What Happened to a Call to Action in Advertising?

People like to be asked to do something. The trend seems to “assume” that people will do this or that after you have dazzled them with your creativity. Just give them this great concept along with a huge budget and “Bam” instant increase in sales. If they feel good about you, they will buy, seems to be the mantra.

I’m not saying that having people like your company doesn’t help your marketing effort. As a small businessperson your sales are depended on positive relationships for sure. You need to show and prove to the public that your company is someone they want to do business with.

Then you need to politely ask for their business.

The importance of a call to action

When you give the public all the information about your company, tell your story, educate them as to why your product/service is better than your competitor, and show them the value added you then need to give a call to action that will inspire that potential customer to get off the couch, get into the car, drive to your store, and buy.

What is a Call for Action?

Simply put, a call for action is asking for the sale. It’s just looking the customer in the eye, whether literally or figuratively, and saying, “May I have your business?” It can be done in many ways and in many forms. It can be said at the end of an advertisement that says, “come on down, and let’s do business.” Or it can be in the form of a coupon or giveaway that tells the customer that you want their business. It can be as simple as asking, “May I wrap that up for you?” Without it, there’s no conclusion to your pitch. It’s like saying, “We do this and this, we are better than our competitor, and we have a better price point, have a great day” and turning around and walking away. Doesn’t work well does it.

A successful call for action turns no’s into yes’s

If it is carefully crafted, a good call for action will over come sales resistance. Most people want to say yes, but if they’re never asked they never have the opportunity to say yes. By asking you are making them not only make a decision but also think. They will think about all the benefits and information you have shown them about your product/service. They will think about your price and how it compares to your competitors. They will think about how much they enjoy the buying experience you have created for them…then they will say yes. Why, because you have overcome any reason not to say yes and then asked them for the sale. How can they refuse?

Effective use of a call for action will increase your bottom-line and who of us doesn’t like that? Coming right out and saying “We want your business” and then showing the customer why you’re the best in what you do is basic marketing but sometimes the simplest and direct works the best. The call for action is an important component of marketing and is often forgotten. We sometimes get caught up in concept and creative and forget that just asking a simple question is the most effective. The best thing about it is that asking that simple question is really quite inexpensive.