How to Utilize Call Tracking
We’ve talked a lot about how to track metrics on your website or social media pages, but what about the phone calls into your office?
It’s likely that many of your appointments are made over the phone, but sometimes it can be difficult to discern how these callers found your business. Were they recommended to you by a current client? Did they dial you directly from a PPC advertisement? You may never know!
Unless . . . you start using call tracking.
It’s important to identify where your calls are coming from because this allows you to determine which of your marketing efforts are working best and which may need a little fine-tuning. Plus, learning how to use call tracking will give you greater control over how you receive and manage calls at your practice.
Before we go any further, let’s first define the term “call tracking”.
What is call tracking?
Call tracking refers to the process of collecting data about your business’s phone calls to learn how interested clients found your practice. Essentially, it’s a more refined, accurate version of asking “how did you hear about us” to your callers!
Typically, you will use software or a program that will allow you to create different phone numbers for various campaigns so that you are able to attribute calls to those sources. To help the program better identify those sources, you’ll need separate phone numbers. So, you may have a different phone number for your website, PPC ads, and email campaigns so that you can easily track the success of each.
Why is call tracking important for my practice?
Call tracking can be an incredibly valuable marketing asset in your industry! As a local business that provides appointment-based services, your practice would greatly benefit from tracking how those appointments are being made.
If you don’t have call tracking, you could waste money on strategies that aren’t working for your business or fail to realize how well another strategy is performing. For example, maybe you’ve noticed an influx of calls into your office recently, but you’re not sure where they are stemming from.
You might assume that word-of-mouth is spreading or your website is bringing in new calls, but it could have actually been your most recent PPC campaign! So instead of taking notes on what worked about your campaign and capitalizing on your PPC strategy, you’re unable to identify how you should best move forward.
Similarly, you could assume it’s a new paid ad you posted online and funnel more money into Google Ads when the calls are really stemming from an ad you created for Facebook.
Either way, call tracking can help you avoid these common problems.
How to use call tracking
Now that we have a better understanding of what call tracking is, let’s dive deeper into how to make call tracking work for your business.
1. Establish a goal.
The first thing you want to decide is what it is you are hoping to accomplish with call tracking. Do you want to implement the use of different phone numbers for various campaigns? Are you hoping to improve your employees’ effectiveness in booking appointments over the phone? Choose a goal so that you can pick a software that is right for you.
2. Choose a program.
Next, research programs, software, and companies that can help you accomplish that goal. There are no shortage of companies selling products that enable you to create and track multiple phone numbers, so be sure to fully vet each before deciding on one.
3. Create a strategy.
Once you’ve signed up with a company, it’s time to strategize. Consider how you want to assign phone numbers to each of your marketing campaigns or channels.
Think about everywhere your business’s phone number appears online, such as your website, social media pages, Google My Business Listing, PPC ads, and more!
You may want to group certain things together while creating special phone numbers for others. For example, you may want to use a standard phone number on all your business listings that are separate from the one you have listed on all of your social channels. And still, you may also want to create individual phone numbers for each of your most recent PPC campaigns.
Remember, much of marketing is trial and error. You may set up a strategy at the beginning that isn’t functioning well for your practice and want to make edits. That’s why it’s important to look at the data collected and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Which brings us to our next step…
4. Analyze the data.
What good is tracking your calls if you don’t analyze the data this tracking produces?
Access your analytics and note which of your campaigns are performing best and which are rendering underwhelming results. This can help inform your decisions about whether to tweak certain assets or rethink your strategy.
However, don’t forget to cross-reference your call tracking with other data about your digital marketing performance. Comparing the two sources can help you identify exactly what may be working and what isn’t.
For example, you could have an awesome click-through rate on your latest paid advertisement, but aren’t seeing as many phone calls coming through the associated phone number. That may mean that the title and description that are showing up on SERPs (search engine results pages) are pulling potential clients in, but your landing page isn’t converting those interested clicks into customers.
Now that you have compared the two, you would know that you may need to edit your landing page to better speak to your clients’ needs and directly address the title and description that displays on SERPs.
Ah, the power of data!
4. Keep your staff informed.
Be sure to adequately inform your staff members about your new call tracking system. Since a call tracking campaign will include a phone number that isn’t the same number as the business, some staff members may receive questions from long time clients asking if their number has changed. By keeping everyone in the loop, your staff can help the success of your call tracking efforts.
Get a program that does more for your practice.
While call tracking can be a pivotal asset for your business, it’s a lot less useful when you don’t have a complete digital marketing strategy to round out your efforts. There will be no phone numbers to track if you don’t have the campaigns to list them on!
That’s where we come in. Not only do we provide call tracking and analytics, we also offer complete digital marketing solutions to help you manage and grow your practice. Choose from a variety of packages that include critical marketing tools such as a mobile -responsive website, paid advertising services, social media management, and much more.
If you are already a client, contact your Account Development Consultant to learn more information about your call tracking services.
Looking for more resources? Check out these articles.
5 Ways to Target Your Ideal Clients with Local Marketing
The Difference Between Paid and Organic Web Marketing
Creating an Effective PPC Landing Page
