Call tracking is nothing new, but it can often be overlooked with all the set up options available for an online marketing campaign. Call tracking is an absolute must in terms of quantifying PPC or other paid initiatives, but let’s forget the obvious for a minute and look at some of the other benefits call tracking can provide.
Customer Service:
I recently had a franchise client implement call tracking across hundreds of their individual store’s PPC campaigns in order to better measure performance. The initial results were eye opening for the client as the volume of leads coming from the tracking numbers was unexpected. However, after listening to a few of the recorded calls the attention started to quickly shift to the poor customer support and sales skills that these callers were receiving from the actual store owners.
After a further review of these calls we discovered that callers were being put on hold for long periods of time, some were actually hung up on and several went to voicemail during peak business hours. These types of customer support issues can not only be identified by consistently listening to the call recordings, but they can also be used as training tools to improve the overall customer experience.
Sales Optimization:
Similar to the customer service benefits, these calls also provide a great resource to train and improve a company’s sales practices. This is especially important considering incoming calls from a PPC campaign are highly pre-qualified and have high purchase intent. Mining the call tracking data for calls that might have veered off the script or seemingly went from a for sure sale to a lost sale can be valuable tools for any sales force. Just as landing page optimization can increase results, a few adjustments to your sales methods based on this data can also increase conversion rates.
Focus Group:
Why pay for marketing research insights that you can get yourself for free from your own customers? Some of these calls can give you insights into certain services or products that potential customers are looking for that you might not offer. Call tracking provides a unique repository of potential business intelligence. The next ‘big idea’ for your company may very well come from one of your potential customers.
If you’re currently using call tracking ensure you have the call tracking function activated, but more importantly don’t let this valuable call data sit untapped. Look beyond call tracking as only a measurement for lead success.
