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What Are They Supposed To Do Next?

by Lynne Saarte

Ok, I have read your poster. I was sitting at an airport waiting for my next plane and I looked across from me and saw that poster along the wall.

It looked interesting, so I decided to get up and take a look. The color poster was well designed visually. It had that right kind of flare that catches a person's attention without being so loud it seems to scream at you. No, this thing is the right balance of images to grab, but not too forcefully.

I read what it had to say, which is about your company, telling me what great service you have. It showed me a friendly looking person who is apparently ready and willing to help me out the second I need any help.

But here is the one thing the poster does not tell me: what should I do next? Yes, it says your company is good and it says I would probably like your service. But does it tell me to actually use your service? No, it does not go there. Does it tell me to call a specific number to get in contact with you, maybe go to a certain web address to find out more information, or even a building address to find you?

I think in the bottom corner of the poster I see the information itself, but nothing about the poster really calls notice to it. Yes, I see it there, but that is about it.

I guess I am supposed to figure out on my own the best means of contacting you. But you know, I do not really feel like going to the trouble of gaining that kind of information. In fact, I would say that you were the one buying poster printing, so should not you be the one to go to the effort to let me know where I am supposed to go next?

Seems like the best thing to me, so I decide to take a walk back to my seat, the poster forgotten, along with a potential sale.

I cannot even recall the amount of times this very situation has played out. Why do so many companies fail to provide that basic call to action that every advertisement should have? This is not even about poster printing specifically. What about postcards, brochures, or flyers? All of them need to have a call to action that lets a person know exactly what they should do next.

A phone number on the ad does not by default mean I know I am supposed to call you. Yes, I know I can call you, but is that the best way of contacting you? Maybe you are advertising a sale and I'm supposed to go into the store. Where is the store located? I would like to know that so I do not have to search through a phone book for you or search online.

Any company that pays for advertising needs to make the job easier on their customers by giving them all the information they will need in a strong call to action. If you cannot be bothered to do that, than I cannot be bothered to buy anything from you.

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