Don't Put Sales on Hold: Why You Need "Call Tracking" for Your Client Campaigns

There is a seismic shift taking place in the agency world — and only a fraction of businesses are taking advantage of it. This new capability does not rest solely on the web--it relies on a technology that was once thought to be going the way of the dinosaur. But what was once old is new again, as voice communications are delivering analytics capabilities over what is already possible through online campaigns.

Consider the following: Tablet usage has increased by 60% year-over-year, surpassing more than 140 million users, and 93% of people who use mobile to research a purchase go on to complete that purchase. And finally, sales calls to businesses from customers ready to buy immediately increased 25% just in the last year. [1]

How do these trends translate into more insight into your customer base? It’s simple:

Mobile — and Voice in Particular — Are Preferred by Customers

There are foundational elements demonstrating why customers are relying on mobile and moving back to voice when researching and purchasing products:

1. Mobile enables users to search and find products wherever and whenever they’re ready to buy. With mobile searches limiting spam, it provides a much more streamlined search experience.

2. With the dangers of driving and texting readily apparent, hands-free calls to businesses are literally a lifesaver. With regulations increasing on when and where an individual can text, one-touch dialing and voice-activated dialing become a very attractive option for a market on the move.

3. Customers originally shifted from phone to the Internet for the ease and instant gratification of ordering. But now, this desire is moving full circle, and customers realize that actually the easiest option is to “phone it in” especially for businesses that are not “commodities” — such as services, big purchases and luxuries.

Capitalize on the Mobile Market

Businesses are recognizing the importance of search in their mobile marketing efforts and smart agencies are helping them develop mobile strategy the culminates in a call. It makes sense: A whopping 74% of mobile users rely on search during their shopping process.

As more people are on-the-go, it is important to understand that mobile search is distinct from desktop search, primarily in the area of local content. A full 69% of consumers expect businesses to be within 5 miles of their location. They are calling “right now” because they want something “right now.” Businesses particularly benefiting from tracking calls based on mobile search are in services, like salons, physician offices, repair shops, painters, maid services and similar.

With so many people in your local geographic vicinity searching for your business, ask yourself a simple question: Do you know what your top three keywords are that convert by phone for your clients? If you’re not tracking mobile as a separate category for your clients, then most likely the answer is no.

New Science of Voice Analytics Drives Client Engagement

Fortunately, there are many new analytics solutions on the market that focus on mobile and voice, and have agency-friendly white label options and multi-client capacity.

For example, sales call tracking services utilize source-level call tracking to create one phone number for each of a client’s marketing campaigns (online or off). You then have the visibility to understand which sources are driving inbound calls, and can record the calls to get to the heart of big orders. With dynamic number insertion on a website, the correct tracking phone number will display to show how a prospect arrives on the website — including which keywords or campaigns brought them in. Keyword-level call tracking reveals which organic and PPC search keywords are driving visitors to a site and ultimately to call a business — which allows you to optimize your campaigns across your digital channels instead of overly optimizing “keyboarding.” That means you’re able to show real results for your client in two ways--optimized ad spend and gross sales call volume growth.

As you look to optimizing your marketing budgets and ad spend this coming year for your clients, and show them the value of an agency’s perspective, take a look at the new analytics packages around voice-to-voice. Find one with a feature and integration set that works for you and you can phone in a client-pleasing quarterly report.

Sources:

[1] CallRail analyzed year-over-year data from their clients and found that companies on their platform had a 25% spike in inbound call volume.