Is Call-to-Action Required?

Call-to-Action phrases like call today, visit us for discounts, or click to learn more are commonly used in advertising to encourage audience to act and buy products or services. How effective are these catchphrases? I haven’t seen a research that supports or discounts call to action verbs but I believe it has been overplayed.

Why would you tell customers to call, visit, click or do this or that? Nobody wants to be taught or spoken at. We live in knowledge economy. People realize their needs and wants and can look for it (thin market concept). Providing information through gentle and frequent reminders about benefits of your offer is more effective than hard sell. I think subtle messages that connect emotionally with the target market do a better job in increasing brand awareness and sales.

Do you think that Call-to-action has diminishing utility in knowledge economy? Please comment and let me know.