If you don’t use a call to action in your marketing, it’s going to be as useful as a chocolate teapot.
You might think that your customers are intelligent enough to know you want them to buy from you (or get in touch, sign up for your newsletter, etc.), but if you don’t tell them what you want it’s not going to happen.
If you think a call to action is optional, you’re missing a vital element of your website copywriting.
Without it, your customers will wander off in search of another site that has a call to action to direct them as to what to do next.
The one you usually see is Buy Now, but is it the most effective call to action?
Not according to Dell.
Do what Dell did
Dell boosted their computer sales by a whopping $25 million by changing their call to action.
How did they do that?
Well, in their web copy they used the standard “Learn more” call to action after the sales copy for their computers.
Nothing wrong with that, but the problem was the people reading their website were already in the mindset of buying a computer (which is why they were there in the first place), so the term “Learn more” wasn’t relevant to them.
What they did want to know was which computer they should buy.
Using this reasoning, Dell changed the call to action to “Help me choose”.
Simple but effective.
Those three little words gave Dell’s customers want they wanted – help in choosing the right computer for their needs.
What you can learn from Dell
What call to action are you using?
Is it pretty standard?
If so, think about where your customers are in the buying process at the time they are reading your copy.
How far through the decision making process are they?
Are they still thinking about whether they need your product and want to “Learn more”?
Do they know they want your product, but are unsure of which model, so they need a “Help me choose”?
Perhaps they have already made up their minds and are ready to “Buy now”.
Your call to actions must be tailored to meet the needs of your customers, so choose your words carefully.
If your copy helps and supports them in their decision, they are more likely to buy from you.
Author: Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd. What she lacks in height is made up for in enthusiasm, experience and fun (who said creating content had to be boring?).