Calls to Action in an On Demand World

“Immediately” has become the expected time frame for online inquiries and requests.  Calls to action are no exception.  If a user submits their payment and/or personal information then they expect to promptly receive what was offered.  And, for the most part, digital marketers and the tools they use have evolved to meet this timeline.  Auto responders and customized fulfillment pages are now commonly at the ready to fulfill online requests.  So does that mean that calls to action now HAVE to be available immediately?

To some extent the answer is yes.  But that doesn’t mean that CTA’s that can’t be delivered immediately have to be abandoned.

For example, free physical events or briefings used to be a mainstay offer for many trainers, consultants, and professional coaches.  These events gave a sample of training so that prospects can get a taste of what training is like. However, the inconvenience of actually going to an event and needing to wait for the content is a legitimate detriment to some users and has made filling a room more difficult than it was in the past.

So in person events are no longer an effective call to action?  Not necessarily, but the offer likely needs to be modified.

One obvious option is to deliver a webinar rather than an in-person event.  While the prospect still needs to wait to get the content, they can do so from the convenience of their home or office. If the session is recorded, it has the added benefit of being an on demand offer after the webinar takes place.

For many trainers, however, a webinar is often a pale imitation of delivering their content in person. So another option would be to expand what’s included in the event.  If prospects need to physically come to a location and wait for the content, make sure the event is worth the inconvenience.  Offer robust topics so that prospects feel more like clients than just getting a sample. In many cases, this becomes a fee based event but the added value can be emphasized in the marketing materials.

If smaller in-person events are still an effective offer to your marketing campaign, there’s no reason to stop doing them just to offer more immediacy.  However, you might offer some immediacy in how the event is delivered.  An immediate registration confirmation is a given.  But how about reminders?  Use the slower delivery time to your advantage by offering reminders with content associated to the event so that anticipation builds rather than the added steps feeling like a chore.

There’s no doubt that online users default to expecting on demand delivery.  While catering to that expectation is necessary for many CTA’s, it’s simply not possible in all cases.  For CTA’s that can’t be delivered immediately, make sure to have some intermediate steps to bridge the gap from opt in to delivery.