6 Points on Building a Marketing Message with an Effective Call to Action

The final ingredient in any marketing message is the Call to Action. Getting the reader’s attention, keeping their interest and simulating desire are building blocks that are intended to persuade the person to make a purchase. The call to action is final summation that encourages the customer to buy. In a marketing message it’s important to ask for the sale and reinforce the incentive to act soon. Special offers for a limited time will encourage people to act. Clear instructions and simplicity in taking action are also important factors in a call to action. Following are points on building marketing messages with an effective call to action:

 

1. Ask for the Sale – In the world of advertising the culmination of a well-built marketing message is a request for the customer’s business. A call to action prompts the customer to engage and make a purchase.
2. Make a Special Offer – Close the sale with a special price or an add-on service at no charge. If a service such as a safety inspection is performed on every vehicle this is an example of a benefit that will prompt a person to act.
3. Instill a Sense of Urgency – Asking for the sale is a prompt to take action. Instilling a sense of urgency involves influencing the customer to act soon. Extending an offer for a limited time is an example of instilling a sense of urgency.
4. Be Clear – It’s necessary to be very specific about the action you want the person to take. Call ‘800-888-8888 now to make an appointment’ is an example of a specific action.
5. Anticipate and Eliminate Barriers to Action – A person may be at the point of taking action and be confronted with feelings of reservation. They may be hesitant to deal with an unknown provider or concerned that they’ll be pressured into buying additional services. Alleviating these concerns in the marketing message can make the difference between the customer taking action or not.
6. Make it Easy – Make it as simple as possible for the customer to respond to your offer and take action. Toll free numbers and embedded links make it easy for the customer to act. In short the call to action should require very little effort.