Using Call to Action (CTA) for Business Success
by Christine Jaros | August 13, 2024
So many small business owners spend their time and treasure crafting the ideal digital and non-digital marketing campaign, only to have a less-than-optimal reaction. You’ve got a great product. Your price seems competitive. Your marketing content is relevant and not ‘spammy,’ and you are targeting the ideal audience. So, why are you only getting crickets as a response? Maybe it’s your call to action.
What is a Call to Action (CTA)?
A call to action is a direction small business owners and marketers give to their audience to take a specific action, like Download Now, Call/Book Today, Subscribe, or Add to cart. A CTA is anything from one word to a short line of text (most often seen as a hyperlink or button). If done well, CTAs encourage the user to act in a specific way that moves them through the sales funnel towards a conversion event, whether that be signing up as a subscriber, purchasing a product, becoming a prospect/lead, or a follower. Strong, well written and designed, and strategically placed call to actions can make a huge difference in the success of your marketing strategy.
Where do you use CTA’s?
Perhaps we should say, where don’t you use CTAs? CTAs should be used in all of your digital and non-digital marketing efforts. Here are some of the most common areas where CTAs are used:
- Social media Posts and advertising
- Website pages
- Marketing Flyers and post cards
- Blog posts
- Paid ads
- Email marketing
- YouTube videos
- And more
When done right, CTAs can help you build your brand, increase your traffic, your audience, your sales. CTAs can move potential customers to purchasing customers, increase leads and referrals, generate more profits. CTAs are strategic and necessary. Below is a list of common CTAs used in business:
- Subscribe
- Sign up
- Schedule
- Download
- Learn More
- Explore or read more
- Get an Estimate/Quote
- Follow
- Book Now
- Buy Now
- Add to Cart
- Get a free trial
- Get x’ free
- Enroll Now
- Click Here
- Share
- Call us Now
- Go to our website
Success Tips in Creating CTAs
Below are easy insights to follow which will make developing your CTAs for your business easy and effective.
- Make the design of your CTA stand out: If your CTA blends into your content, you are making it almost impossible to give a direction to your user for their next step. Try using high contrast, bold colors, and larger fonts. Many also use a distinguishable button or image in which the CTA message exists. This does well to set it apart from the rest of the content.
- Keep it short and sweet: A concise CTA moves the user with a simple direction. They don’t want to read a paragraph to determine their course of action. Be meaningful and precise. Choose action verbs that are easy to understand relevant to the direction you want your user to take.
- Entice users with an offer: People love getting something for their action taken – a freebie. Offering discounts, Bogo’s, guides, how-to’s, recipes, tips, etc. are all ways to sweeten the pot to persuade the user to act immediately.
- Create multiple CTAs within a single campaign: Regarding your marketing efforts, it’s important to remember that all potential customers are not at the same place in their journey with you. Developing a campaign with a great response means including CTA’s that appeal to the different phases of the customer sales funnel. For instance: A CTA for increasing awareness might be “Explore.” If you are trying to build interest, your CTA may be “Learn More”. Developing intent – try using “download” with an offer. For customers ready to convert, I suggest using “BUY NOW,” in capital letters. This strategy is especially important with your website content.
- Test your CTA using A/B testing: Engaging A/B testing means using the same marketing campaign or efforts but changing and testing a different CTA on portions of your total campaign outreach. For example, if you have a post card campaign you are sending to 600 people, try sending 100 with one CTA and another 100 with a different CTA. If one shows better results, send the balance 400 targeted recipients using the more successful CTA. Varying audience segments may respond differently to the CTA you use – like men versus women, or age groups, etc. So be mindful of the demographics and segmentation you use in your digital marketing and non-digital campaigns. One size CTAs do not always fit all.
- Imitations to limited offers: Often marketing material/campaigns will use a special promotion to create a sense of urgency. This is a beneficial tactic if not overused or an everyday occurrence. Using CTAs such as “limited quantities left”, “buy now,” “last call”, or “one day left” need to be truthful and authentic. If you continue to use them beyond their supposed expiration, over time, you will ultimately find your response to dwindle to zero.
Business can be tough enough on its own without having to experience a nonperforming marketing campaign. Make your efforts work for you. Review your calls to action. Apply the tips for success. Test and refine to find the CTA to which your potential customer reacts. Once you find this sweet spot, you will be calling all customers your way.
Christine Jaros
Consultants, Jaros, TampaFlorida SBDC at USF, Tampa
Specialties: Manufacturing, Retail, Startup, Digital Marketing
Christine Jaros provides business consulting in the areas of startup, business plan development, marketing and sales, e-commerce, finance, wholesaling and retailing, and business management. Before joining the Florida SBDC at USF, Jaros owned her own apparel wholesale sales and consulting business in New York City for 14 years. She has more than 35 years of experience as a professional businesswoman. Jaros built a global-focused career specializing in manufacturing, marketing and sales with organizations including Bidermann Industries, Liz Claiborne Inc, and Hartmarx Corp. Working with iconic brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Polo-Ralph Lauren and Austin Reed, Jaros grew her portfolio of skills to include international sourcing and distribution.