By managing the disappointment, they maintain the allure while also maintaining customer satisfaction.

instructing his staff that if they need to say “no” they should try to figure out a way to say

Also be wary of how restricting availability can come off as snooty or standoffish. People are used to getting what they want and if they hear “no” too much they may go elsewhere.

Using scarcity and exclusivity early on and then relaxing the restrictions later is a particularly good way to build demand.

Effective status systems are easy to understand, even by people who aren’t familiar with the domain.

Leveraging game mechanics also involves helping people publicize their achievements.

a product or idea doesn’t automatically do that, it needs to be “gamified.” Metrics need to be created or recorded that let people see where they stand—for

Leveraging game mechanics requires quantifying performance.

People are talking because they want to show off their achievements, but along the way they talk about the brands (Delta or Twitter) or domains (golf or the SAT) where they achieved.