January « 2011 « Mongoose Metrics

January, 2011

3 Call Tracking Decisions Franchises Face

Depending on the organization, franchise-marketing responsibilities may lie with corporate headquarters, the individual franchise owner, a group of owners within certain geographic regions, or a combination of all three. For corporate initiatives, marketers typically will need to justify expenses not only to c-level executives, but also to franchise owners.

While there are dozens of local marketing activities franchises can use to drive customers, TMP Direction Marketing/15 Miles’ white paper, “Bridging the Gap, From Search to Sales,” points out that 70 percent of local customers start their product/service search online.

For franchises, this means that each location should have its own online presence (i.e. website, landing page or website section, Google Places page). Next, marketing should focus on growing each location’s presence through local SEO, PPC, online directory listings and location-based check-in and review sites.

Unfortunately, tracking the ROI of these online initiatives is more difficult than simply installing and reviewing website analytics. TMP/15 Miles also reports that even after searching online only nine percent of local consumers make a purchase online. Instead, they prefer to place a phone call (38%) or visit the physical location (36%).

So for corporate marketers, while web analytics will help provide an idea of marketing return, a call tracking solution can help form a more complete lead-generation picture across all franchise locations. Here are the three call tracking decisions all franchises will face:

1. Is call tracking right for your franchise?

The first question that needs to be asked is whether or not call tracking is appropriate for your franchise. Call tracking solutions make the most sense for larger organizations that allocate significant budget toward marketing. The cost associated with a call tracking solution should be a fraction of total-marketing spend.

Also, evaluate internal capabilities to analyze tracking data and effectively use it to improve campaign performance. Depending on the size of your organization, you need at least one internal champion to manage call tracking for the entire franchise, and to help individual owners understand and act on the data.

2. What do we track?

Call tracking solutions have the ability to provide extremely detailed reports, if necessary, tracking calls that result from a specific keyword.

It is up to a franchise and its owners to determine what makes sense to track, but make sure you are not paying for data that you’ll never use. For example, while it may make sense to track calls from online ad spend, it may not be worth tracking calls from a niche industry directory that drives three website visitors per month.

3. Toll free or local phone numbers?

Call tracking providers enable you to purchase either toll-free or local phone numbers. From a consumer standpoint, it is recommended to go with the local phone numbers since the area code will help confirm for them the location is nearby.

Also, from a search-engine perspective, many experts agree a phone number’s area code is a local search ranking factor. According to Dev Basu, in David Mihm’s 2010 Local Search Ranking Factors, “In 90% of cases, local numbers seem to perform better in search engine result pages than toll-free ones.”

One item to note before activating a call tracking solution:

Google’s ranking algorithm

One aspect search engines look at when ranking local websites is how consistent the company’s contact information listings are across the web. Specifically, they look at name, address, phone number and website address. The more consistent this information, the more confident search engines are in its accuracy.

Unfortunately, with a call tracking solution you may use multiple phone numbers across the web. While there is no perfect resolution to avoiding phone number inconsistencies, in December, we discussed a couple solutions that may prove useful.

Your Thoughts

We’d love to hear from some franchises that have integrated call tracking solutions, and some recommendations they have for others interested in exploring call tracking.

How to Track Content Marketing Lead Conversions

What is Content Marketing?

“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” – Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and Junta42; author of “Get Content Get Customers.”

Companies use content marketing to build awareness, establish thought leadership, generate leads and guide prospects through the buying cycle. This content, in the form of blog posts, eBooks, videos and more, is designed to offer unique insight and resources to audiences in hopes they will share it online, connect to learn more about a topic, and think of you first when it comes time to purchase.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to attach an ROI to content marketing, largely due to the number of content interactions that may take place away from your site. Such is the case, for example, with downloadable content, webinars, and some online videos.

However tracking content ROI is not impossible. Following are three ways marketers can better track content-driven lead conversions using both web analytics and call tracking solutions.

1. Drive Visitors to Landing Pages

Each piece of content you develop should include a call to action. Consider having the call to action drive audiences to a specific landing page. Here you may choose to include additional resource links, related content articles, and links to connect on social media.

You’ll also want to include a web form and phone number for visitors to contact you. Configure your web analytics to register any web form submission as a new lead, and set up call tracking systems to associate a unique number to a visitor who landed on the page. Using a cookie in their browsers, the visitor is shown the same number throughout the site, helping you to tie any call conversions back to the content piece, no matter what pages they navigate to.

2. Include Call Tracking Numbers in Downloadable Content

There may be an opportunity directly within your downloadable content to give readers the option to call to speak with an expert, or learn more about a specific topic.

Publish a unique tracking number within each new piece of content, and track the number of calls you receive over time. You can then use this information to evaluate which content format and topics are more likely to generate leads, as well as what type of lead quality you can expect from each.

3. Online Videos and Webinars

Similarly, there are opportunities to add call-to-action information in online videos and webinars.

Online Videos — Using a basic video-editing program, you can quickly add graphics and text to any video. Many marketers use the end of the video as an opportunity to offer viewers details on how to get in touch should they need additional information. This is the ideal location for a unique call tracking number.

