Why Calls to Action Are an Essential Component to Every Retail Outlet

Known simply as CTAs in the industry, calls to action are designed to encourage the shopper to make a purchase. The key word is ‘action’, which might take the form of a purchase, or to apply for club membership, which gives you a running discount every time you shop, or even to get on the mailing list, yet in a retail store, the action is usually to buy.

The Psychological Approach

When a consumer is looking at a particular product, they are already thinking about making a purchase, and a small sign that says, “Buy Now While Stocks Last”, or “Sale Ends This Week” is often enough to tip the scales and the shopper heads for the checkout. How successful your CTAs are, would depend on a couple of things; you need the right sticker design (called ออกแบบสติ๊กเกอร์ in Thai), plus the location of the CTA is important, it should be close to the target product, preferably at the same eye-level as the product on the shelf.

Strong Action Verbs

Here are just a few of the popular verbs that are normally used in CTAs:

• Buy
• Order
• Sign Up
• Shop
• Download

Of course, online CTAs would be different to those found in a retail store, and next time you are out shopping, take a look at some of the CTAs you see in other stores, which might give you some good ideas.

Keep it Simple

A good CTA is short and to the point and might only be two or three words, yet, in the right location, these little phrases can have the desired effect. Even something as simple as “BUY NOW” can increase your sales figures and if you don’t have CTAs in your store, talk to a local sticker printing firm, who could help you create the right message.

Put Them Everywhere

If you have small CTA stickers near your products, they are always visible, yet not to the point where they become bothersome, and the great thing about stickers is you can put them anywhere. Your CTAs should be in line with your promotions, and are basically, a final message to remind the shopper of the promotion you are running.

Reasons for Action

CTAs work more effectively when you give a plausible reason to ‘buy now’, which might be a sale that ends this week, or that stocks are almost out, so adding “while stocks last” is always a strong statement. Synchronise with your specials and you will find your CTAs will be more effective, such as spring, summer, autumn and winter offers, and if you change the CTAs with a few days left on the promotion, that’s another reminder that the offer is limited.

Whatever background colour you are using, your CTA text colour should really stand out, and adding an exclamation mark gives it that little bit more impact! Trial and error is often the best way to tweak your CTAs, so do experiment and see how sales are affected, and with the right CTA signage, your sales figures should show an improvement.