At Ifbyphone, we know how important call conversions are to search. Thanks to smartphones, search has gone mobile, and is expected to generate more than 70 billion calls to businesses in 2018. What’s more, study after study has confirmed that inbound calls are more lucrative than web conversions, on average converting to revenue 10 to 15 times more frequently. Search marketers can no longer afford to ignore call conversions if they wish to optimize ROI.
Here are three tips on how to track and manage call conversions to optimize the value of your search campaigns.
Track Calls from Keyword through to Sale
Understanding which search keywords drive inbound calls is an important first step to improving ROI. But since your ultimate goal is to drive revenue, you should also track which keyword searches actually result in sales, not just calls. Plus, if you integrate that call data with a bid management tool like Marin, you can optimize campaigns to drive more calls and sales automatically, the same way you do for clicks.
Keep Bad Calls from Reaching Sales Reps
Studies show that 19% of inbound calls are high-quality sales leads, while others are things like job requests, misdials, and solicitations. You don’t want those bad calls to waste your sales staff’s time. Instead, send callers to an IVR virtual receptionist first to answer and qualify the lead. The IVR can ask questions to weed out the misdials and solicitors, provide answers to callers inquiring about non-sales related matters, score the leads, and send the good calls to a sales manager to assist.
Route Callers to the Right Store, Office, or Agent
Where you route callers can play a critical role in whether they convert to a sale. Don’t just treat every call the same way. Here are a few examples of call routing options to consider:
- If you have multiple store locations, for example, you should route callers to their closest open store.
- If you have offices in different time zones, be sure that you always route calls to an office that is open.
- If you have some sales agents who routinely outperform others, they should get a higher percentage of calls.
- If you have agents who work from home or in the field, you should route calls to their home and mobile phones simultaneously to ensure calls aren’t missed.
It can be tricky to route every call optimally on a call-by-call basis, but call routing solutions with geo-location technology can help.
About the Author
Blair Symes is the demand generation manager at Ifbyphone. Over the past 17 years, he has published numerous articles, white papers, eBooks, and blog posts on a wide range of topics, including B2B marketing, marketing automation, and search marketing.
