Phone calls are the best leads businesses–especially local businesses–can get. Callers purchase more frequently more than any other lead source.
And we work with a lot of local businesses. The number one issue they have with call tracking isn’t with call tracking…it’s that they don’t generate enough calls with their marketing.
So here’s the big question: how can local businesses, your local business, get the phone to ring?
Ultimately, there is no better way to get your phone to ring than with organically produced callers. These callers have just searched for something you can provide. They visited your site. Now they want to call.
This is perfect.
For local businesses, this represents the absolute perfect scenario. Someone has clicked-through to your site after conducting a Google search. They’re able to research your products or services for a few minutes, then they call. It is a fair bet that by the time they call, they are very ‘in market.’ They know exactly what you have and what they want.
Close rates for these calls can be over 75%.
Local SEO is key to driving more calls.
2) Mobile Pay-Per-Call
By the end of 2014 more searches will be conducted on smartphones than all other devices put together. This means that search results will be displayed on phones more often. Guess what phones do?
They can make calls!!!!!
Holy cow!
The mobile pay-per-call world is starting to mature. You can include a tap-able phone number in your mobile ads. Then when your ad is displayed the searcher can simply tap the number and connect directly to your business.
If you want calls quickly try mobile pay-per-call via Google Adwords and call extensions.
3) Direct Mail
Direct mail is number 3 on our list because it works. It is a consistent workhorse in the local marketing space. When a direct mail piece is sent, calls spike. There is a tangible bell-curve.
Direct mail produces phone calls.
Simply tailor your offer to make it call-friendly and use phrases like ‘Call Now’ in the text. If you do this, you’ll very quickly see a deluge of calls. Rinse. Repeat.
4) Radio
Radio works in some markets better than others. Some of our clients hate radio and say that it doesn’t generate phone calls. On the other hand, it works for other clients.
If you use radio you HAVE TO use call tracking for testing purposes. You can spend a lot of money on radio ads in a hurry and if you aren’t testing effectiveness with call tracking, you can waste a lot of money too.
How many calls are your radio ads producing? Find out with call tracking.
5) PPC
Good old Google Adwords. It still drives huge amounts of traffic to websites all over the world.
And depending on your business model, MANY of these visitors to your site will call you. We recommend combining PPC with call tracking to determine which ads, campaigns, and keyword groups generate calls and which don’t.
6) Directories
Some directory listings produce a lot of calls. Some waste your money.
We posted LogMyCalls in several directory listings in the last year. Some of them worked, some wasted our money. Wasted. Money.
Use Call Tracking
The common thread running through each of these 6 ways to make your phone ring is the absolute necessity of using call tracking. If you receive even a handful of phone calls a day, you need to know which marketing efforts are generating those calls.
These tactics will make your phone ring. Try them.
But make sure you know which of these tactics works. Call tracking is the only reliable way to figure that out. Use call tracking numbers to track the effectiveness of your local marketing.
