Motivational Marketing

Most marketing today can be considered motivational, since its ultimate purpose is to convince others to purchase your products or otherwise do business with you. Motivating your audience with a combination of a quality message and a clear call to action is one of the most effective ways to move them from browsers to buyers to loyal repeat customers. If you can provide your readers with a strong, benefits-oriented marketing message, they will be eager to take the next step – so don’t lose them! Make sure you motivate them to take action by using a very specific, obvious call to action.

The Call to Action
To be effective, a call to action should be very clear and direct. Specifically tell your audience what you want them to do, such as “sign up for our newsletter” or “download our white paper.” An example of a simple call to action is to put a “Buy Now” button beside your product or service on your web site that takes buyers to a secure online payment page. Customers who click on the “Buy Now” button know that they have taken action, which is both effective and reassuring for customers because they didn’t have to guess what to do next.

Although a “Buy Now” button is about as direct as you can get, sometimes it takes a bit more convincing to get readers to take a desired action. The examples below are for online marketing, but they could be applied to any type of marketing as well:

• On your web site, engage your audience with great copy and quality content, and focus on the end benefit they will get from doing business with you. Be sure to close with a strong call to action that encourages them to act right away.
• For e-marketing campaigns, consider offering special pricing or other incentives, and create a sense of urgency by including an end date for the offer. You may want to also include some testimonials from other customers or clients to help motivate recipients to take action sooner rather than later as well.

Loud and Clear
Often, the best motivator is a compelling call to action that states clearly and specifically what you want a customer or prospect to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale, but also make sure it is easy to take the desired action (make your phone number or contact info visible, include links to your web site, provide live email links, etc.). When customers and potential customers are motivated to take action as a result of your marketing, your conversion rates will begin to show improvement – right along with your bottom line.