You Must Have Strong Call To Action In Every Small Business Marketing Communication

In marketing, subtle rarely works. Look in your local newspaper, or local magazines. How many ads are just a photograph and some text with a phone number or web site? Probably most of them.

Look around the web at the typical "brochureware" that most people have for web sites. A few nice pictures, some facts and figures, maybe even a sales pitch. If you hunt around for it - you might be able to find their contact information.

What's wrong with this if everybody is doing it? To be honest, most marketing stinks. Most marketing communications lack a very clear call to action. They assume that if you make your business look great and throw your phone number in front of customers the phone's gonna ring. It doesn't work that way.

You should never create any piece of marketing communication - business cards, web site, brochure, ad - whatever without having a very clear idea what you want the customer to do. You should be able to state the point of every marketing communication in one sentence like - "When a customer reads this brochure they will call the number to set up a free consultation." Or - "When a customer gets this postcard they will hand it to a friend who will bring it in for a free cup of coffee".

If you don't know what your piece is supposed to do - neither will your customer.

The next step is to very clearly tell your customer what you want them to do. Use imperative sentences. Click here now. Call now for your free report. Give this to your friend for a free cup of coffee. Come in on Monday to save 20% on a haircut.

Marketing Comet Principle - Do not make your customers guess what they are supposed to and what they are going to get. 

J D Moore - Marketing Comet

Comments

[Glytch]

Great advice and good article thanks!