Call-to-Actions: Increasing Conversions for Your Business
Posted on April 28, 2017
By Nick Chiechi, President, CS Designworks
Increasing Conversions for Your Business
Converting visitors into leads and leads into customers is a crucial function of websites, and there is no better way to facilitate this than getting a handle on call-to-actions. A call to action is a piece of content intended to induce a viewer, reader, or listener to perform a specific act, typically taking the form of an instruction or directive. Surprisingly 70% of small business B2B websites don’t have CTA buttons.1 This article is going explain the importance of having CTAs and discuss the various strategies and practices to make CTAs and lead gen forms work for you.
Call-to-actions may be small in scale, but they have a BIG effect on a website’s success. A CTA that is thought-out and placed strategically will send users through your desired course of action. Making sure that CTAs are effective should always be a priority; after all they are the only way conversions are made. In order to create effective call-to-actions, let’s have a look at the various types of CTAs.
Types of Call-to-Actions
Phone Number
This is the simplest form of a call-to-action and one that existed before the Internet. Just because it’s old does not mean that it’s antiquated or unimportant. Including a CTA that says “call us at (212) 679-1212” encourages users to contact you in the least intrusive way as possible for your visitor.
Download
In this type of a CTA you offer something valuable to the user. Due to the fact that you are offering something you are able to request some of their information in exchange for the download. Using downloads as a tool to send users to lead generation forms is the most effective way to build a targeted database.
Including click triggers is a powerful practice often associated with CTAs focused on downloads. These are supporting statements near a call-to-action that make it more enticing to click. So if a CTA button reads “GET MY MARKETING GUIDE”, there could be a click trigger near it that reads “100% Free!” thus making the offer more appealing.
Free Consultation / Contact Us
If people on are your website there’s a chance that they are interested in what you are offering. Having a CTA that offers a free consultation or encourages people to contact your business capitalizes on this inherent interest.
Personalizing these types of CTAs, or any type of CTA for that matter, can have a huge impact. One study found that changing the copy of a CTA from second person to first person increased conversion rate, on average, by 25%.2 People find it more compelling to read “get my free consultation” rather than “get your free consultation”.
Sign Up / Subscribe
This CTA focuses on having users to sign up for or subscribe to your blog or email list. This not only gives you their contact information for your database, but also gives you permission to contact them.
Registration
Registration is a common CTA among many websites that are promoting an event or webinar. There is no better way to collect targeted data then a registration CTA. Think about how much information you give when you register for any given site. Social logins are also gaining popularity and provide more information than the traditional registration process.
If it seems like most of these CTA types are focused on getting users’ contact information it’s because they are. Having call-to-actions that send users to lead generation forms where their information can be gathered is a worthwhile practice, one that can lead to a significant increase in sales.
Making the Most of CTAs: The Value of Lead Generation Forms
Quantity vs. Quality?
Many people recommend using shorter forms, and while that does generate more leads it’s not necessarily the best practice. The leads that are generated from short forms are often not qualified leads. This may be the reason that 80% of marketers report their lead generation efforts are only slightly effective.3 While utilizing forms that are slightly longer may generate less leads overall, the percentage of qualified leads will increase. Longer forms deter people who aren’t legitimately interested in your business and they’ll capture the people who are more interested. CS Designworks strives to find a happy medium.
Length isn’t the only factor that influences form completion. Value proposition is also a greatly influential factor. If a website is offering a download, is the information they are offering worth putting in your information? For qualified leads the answer will be yes.
This goes along with what type of information should be asked on a lead gen form. Carefully selected fields will give valuable insights into what any given consumer is interested in and what they should be targeted for. Asking users their name and phone number is standard, but putting more innovative fields in addition, such as what company they are associated with, will give more valuable information that can be useful to sales teams.
Creating persuasive call-to-actions and proper lead generation forms are crucial practices that will expand your business and increase your sales. Working with someone who knows effective design and marketing strategies can generate significant results, contact CS Designworks for a quote.
Sources:
1.https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/08/b2b-small-business-websites-lack-call-to-action.html
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