By Rohini Gonsalves
A marketing strategy can be multi-pronged and can have several layers to it. We undertake innumerable activities from identifying a need in a specifically defined target market, creating products and services to address that need, and taking that product or service to the consumer in such a way that the need is met, and he is willing to pay the quoted price for the same.
The final nail in the coffin is when the seller convinces the prospective buyer to make that buying decision. That can be accomplished by using the ground sales force or advertising. The ultimate aim of every business is to clinch the deal, get the sale, or sign in. Yet, most businesses fail to establish that as the final goal of all activity.
Much as we would like to believe that our excellent product and service will sell itself, it is a myth. Every business needs to carefully manoeuvre its prospect into making the final buying decision and taking the step to cause the sale. We call it a ‘Call to Action’.
While we may all have been subject to the manoeuvring of marketers, we have to distinguish how to use some tried and tested cues. One can use various prompts to bring a prospective buyer closer to the sale, if not make the sale itself:
> On a telemarketing call, the prompt press 1 to receive a call from our sales officer or a website asking a browser to fill in a customer inquiry form. This is the first call to action to initiate contact with the business. It’s like getting a foot in the door once the prospect has chosen to let you make a pitch.
> An advertisement that offers a time-bound offer ‘Buy Now ‘ persuades a person to grab the offer immediately. It creates an urgency to buy immediately. Food products, consumables and other products which have severe cut-throat competition succeed only when they force the consumer to choose them over another – mostly driven by impulse generated through their cue.
> When a salesman makes a sales call, he finally concludes his pitch by inviting the prospect to pay and seal the deal. This is the call to action. Letting the whole pitch sink in and finally letting the customer make that final positive decision.
These cues may not always yield the desired results. A marketer needs to ensure the following to increase the chances of getting accurate outcomes:
1. Identify the Goal or Objective of the Campaign/Pitch: There may be various goals that an enterprise is pursuing. Right from doing a dipstick to identify market potential, to initiating a try-and-buy, driving early adoption, promoting sales, stock clearance, cross-selling, etc. Once the objective is defined, it gives clarity as to what the final ‘Call to Action’ should be.
2. Create the opportunity to present the cue during the campaign/pitch: Several times, salespersons talk about the product, the company, and even about him/herself and they completely miss the closure. They don’t push the conversation leading to the prospect making the desired decision or taking a certain action.
3. Make it an unmistakable cue: Let it not have any ambiguity. It should be the most natural outcome of the pitch. Ever so often, the call to action is camouflaged. One is not compelled by the message to take that very action. There may be more than one outcome suggested. Like if a digital advertisement says, “Click Here” and also says “Visit Now” with the address of a store, it is very likely that the prospect will do neither. It is better to make the communication explicitly clear that the next step is to click the link only. There can be another campaign where it prompts one to visit the store only. Having more than one outcome suggested may look smart but is known to mostly fail in causing the desired results.
4. Finally, organisations need to be prepared to act on the positive outcome of the prospect. It can’t be emphasized enough on the ability of the business to complete the full circle of the campaign by delivering the promised product/service? Ever so often, companies spend crores of rupees to advertise their products and when the consumer walks in to buy, either the product is unavailable or has an incredibly long wait time. Invariably, the buyer feels disgruntled by being drawn to the buying decision and not having received the product or service that he aims to now buy. It can waste the resources spent on creating the call to action.
Several organizations master the act of creating an impactful cue to ‘Call to Action’, but succumb to the biggest pitfall of not training the front-end staff about managing the final moments before the deal is sealed. Often, the excitement of having closed the sale gets the better of the individual helping with the closure of the deal in such a way that they may ruin the entire effort. Mostly, the job of the staff at this stage is to speak the least and merely carry out the actions required to process the transaction. Any further conversation can potentially cause delay, doubt and also a change of heart. It is a precarious stage that has to be dealt with with caution and care. Hence, the most mature personnel may be assigned this task.
Businesses that want to increase sales and expand market share have to deliver stronger, and more compelling cues to the ‘Call To Action’ in all of their customer touchpoints to beat the competition and gain market leadership.
About the Author:
The author, Rohini Gonsalves, is a gold medallist in marketing, sales management, and sales promotion from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. She holds more than 15 years of experience in the field of marketing and sales, is a marketing consultant, and is also the founder of Sevarat, a Panjim-based start-up that provides geriatric care services to elderly patients.
Anyone wishing to avail of her services may contact her on:
Mobile: +91 8329 857965
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sevarat.com
