There can be no doubt that determining marketing attribution is highly important to business success. Did your lead come from your online ad campaign, a social media blast, or was it from a phone directory or television ad? This business intelligence from call tracking, even the free call tracking option, can help you spend money on what works and avoid wasting money on redundant marketing channels. Call tracking is vital in determining attribution especially if you generate leads via the phone.
Mobile Web
It should be noted that the trend is for users to use their phones to surf the web rather than sitting done in front of the PC or laptop. The phone is used when people are on the go, taking a break from work, or in the bar. The phone has even been branded a companion by leading brand Samsung. As such, it makes sense not only to offer your target audience with an option to phone you but to promote it. On the go, on a break, having a beer, your prospective client and customer has the means of calling you anywhere in the world. Why not utilise this?
Furthermore, via a mobile or cell phone, you can put your marketing message in the palm of their hand.
Although the trend is to use mobiles, however, we should not ignore desktop use. Your target audience still uses it.
Understanding Call Tracking
Call tracking effectively involves two kinds of attribution models. They are:
Static phone call tracking: This is where you have one number and is often used offline on billboards, in phone directories, and in brochures. If you place a different number in each channel, should one of these numbers be dialled you will be able to determine exactly where it came from. Should your prospect make a purchase you can trace the origin channel that generated the lead and subsequent sale.
Dynamic phone call tracking is where a different number is shown to each visitor. This is designed to work online in ads, social media, and websites. Once the number is called or a link clicked you can identify where the source of the phone call originated, and what webpages the visitor looks at. If your visitor phones you and is looking at your website, you will be able to see this in real-time. In the industry, this is known as visitor level call tracking and provides pristine business intelligence.
You can tell what pages they view, how long they stay on the page, actions they took, and what they clicked. You can determine the exit page. This visibility is the best you can get. It not only gives you this information but you have it by each individual visitor. This gives you excellent customer/client profiling options especially when cross-referenced with other tracking platforms such as Google Analytics.
This level of business intelligence provides you with a means to determine:
- What calls/clicks led to sales
- What ads generated calls/clicks
- What ads led to a sale
- What ads generate calls/clicks but did not lead to sales
- What ads did not generate ads/clicks
Going Beyond with Call Tracking
Call tracking is not just about attribution but gives you intelligence on your product/service range.
Through analysing the business intelligence generated and cross-referencing you can determine in most instances:
- The age of your client/customer and what they purchased
- The gender of your client/customer and what they purchased
- The area that your clients/customers interacted with your marketing channel
- The marketing channel your clients/customers use by age, gender, and location
- Which products/services were viewed but not purchased
With good analysis, you can then shape your marketing by demographic. Providing this is accurate better results to your ROI will follow as you realise what appeals to what demographic and shape your product/service range and marketing accordingly.
PCs Laptops and Tablets
It is not just mobile where dynamic call tracking can be realised. Your lead may be sitting at their PC or on their sofa watching TV when they come across your offering. The number displayed proudly they dial it on their phone. Then the visitor level call tracking magic begins and you can realise the benefits of call tracking.
Phone Numbers as Call to Actions
It is fair to say that many of us at least on occasion want to pick up the phone and talk to a customer representative. This is especially true if issues are complex and difficult to explain by email. They may have questions about your offering and a quick phone call gives them the information quickly, far more quickly than waiting for a customer service rep to answer an email.
Through using a phone number for a call to action you get a chance to talk to the prospect. This gives you a valuable chance to sell and upsell.
Call tracking gives you business intelligence that will allow you to grow your revenue streams, understand your market, and sell to it.