I can't even list them all here. So I'll highlight one that's a bit special (at least to me!), with Oxyle 's Seed Round. I know, naming a round is up to each entrepreneur, but $16M for a Seed is probably a record in water tech.

I say it's special to me - don't get me wrong, I have no skin in this game. It's just fascinating to see Fajer Mushtaq 's vision unroll, somewhat ex-ac-tly as she outlined it when we discussed this some months ago. Chapeau!

I'm now even more looking forward to this year's Aquatech Innovation Forum Digital Derby, where I'll be honored to moderate a PFAS pitch including, beyond Fajer, Henrik Hagemann and Dhileep Sivam !

?? Have you heard of Spatulageddon? Basically, it's the story of a Decimal Point That Sparked Mass Hysteria (clickbaity now, right?)

A single calculation error (42,000 vs 420,000 ng/day) made safe exposure levels appear... 10x worse, causing millions of cooking spatulas to hit the trash. In reality, only 8% of tested items contained concerning chemicals, not the reported 85%...

It's not water-related per se, but an example of whether science gone wrong or journalism gone wild. Thanks Steve Gluck for spotting it!

???? I'm on the edge with this one (hence the two apples). OFWAT published its Learning Report on its innovation fund last week, which deployed ￡150 Million (as of last year) and will deploy ￡400 Million more towards 2030 to foster innovation.

At the scale of water, especially in a single country, that's... a lot! Which should grant a green apple but... I don't know, I have that weird feeling that there's something off with "innovation" as defined in there.

As if the aim was not to solve challenges through new approaches but to innovate for the sake of innovating and looking good in a book. I did not have enough time to totally drill through the report, so I'll say the jury is still out, but I'll probably come back with a deeper analysis. For now, I'd crave your inputs - and I'll recommend David Brydon 's comments!

That's it for this week, I fear - if any of this is of interest to you, make sure to subscribe, and let me promise you once again to be back next week to give you the scientifically proven glimpse into the (water) future I keep teasing you (trust me, I have the data, I just need... time!)