Have you noticed the rise recently of the “call to action”?
It’s absolutely everywhere at the moment and it seems to be a marketing bandwagon that all kinds of businesses are jumping on. So what exactly is it and is it actually working?
The “call to action”, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, is exactly what it sounds like. In common with many terms that become buzz-words or buzz-phrases in business and marketing, it’s more or less just as straightforward as you think. In this case it’s calling the customer to act, usually to buy a product, call a number, send an email or whatever it might be.
Now the more sophisticated the approach, the more subtle the call will be. Everyone is familiar with those corny TV ads that make a very explicit appeal to the viewer and ask them to call now to receive a free pen or something.
A strategy such as next day bed delivery though is a little more advanced. It’s still a call to action, but it’s also something that tempts you into buying. The thought of buying a bed can seem like a hassle, particularly if there’s a long wait till you actually get to sleep in it. But if it can be delivered the very next day and a comfortable night’s sleep can be envisaged, then it’s going to sway you to buy that bed, isn’t it?
Marketing technique
Now one thing that might be of concern to marketers is the growing awareness of consumers of techniques like this. It’s not a flattering analogy, but to some extent one might view consumers as an immune system that keeps learning to defend itself against bacteria. The more the immune system is exposed to something the more familiar it becomes with it and the better able to fend it off. The more a consumer is exposed to a marketing technique the more wary he or she becomes.
Look at the classic free sample technique employed in supermarkets. It’s been going for decades now and is simple enough: let the customers have a free taste of a product so that they’ll be enticed into buying it.
It also has the added benefit of creating a sense of obligation which can make a consumer buy the product even if they don’t much care for it, simply because they feel obliged to return the kindness of being given something for free. (This is Robert Cialdini’s observation of course- a reminder here of his brilliant insights if you’re rusty!)
Now as the years have gone by, this technique has become less effective and you don’t need data to prove it. All you need to do is to look at how many people in a supermarket will now just walk past a free sample or just take it and run with no sense of guilt as they know all too well how it works. In fact it’s so well understood that it’s even led to endless memes for goodness’ sake!
The “call to action” is still a powerful marketing tool at the moment, particularly in its more subtle forms.
It’s perfectly sensible of companies to jump on the bandwagon while the going’s good, as slowly but surely those consumers will get wise to it and become resistant!