Tuesday, January 21, 2014

What's your Hook? Using Incentives to Generate More Leads

If your primary responsibility at work is to drive leads and make the phone ring then you've probably written your fair share of Call to Action (CTAs) phrases.

Pop Quiz: Which TWO of these CTA phrases appeals to you most?
  • Call today to get a FREE ebook!
  • Call today to get a FREE  ebook and we'll treat you to a Movie!
  • Call today to get a FREE ebook and receive a $100 Gift Certificate!
Yes, human nature is such that we want our cake and be able to eat it too.  More is better.

So given the attention deficit disorder your prospects face in this "always on and connected" world of the internet, your Calls to Action can benefit from having a "hook".  The "hook" in this case is the incentive that sways your prospects to dial your toll free number, click your links, visit your stores or whatever else you might want them to do.

Consider the following sales experience created by a txtMovies customer in the mortgage industry.  They use $1.99 Redbox Movie Codes and $100 Restaurant.com eGift Certificates as their hook in their radio, television and other direct to consumer advertising campaigns.
"Call today for a rate quote and we'll treat you to Dinner."
When a prospect calls in, the sales representative uses the call center system, in this case Velocify, to instantly deliver the incentive via email or text (SMS) while the prospect is on the phone. [Note: txtMovies integrates into Velocify and other call center software through a HTTP POST action.]

This instantaneous gratification does two things.  It triggers the principle of reciprocity (Dr. Robert Cialdini) and it builds trust serving as the first transaction between the company and the prospect.  Because the digital codes are delivered by text (SMS) or email, it also ensures that the Lead Data captured is valid.  
Added Bonus: A recent study by Velocify suggests that including text (SMS) messaging in the sales process can potentially increase sales by 328%.
By outsourcing the delivery of incentives to txtMovies, the mortgage company marketing department saves time eliminating the manual process of sourcing, managing and delivering physical incentives by regular mail. Lastly, txtMovies provides accountability for delivery of digital codes through reports and email alerts.

There are a variety of digital incentives available to suit your customer acquisition budget. For more details contact us and we'll treat you to a movie!

About txtMovies
txtMovies enables businesses to deliver customer appreciation via cost effective, easy to use tools. In addition to texting Redbox Movie Rental Codes, we offer custom texting solutions. Our customers come from a variety of industries including healthcare, automobile, financial services, retail, associations and nonprofits. For more information please visit www.txtMovies.com.