How to Drive Better "Click-to-Call" Conversions
Have you ever called a business directly from a Google search, ad or website using your mobile phone? According to the latest statistics, chances are very good that you have. In fact research has found that 70% of mobile users have, indeed, used click-to-call at some point. What’s more, experts predict the number of calls made to businesses from smartphones will increase to 162 billion by the year 2020.
Why is this trend so important from a business perspective? Well, for one, click-to-call tends to have a much greater conversion rate than other types of marketing. That’s because when people take the initiative to call a business, they’re typically already prepared to move to the next step, whether it’s to get directions, book an appointment or find out more about a particular product or service.
In other words, they’re already part of the way through the sales funnel, which makes them much more qualified as leads.
But it’s not always as easy as simply adding a clickable phone number to your ads, website or social media profile. As with any other type of marketing effort, your mobile campaigns must be properly optimized in order to not only get people to call, but to increase the chances that once they do, they’ll want to take that next step, whatever that might happen to be.
Not sure how to accomplish this? Focus on the following three elements.
Responsiveness – You want to make a stellar first impression, so responsiveness is of critical importance. The leads that are calling you are already primed, but if they can’t get through on the initial try, chances are they’ll go find what they’re looking for somewhere else. In fact, recent statistics from Forbes indicate that 80 percent of callers sent to voicemail won’t bother to leave a message because they don’t believe it will ever be heard.
To avoid this, skip the automated menu and limit the amount of calls that are allowed to go to voicemail. VoIP phone systems are excellent for this because they allow you to forward calls anywhere – including to mobile devices, so you can ensure that every incoming call to your business receives a warm, personal greeting.
Preparedness – While some callers may already know about your business, a good portion of them probably won’t. That means whoever is answering the phone must be well-prepared to be helpful in answering just about any question that comes their way. Additionally, many callers may ask to speak to a specific department, like sales, billing or customer service.
Terms like “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure” will definitely not make a strong, positive impression or instill trust in your callers. Instead, make sure anyone who will be taking incoming phone calls is trained on what to say, who to transfer callers to and how to do so quickly and seamlessly. The more professional and prepared your answering team is, the more at ease your callers will be.
Consistency – Not everyone reaching out to your company will be a first-time caller. Hopefully you’ll also have a certain amount of repeat customers contacting you over the phone as well. Aim to provide the same exceptional experience with each and every call, regardless of who’s on the other end. When people come to know, expect and appreciate this kind of consistency, they’ll be more likely to come back again and again. They’ll also be more likely to refer their friends and family to your business as well.
To create this type of consistency, it’s best to designate one or two people who will primarily handle incoming calls. If this isn’t possible, make sure anyone who may be tasked with picking up calls understands what’s expected of them (i.e. a warm, familiar greeting, friendly tone, what not to say, etc.).
Loyal customers are created through meaningful connections and click-to-call is making it easier than ever before to make those connections. The above tips should help improve the chances of successfully converting those incoming calls and inquiries into long-term, paying customers.