Online Webinars — Webinar presenters typically offer ways for attendees to contact them with additional questions. Not only can call tracking record the number of incoming calls that resulted from the webinar, but it can record the call itself. Presenters can then go back and review the calls to understand if something wasn’t clear enough in the presentation and needed to be explained further.

We’re curious to hear how content marketers are tracking conversions, both through web analytics and call tracking services. Please share your examples in the comments below.

Analytics / Call Tracking / Examples / PPC — No Comments
12
Jan 11

Are Your Web Visitors Converting Offline?

“I know that half of my advertising dollars are wasted. I just don’t know which half.” This often-quoted sentiment by early 20th century marketer John Wanamaker – founder of Wanamaker’s, the world’s first department store and considered the father of American advertising — can easily be applied to 21st century web marketing.

Today’s web analytics industry has solved Wanamaker’s dilemma – to a degree.

Sophisticated Fortune 500 marketers and small business alike have embraced online marketing analytics and in turn, have improved their ability to convert web visitors into leads, made millions – if not billions — of dollars and most likely killed traditional media in the process.

But despite the promise of web analytics, Wanamaker’s unknown percentage still exists and the biggest mysteries in today’s online marketplace are offline conversions (calls to a business or visits to a retail outlet).

A 2006 comScore study commissioned by Google found that 63 percent of Website visitors completed their purchase offline. This means the source of a majority of leads may be left to question using website analytics alone. Additional research supports this fact: Forty-six percent of local online searchers contacted a business by telephone following their Web research (TMP Directional Marketing and comScore, summer 2009).

Phone call conversion tracking provides the answer. Most-commonly known as call tracking or dynamic number replacement, this technology allows online marketers to fully understand which of their online marketing sources drive phone calls.

Call tracking software dynamically changes the phone numbers people view on web pages based on how they are directed to the site.

The tracking and reporting features then show users the sources that initiated the website visit and in some instances the value of a conversion, detailing all lead activity generated by the website.

By integrating call tracking data into a web analytics solution such as Google Analytics, Adobe, Unica or Webtrends, a more complete picture of the total user experience is achieved.

Now marketers can fully understand how to:

Optimize all campaigns: Know which campaigns, keywords and marketing tactics drive callers and whether those calls generate revenue – offline or online.
Improve site design: Understand which pages drive calls – customers may be confused, and there may be opportunities for site usability improvement.
Save money: Find new ways to more effectively close business online and reduce call volume.
Save time: An integrated reporting environment saves time in analysis by consolidating call information with your web analytics and CRM providers.

An integrated reporting environment combines online conversions with offline (telephone) conversions into one dashboard to more clearly see the true value of specific media buys. Marketers can use this dashboard to compare the performance of different campaigns and advertisements. For PPC campaigns specifically, calls can be tracked down to the keyword-level bid in Google Adwords and Microsoft AdCenter.

Successful case studies and client testimonials attest to the efficacy and urgency of including call tracking tools for optimal marketing success no matter the size of your budget.

Analytics / Call Tracking / Examples / Sales — No Comments
11
Jan 11

How B2B Marketers Can Use Call Tracking

B2B marketers often are responsible for managing countless thousands of dollars in marketing and advertising spending to generate new business leads for their company’s sales team.

Tracking the ROI of this budget is extremely important, both to justify expenses to management and continually improve campaign performance. To do this, many rely on web analytics and CRM reporting.

However a service that often gets overlooked is call tracking — a method for identifying leads who choose to contact the company offline (via the phone).

When call tracking is integrated with analytic programs, marketers are more equipped to optimize campaign performance, improve sales and reduce costs.

Following are some ways call tracking can be integrated in B2B marketing campaigns:

Company Website

By integrating call tracking into a website, companies can for the first time associate web activity to a lead that chooses to call rather than fill out a form.

Marketers can use this information, in combination with web analytics, to test the effectiveness of new page layouts, headlines, calls to action and messaging.

Call tracking software works by changing a website’s phone number based on the source a visitor used to find the site (e.g. search engine, banner ad, directory listing, etc.). The software then tracks the caller’s entire click path from browsing through sale, showing the likelihood for visitors from that source to convert into qualified leads and customers.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising

To optimize PPC campaigns, better allocate budgets and identify strong-performing keywords, it’s imperative for marketers to see which keywords are driving qualified leads.

Similar to how call tracking works for website visitors (see above), call tracking software dynamically replaces phone numbers depending on the PPC keyword a visitor used to find the site. Mongoose call tracking also can be integrated directly with AdWords to show traffic data and conversion ratios directly in AdWords campaign dashboards.

For more information, see our related post: Google AdWords Call Analytics Explained & Compared with Mongoose Metrics Call Tracking.

Social Media

Depending on the organization, it may already be highly active in social media or just starting to explore it as a viable marketing activity. Of course, as with all marketing initiatives, companies need to demonstrate favorable ROI to justify continued investment.

Call tracking can be set up to show unique phone numbers to visitors from specific social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Marketers can then compare the likelihood of these visitors converting into leads with other website traffic sources.

