Playing Around with "Call-To-Action" Buttons and a Badge for Emails and Websites

New buttons are popping up everywhere in the reservations space. From the industry leaders (airline, hotel, car rental, rail, and cruise) to skeptical followers (parking, limo, taxi, golf, restaurants, salons, and many others). So why is this phenomenon growing so fast?

There are many reasons for this change of circumstance. For this writing, let's discuss three.

1. Businesses spend X amount of dollars promoting their brand through various methods and channels on the internet. Researchers have found that when people arrive at a website, at least 50% of them will leave that website within 8 seconds. Please click here to read more.

2. Mobile Devices. Not much too say here other than - "Watch Out, because you have not seeen anything yet". Okay, let me share a quick one with you. Last week, we reserved a free Chick-fil-a sandwich online which we had to pick up today between 8a-9a. (Personal note: Eating chicken for breakfast is tough to swallow). Anyways, a 30-something man walks up to the counter with his Tablet PC, in place of a printed receipt, to redeem his sandwich with a bar-coded stamp on his screen. You get the picture, right?

3. The element of surprise - no full disclosure. Consumers want to know the total price of what they are buying in a real time environment. No one likes surprises. Car dealers are the best example here. "This car will only cost you $300/month". We all know how that story ends after driving your dream car off the lot for only $349/month...if you're lucky.

Having said all that, we are creating Call-To-Action buttons for email campaigns. We are also playing around with a "Best Rate Guarantee" badge for websites. Many companies are adding these features to their marketing strategy and we feel it is important to follow success. So, if you have thoughts to share, we are listening.