Crafting A Magnetic Call-to-Action
If anyone has a better analogy about getting a prospect to move to the next step that’s better than, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” I’m all ears. It says absolutely what it needs to, you get it, and you can feel the pain of Direct Marketing campaigns that fall flat because for whatever reason, you couldn’t find a way to get the prospect to commit.
What you probably needed was a better Call-to-Action. Let’s talk about it.
The second half of a postcard marketing campaign is either your prospects/clients buying the product, or your prospect asking for more information (aka, a lead for future business). My peers all have a similar concept when it comes to the importance of the Call-to-Action (CTA), but I thought I’d post what I think are 6 Critical Ingredients for a strong CTA:
- Make it obvious – Don’t be ashamed to ask for the business! Clearly state that you would like the prospect to take a next step so that you can help them solve their pain point. Don’t hide the CTA, don’t shuffle it toward the back of your presentation. Make it plain, make it easy to comprehend, and make it known.
- Keep it simple – An effective CTA does not require a prospect do anything more than demonstrate interest in what you’re offering them. Scan a QR Code, type a URL into the Internet, send an email, or make a phone call. The more steps you include in making the prospect ask YOU for something, the less likely they’ll be to do it.
- Do it NOW! – Time is of the essence. This promotion is going to end soon, or there are only a limited number of these special gifts available, or you want to act now (before your peers) to get in on this opportunity. Even if you have the ability to extend the timeframe around a CTA’s offer, the prospect needs to know they should act NOW. This does as much to fill the top of your sales funnel as it does to indicate the interest in whatever you’re offering.
- Make it worth their while – If you wouldn’t be interested in a freebie that you find useless, why would you do the same to a prospect? The CTA absolutely has to make sense to your prospect. It must align with either the benefit you’re saying they’ll get, it should align with their interest in receiving something premium (and therefore making them feel ‘special’ or ‘appreciated’), or it must help them further their research into the issue that your product (and likely products like yours) will help them solve. If you can point out the fact that the offer is free, or they’re entitled to money back if unsatisfied (highly unlikely), that’s even better!
- Spell it out (instructions, please) – In order to take advantage of this special offer today, please open up your phone’s camera, or dedicated scanner app, and scan the QR Code in the top right of this postcard. Doing so allows you to enter your contact information and lets us speed your white paper/discount coupon/free referral, etc. to you right away!
- Tie it to their need – Similar to making it worth their while, the hope is you’ve identified a target audience for your postcard campaign. And as part of that research, you understand how your product solves their issue. “Spring is right around the corner – call us today so we can help you with the tips and tricks you need for your best-looking lawn ever!”
A CTA can work in your favor, getting the prospect/client excited about next steps! Or it can be a bump on a log – uninspiring and never really providing any guidance on how the reader can move forward.
Give Opportunity Knocks a call today. Our Success Coaches want to help you design a postcard campaign with a strong Call-to-Action! Let’s get those readers energized, motivated for next steps, and into the sales cycle to propel your business toward its greatest achievements yet!