Traditional Marketing & Advertising

There are a variety of traditional marketing and advertising options that may be effective, but don’t result in website visitors. For example, product brochures, print advertising and trade show booths may offer audiences both a website address and phone number.

With a call tracking solution, B2B marketers can assign a unique phone number to each form of promotion. Now marketers can evaluate how effective a specific offline initiative is at capturing a prospective customer’s attention and motivating them to take action, and whether or not it is worth the budget and time invested.

Lead Nurturing Campaign

In some cases, a B2B sales cycle can take weeks, or even months. If this is the case, it is often marketing’s job to nurture these leads through the sales funnel. To help, marketers may introduce lead nurturing (or drip) campaigns.

These campaigns may drive visitors to landing pages with special-pricing offers, resource articles or simply display a number for the recipient to call for a limited-time-only offer. With call tracking, marketing and sales teams can see how many recipients choose to call.

The system tracks lead source, website activity (if any) and the resulting phone conversation, all of which is extremely valuable to the sales representative making a follow-up call.

We’re interested in hearing how B2B marketers use call tracking to improve their campaign’s performance. Please offer your experience in the comments section below.

Call Tracking / Examples / PPC / Search Marketing — No Comments
4
Jan 11

5 Reasons Why Digital Marketing Agencies Should Use Call Tracking

Digital marketing agencies understand that technology is reshaping how companies market themselves.

They build campaigns focused on SEO, social media, online content (i.e. blogs, video, ebooks), PPC, and media/blogger relations.

As a result, digital marketing agencies are evaluated on improvements in Website visitors, leads and conversion rates — not merely ad value and media impressions as was often the case in the past.

To show their value, digital marketing agencies rely on Website analytics reporting and in many cases integrate a CRM tool — such as SugarCRM or Salesforce — to close the marketing loop and more accurately track conversions of leads to customers.

While these tools are essential for tracking new Web form leads, a 2006 comScore study commissioned by Google found that 63 percent of Website visitors completed their purchase offline. This means the source of a majority of a client’s leads may be left to question using Website analytics alone.

Additional research supports this fact: Forty-six percent of local online searchers contacted a business by telephone following their Web research (TMP Directional Marketing and comScore, summer 2009).

With so many consumers letting their fingers do the walking, digital marketing agencies must learn how to measure and analyze calls resulting from online searches. And, as nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use online media to shop (BIA/Kelsey and ConStat Survey, February 2010), tracking phone calls resulting from marketing initiatives is more imperative than at any time in history.

The Answer: Call Tracking

Call tracking captures source data for leads that prefer to pick up a phone rather than complete a form.

By integrating phone call data with Website analytics, agencies can see how these leads are interacting with a client’s website. Following are five reasons digital agencies should integrate call tracking into their client campaigns.

1. View the Complete Marketing Picture

Not all customers like filling out forms; they often would rather speak to a company representative by phone. Others may never visit a client’s Website at all, which often is the case for leads that found the company via print advertising or Yellow Page listings.

Consequently, it is virtually impossible to track all lead activity without some sort of call tracking solution.

With a combination of Website analytics and call tracking, each and every lead can be accounted for, providing a clear picture as to what marketing initiatives are driving new, qualified leads, and which are not.

2. Better Allocate Budgets

Nowadays, digital agencies structure marketing campaigns to include keyword optimization, social media, media/blogger relations, and both online and offline advertising.

The ability to track each initiative’s effectiveness at generating quality leads is the only way to efficiently maximize the impact of a client’s marketing budget. With an accurate understanding of lead sources, agencies can encourage them to confidently shift money toward better-performing initiatives.

3. Improve Campaign Performance

Along the same lines, seeing how all leads are entering the sales funnel can help to more accurately identify under-performing elements of a campaign. For example, which is better?

Of the 100 visitors to each page:
• Landing Page A generated 5 form completions and 10 calls
• Landing Page B generated 10 form completions and 2 calls

Without call tracking, an agency may choose to adjust Landing Page A, when in actuality it is the better-performing page.

4. Help Clients See Value

Client retention is a big focus for all digital agencies. It is far easier, and more profitable, to retain and grow existing accounts than it is to find and nurture new prospective clients. Call tracking can ensure they are not selling themselves short by only reporting a fraction of the leads they helped generate.

5. Help Corporate Marketers Better Show Their Value

In many situations, digital agencies work closely with a client’s marketing department. Depending on the organization and its leadership, marketing is constantly struggling to justify budget requests and demonstrate ROI.

By creating a closed-loop lead tracking system that shows all leads from their first interaction to becoming a customer, it becomes much easier for marketing to show their value, as well as that of the digital agency.

In addition, there may be a slight disconnect between the sales and marketing departments. Help the sales department understand the value of marketing by continually improving the lead quality and volume. By including useful details, such as Website pages viewed, calls to action taken and level of interest, the sales team can prioritize hot leads and better customize pitches.

For those digital marketing agencies using call tracking, what type of success have you seen? How has it helped your clients? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Mongoose MetricsConversion & Call Tracking Blog