Is
your marketing wishful thinking?
I just mailed off my daughter’s letter to Santa. It was an adorable letter, very sweet. In it, Emma said she hoped Santa wouldn’t have to deliver much coal and asked if coal were valuable because her brother says it is, and basically just wrote a chatty little note that didn’t ask for anything.
I thought Emma was writing to ask for a gift as in years past. As a mom, I’m delighted she didn’t because it means she’s writing to Santa to be kind and not to hit the old man up for yet another toy. There weren’t any hidden intentions in that letter. Emma didn’t expect any results other than making Santa smile.
On the other hand, as a marketer, I laughed when I read that letter, thinking of how many other letters I’ve read that were just as friendly and didn’t ask the recipient to do anything. Yet those letters did have an intention: As sales letters, they were written to try and drive behavior. Emma wasn’t asking Santa to do anything, either directly or indirectly. But, businesses sending out sales letters—and other marketing collateral—are asking people to do something, often indirectly, when they should be point blank about what they want the recipient to do.
What’s
your call to action?
Yes, we’re talking about the infamous call to
action. And the question of the day is, is yours direct enough?
Any letter, postcard, email, Web page or other marketing piece that lacks a call to action is essentially a bit of wishful thinking along the lines of, “People will be so impressed by the product/service we offer, we don’t have to actually ask them to take action and contact us. They just, well, they just will!”
Will they?
If
Emma had written to Santa about the sticker machine she wants for
Christmas, she would have been quite direct: “Dear Santa, Please bring me
a sticker machine for Christmas.” Santa would know exactly what Emma
wanted. (Trust me, I’ve read all her Santa letters of years past.)
Be
direct or be ignored
If customers get your letter, postcard, email,
etc. and you are less than direct, most of them won’t even know you have
something you want them to do. So you have to spell it out. No wishful
thinking allowed. If you want a sticker machine for Christmas, by golly,
ask for the sticker machine. If you want someone to call you or request
more information or add an item to their shopping cart or go to a Web
page, tell them that in so many words.
Santa
gets thousands of requests a year (probably more) and he’s not put off by
the frankness of children. As busy as he is, he’s probably relieved that
he doesn’t have to guess! And the children know they won’t get what they
want unless they ask for it specifically.
Nor should you be afraid to ask for what you want. Your marketing piece has a reason for being. It has a goal it’s supposed to accomplish, a behavior it’s supposed to drive. But it can’t if it doesn’t come right out and tell people what to do: “Dear Customer, buy a widget from us.”
What do you want from your customers? Ask for it.
Until next month,
Sharon