Inbound Calls: Your Company's Biggest Untapped Lead Resource? [Infographic]

As a marketer, you’re responsible for driving leads that ultimately convert to revenue. But it's very possible you may be overlooking a valuable source of leads: inbound calls. 

That’s right -- smartphones aren’t just mini computers. People are actually using their phones to make calls to businesses. In fact, Google found that 70% of mobile searchers have used click-to-call to connect directly with businesses, and BIA/Kelsey expects mobile search will generate more than 73 billion calls from consumers to businesses by 2018. In fact, inbound calls convert over 10 times higher than clicks.

Remarkably, though, most companies don’t have a strategy in place to drive inbound calls.

According to a recent Invoca survey of marketers, 60% of respondents don’t know which of their marketing campaigns drive inbound calls and 68% are unable to track inbound calls in their marketing automation and CRM softwares. Yet, 76% of marketers want their marketing campaigns to drive more phone calls.

Why the disconnect? Marketers are still primarily focused on creating more opportunities from digital interactions. While those are absolutely valuable, you shouldn't be ignoring inbound calls in your marketing strategy. Check out the infographic and tips below to learn why and how you should get started with inbound calls.

Why You Should Implement an Inbound Call Strategy

7 Tips for Implementing an Inbound Call Program

1) Put a phone number prominently on your website, lead forms, emails, content offers, and landing pages.

Giving prospects the option to contact you how and when they want builds trust, encourages engagement, and reduces abandonment. Adding a phone number will get prospects on the line at the moment of highest interest: when your company or solution is top of mind.

2) Use click-to-call buttons for your mobile audiences.

Online engagement through lead forms and live chat work well for prospects on desktop computers, but not for mobile users with small touchscreens. Click-to-call gives them the option to talk to a live person and quickly get their questions answered. For example, adding a phone number to paid search ads has been proven to increase click-through rates by an average of 8%, according to Google.

3) A/B test with phone numbers and calls to action.

Test the placement, size, color, and overall treatment of your phone numbers on your landing pages and website. Make your call to actions as clear as possible so your prospects understand why they should call and who will answer.

Pro tip: Don't forget about mobile! Be sure to test the look and style of your click-to-call buttons. 

4) Always use call tracking phone numbers.

With this visibility, you can capture the keyword, ad, and landing page that a prospect viewed before making a phone call.

5) Empower your agencies and marketing distribution partners with call tracking.

Whether you give your agency and distribution partners unique numbers or provide them logins to your call intelligence platform, make sure they have the tools to drive and track calls for you. This will ensure proper attribution and increase your inbound call volume.

6) Integrate call tracking with your marketing automation and CRM system to capture the entire multi-channel path to purchase.

Integrate marketing automation data with call tracking so that when a prospect picks up the phone, you can tie that call to all previous online activity. And if a prospects calls early on but isn’t ready to move forward with sales, having that data synced with marketing automation and retargeting would be incredibly valuable so that you can follow up with the appropriate message.

If the prospect is ready to buy, however, you should make sure you've got your CRM integration properly set up, too. That way, all of your leads will have the correct marketing source so that you can tie actual revenue to campaigns and marketing programs.

7) Tailor prospect communication based on conversation intelligence.

With call intelligence tied to your CRM and marketing automation solutions, you can customize communication and messaging so it’s highly relevant and meaningful. If a prospect has already spoken with a sales rep, use conversation intelligence to follow up accordingly. Send them content that speaks directly to their use case and pain points. For example, If they mentioned a competitor on the call, send them a buyer’s guide that compares your solution to your competitor. And if the prospect is early in the buying cycle, send them emails and content that will help them move down the funnel.

Have you used call tracking before? What tips do you have for integrating it with the rest of your marketing programs?