The “Call to Action”

One of the most important elements of most retail store websites is the “call to action”, or “CTA”. A call to action is any element that specifically directs an online visitor to perform a desired action. In addition, an effective call to action element is one that is measurable so that the retailer knows what is working on the website and what is not working.

Types of Call to Action Elements
Call to action elements on a retail store website can have a number of forms. A call to action element can be a button or link that triggers a sales video; a link or button that encourages a visitor to click “Next”, “Learn more”, “Continue”; or a link or button that offers the ultimate online directive to “Buy Now”. One of the most effective call to action elements is a web form that is combined with some form of compelling offer.

What the Call to Action Does for the Online Visitor
A call to action element on a website attempts to interrupt the online visitors’ behavior long enough to suggest an action that you want them to perform. No, you’re not trying to impose some form of creepy “mind control” on the your website visitors. Rather, the goal is to ever-so-subtly guide online visitors to make a decision that efficiently leads them closer to making a purchasing decision while they are still at the website. Once the visitor leaves the site the opportunity to direct a desired action (to buy something!) vanishes.

What the Call to Action Does for Retailer
Call to action elements on a website serve to gently guide online visitors to make a decision that leads to a “conversion”, or purchase decision. These elements also help the retailer understand what offers on the website are being perceived as valuable to online website visitors and which offers are not. A call to action that is not producing desired responses can occur for a number of reasons – some of which may not be obvious to the retail merchant without the use of website analytical tools.

Call to Action Frequency on the Home Page
The homepage of a website in particular should have as many call to action elements as possible without overwhelming the aesthetics and overall design of the site. We recommend a bare minimum of three call to action elements and all three should be present at or “above the fold” (an imaginary horizontal line in the center of the computer screen). A visitor should NEVER, EVER be required to scroll down a page to view the most important call to action elements on a page.

One of the most effective ways to present a call to action is to display it in a “popup” window. Our design team uses Advanced DHTML Pro software to produce extremely effective windows that slide out from the edge of the screen (or wherever we want them to appear) in order to grab the online visitor’s attention. Such “popups” are generally unblockable, but are utilized carefully so as not to frustrate or annoy the website visitor. The goal is to use this form of call to action element intelligently to deliver valuable information to the customer.

Summary
The most successful – and productive – websites that seen or developed for our clients are those that include multiple calls to action intended to guide online visitors to take desired actions. These actions, when designed properly, increase greatly the number of conversions at retail store websites. These conversions can then be easily leveraged to drive more traffic to the brick-and-mortar store.

This article was written by Mel Cooper, President of MELCOOPER Consulting, Inc. For more information about Online Marketing Strategies for Retail Stores and Services please visit http://melcooper.com

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