Call Tracking: The Missing Piece of Your Marketing Puzzle

Originally published: July 09, 2020 12:18:15 PM, updated: February 20, 2023 12:50:24 PM

Meet Ann.

Ann runs a vintage furniture store in Detroit.

To boost her store’s visibility, she started investing in digital marketing.

She has a killer website and optimizes it for search engines.

Ann establishes a solid brand presence on social networks, creates awesome email newsletters, and runs several successful PPC campaigns.

She registered on all relevant online business directories, as well as invested in old-fashioned marketing methods, such as local newspaper ads and business cards.

These tactics seem to be working, since her telephone keeps ringing off the hook.

So, where do Ann’s customers come from?

Unfortunately, Ann cannot answer this question because she does not track the marketing sources of her leads.

To make wiser marketing decisions in the future, Ann needs to start tracking customer calls.

In this article, you will learn what call tracking is, what its benefits are, and how to perform it.

What is Call Tracking?

Call tracking is not a new concept. It has been around for decades.

In the past, call center agents called customers and asked them questions like: “How did you hear about us?” Today, the mere idea of call tracking has changed, as you can automatically track where your leads come from.

This practice is immensely important for a simple reason. Phone calls are treasure troves of leads. When monitored properly, they can tell you where your leads are coming from and which marketing channels resonate with your audiences. BrightLocal did a survey and found that over 60% of consumers would call a business after learning about it online.

Invest in Call Tracking Software

With the rise of cloud technologies, the number of intuitive call tracking tools has also grown. With their help, you can now measure the marketing source of the call, identify the number that is calling, detect the geolocation of a caller, and analyze the time distribution of an incoming call.

Now, one of the most effective ways to start tracking calls is to switch from the traditional landline phone system to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers. Based on the cloud and delivered over the internet, VoIP services offer multiple benefits to your business.

One of those benefits is its customer relationship suite. Namely, most online phone service providers offer lead and customer tracking options. That will enable you to track the entire buyer journey, from visiting your website for the first time to converting into a paying customer. Apart from tracking the digital marketing sources of each call, you will also be able to analyze specific call data, such as its start time, end time, call duration, or caller’s location.

There is also a wide range of specialized call tracking tools, such as CallRail or Phonewagon. They use call tracking techniques, such as dynamic call tracking, static call tracking, keyword tracking, or campaign tracking, to determine the source of each lead and help you measure the effectiveness of your digital channels.

Track the Right Metrics

Now that you know what call tracking is and what software you should use, it is time to start tracking your calls. In the sea of different metrics, you need to focus on ones that indicate the effectiveness of your campaigns. Some of them are:

• The overall call volume – the number of calls you generated
• The marketing sources of calls – Do your leads come from your lead generation software, Instagram ads, or referral traffic? It is important to know which channels generate leads so you can invest more in them.
• Device information – knowing what devices your customers use to reach your website will help you optimize your site to improve UX.
• The total duration of calls – the length of calls indicates user engagement.
• Time of the call – knowing when your customers call your customer support teams gives you a clear insight into your peak business hours.
• Call recordings – they evaluate the effectiveness of your customer support teams and allow you to analyze customer satisfaction.
• Missed calls – If a customer ends the phone call without giving you their information, you will lose your lead. By integrating your call tracking tool with Google Ads, you will be able to see many call details, such as its start time, end time, or area status.

The Advantages of Call Tracking

In the past, capturing, storing, and analyzing customer information was complicated and time-consuming. Sales agents needed to call each customer and ask boring and repetitive questions. Since they were taking notes of everything customers were saying, they were not able to focus on the conversation itself.

Another problem lies in the fact that customers are not always honest. They often tell the first thing that crosses their minds or, worse yet, they make up answers.

Given that, it is not surprising at all that call tracking may benefit you in multiple ways, including:

• Transparency: Call tracking is data-backed, as it relies on real-time customer analytics. The actual customer data you capture, store, and analyze will help you understand the relationships between your marketing efforts and your target audiences.
• Cost-effectiveness: By analyzing the effectiveness of your digital channels, you can finally stop paying for those channels and tactics that are not bringing in new leads.
• Understanding customers: By analyzing calls, you will understand your customers’ most common problems, frustrations, needs, and expectations.
• Multiple integrations: Call tracking software can integrate with a plethora of tools, including your CRM, Google Analytics, Salesforce, etc.

Over to You

Phone calls are still one of the most effective ways to generate leads and convert them into paying customers. Therefore, instead of making an educated guess every time someone calls you, you should track and analyze each call.

To track calls, you will need to invest in the right call tracking tools and measure relevant metrics and KPIs.

That way, you will understand what channels are driving most of your leads, who your customers are, and how satisfied and engaged they are. Based on the data you collect, you will be able to adapt your services and marketing efforts to your customers’ specific needs.