Know your customer: How tracking systems add value to every call

tracking systems add value to every call

Because of its excellent track record when it comes to conversions and ROI, an increasing number of small businesses are recognizing the value of inbound marketing.

The method of attracting interested customers through unpaid strategies such as content marketing, social media marketing and SEO is increasingly preferred to outbound marketing, which relies more on traditional advertising strategies aimed at the general public. In fact, a recent worldwide survey found 70 percent of companies now focus on inbound as their primary marketing tactic, while 32 percent consider paid ads the most overrated strategy. Numbers back that up: inbound tactics have been shown to achieve average close rates of 14.6 percent, while outbound techniques such as direct mail, spam email and telemarketing remain at around 1.7 percent.

Not surprisingly, call marketing methods that optimize call tracking are among the most effective kinds of inbound marketing. Not only are worldwide mobile phone users slated to reach 4.77 billion this year, but one study indicates a phone call is worth five to 10 times the revenue of a web form lead.

In a typical scenario, you (the marketing lead at your small business) buy simple but strategic ads that automatically appear on consumer smartphones as they conduct online searches related to your business. The ads encourage the consumer to click on a button to instantly call your company for more information or to talk to a representative. The process acts as a win-win for all: your company gets a chance to convert already interested customers, and they’re able to make a purchase or educate themselves with remarkable efficiency.

Meanwhile, your call tracking software can record each call, extract data about the conversation and the caller himself and store and analyze that intelligence for even more highly targeted marketing strategy. Such systems can report on the demographics of your callers, the effectiveness of your various ads, the most frequent times and locations of your calls and the closing ability and general phone demeanor of your call center personnel.

Ready to get started with a call marketing campaign? Consider these suggestions:

  • Drive more traffic to your phones by attaching coded phone numbers to the whitepapers, e-books, blogs and other content you post on your website to attract visitors. The content is a hedge against ad blockers since it’s minimally branded, avoids highly promotional messaging and is aimed at offering customers information they can use.
  • Optimize incoming calls via your email and social media marketing campaigns by incorporating codes into promotional emails that encourage respondents to call in response.
  • Vanity toll-free numbers work very well in conjunction with call marketing by helping viewers of your ads easily remember which number to call.
  • Use the info from your call tracking systems to decide where to put more of your marketing money, passing it through your CRM or lead management system for further analysis. Which channels are proving most reliable? What copy is producing the best response? Which SEO words are optimal? Should you be targeting different demographics with your emails? Which kinds of content seem to be improving customer engagement? What else does your data reveal about your customers’ buying patterns?
  • Ensure your call center team is fully optimizing each lead. Do you have the right kinds of personalities on staff? Is each employee trained in effective closing techniques?
  • Consider implementing call routing software that can instantly and strategically direct callers to optimal call centers based on geography, hours of operation, specialty area, the skill levels of on-duty employees or other criteria.

If you’re a small business, incoming phone calls can and should be an integral part of your inbound marketing strategy. Call Dial800 at 1-800-700-1987 to learn more about how call tracking can help.