For Forward-Thinking Marketers, Phone Calls Are the Focus

There's a lot to be said for online marketing when it comes to brand awareness and generating buzz. The resources and interaction that web-based channels offer are clearly a must-have marketing tool for any small business strategy. Come around to conversions, however, and almost every business marketer or manager will tell you they want their phones ringing off the hook. Econsultancy has published an excellent two-part article - part one here - listing ways to get more phone leads, which also contains some intriguing statistics on just how much more cost-effective it can be to focus on getting more phone calls. At RingBoost that's not just our objective, it's our name! So of course we had to bring you some of the best stats we pulled from this piece. They are:

• Even the king of online ad property, search giant Google, finds that adding a call option increases ad clicks by 8%. When we conducted a similar test of our own last year, we found that including a custom number to call increased clicks by 33%.

• Toll-free numbers play an important role in encouraging customers to call, in many cases conversion rates can be doubled by using a local area code. Call volume also increased when the two faced off in some studies, making local vanity numbers an important consideration when you search for the right number to help your business stand out.

• Mobile devices are bringing online marketing in line with more traditional tools like memorable numbers, with some well known brands seeing as high as 407% increase in conversion rates when they work to drive phone calls from ads and landing pages based on the mobile web.

• Following on from that fusion of search advertising and phone numbers, it's clear that bridging the gap from online to real world interactionis important to customers. 47% say of mobile searchers told Google that if they didn't see a phone number or call option in their search results,they would be more likely to move on to other brands.

• Retargeting involves pushing ads to those who have already shown some interest in your product or service, and can increase the likelihood of conversion by up to 70%. This might not be surprising, given the customer has already tipped their hand, but the idea to include a phone number in those retargeting ads is a smart way to close the loop and seal the deal. If a customer has already clicked around your site and web properties, presenting a phone number both catches the eye and bridges the gap from interested to interacting with your sales professionals.

  Another point to push home, even without any immediate statistics, is just how effective phone numbers are when used as an instant connection option. Tactics like including a number as an alternative on your landing page, or emphasizing the immediate response the customer will get by calling is a simple yet effective way to blend marketing styles. Most customers will do some research online, but their personal purchase processes will differ. Some will move slowly, requesting more information or signing up to receive future offers, while others will want to call a real person to learn more and make their decision. Then there's the spectrum in between these two extremes, which requires your marketing materials to provide ways to access information that satisfy both styles. All of which brings us back to the original point: getting someone to call your business means that they're more likely to convert to a paying customer. Speaking to someone builds a connection that takes much longer online, and the chances are that someone calling your contact number prefers dealing directly with an individual expert who can help them understand their options, what they're buying, and why your business offers the most compelling solution. In order to get them to make that call in the first place, of course, you'll need to be focused on building your phone number into all of your marketing materials and positioning it alongside other elements of your strategy, such as content and social media marketing. When that number is memorable and custom-branded that task becomes ten times easier (and converts to revenue ten times more often!)