A successful sale is all about good marketing. Regardless how good the products or services you offer are, without the proper way of making them available and approachable for the public, the chances for sale are slim. So how can you reach people and show them what you have? Simple – by using something that everyone has – a mobile phone!
The Irony in Mobile Marketing
Mobile phones have become men’s best friend. They are their daily companion everywhere they go. However, it seems that today people have misplaced their original purpose as they tend to use their smartphones for everything else, except for calling people.
Moreover, sometimes it feels that the last thing people use their smartphones for is to call others. The smartphones have become a passage to the unlimited world of opportunities and those who know how to use it in their favor can greatly benefit from it. Many companies have recognized the potential that the smartphones have and saw them as an effective tool to market their products and attract new customers. By calling people on their phones and promoting new products or services companies create a pool of new clients that were not covered by other means of marketing and use every method they have on their disposal to convince people into buying the products or services they offer.
The Impact of Calls on Businesses
Steve Griffith’s decided to share the findings from the analysis of DialogTech which are dedicated to the phone call marketing. These findings are based on the study they have carried out in relation to the relevance of the phone calls in the world of mobile marketing and their influence on the total profit.
Steve Griffith explains that his role in the company is to run the marketing group of the company as well as to manage the people responsible for different business strategies and a number of analyses from different aspects. One of the many tasks these groups have is to research what is considered to be the best practice for the multi-channel marketing and to encourage marketers to seek new ways to improve their marketing methods and enhance the promotion of the products or services. He works for DialogTech, which is a marketing technology company that focuses on teaching marketers of the importance of the phone calls in the marketing process. Since mobile phones have become crucial part of people’s lives it is no surprise that the number of people who decided to engage with a business and buy their products or services as a result of phone marketing has drastically increased. DialogTech’s role is to show marketers the impact that the calls have on the businesses and provide solid guidelines for their future campaigns.
If you stop and think for a moment you would realize how strange it is that smartphones have taken up so many roles that their primary role now it seems as it has completely vanished. However, the fact that people always have their phones with them has turned them into perfect tools for immediate interaction. According to some researches, 50% of the digital advertising comes from mobile marketing and by 2019 this percentage is estimated to grow up and represent astonishing 73 percent from the entire digital marketing.
The increased focus on the mobile marketing will have great influence on the number of phone calls and will contribute to their increase. So you must be wondering why this type of marketing is so effective?! The answer is fairly simple. People prefer the easy approach, as they like things that don’t require much involvement on their part. Let’s just imagine two different situations: the first option where you need to fill in an online form on a tiny screen from a company that might or might not have a mobile friendly site concluded with a long and complex check out process; and the second option where all you need to do is pick up the phone and talk to a real person that will do most of the work for you. It’s obvious that the majority would go with the second option and use the opportunity to communicate with a human being that can explain things better and turn the purchase into a pleasurable experience.
A recent study shows how important the phone calls can be and the impact they can have on the total number of sales. This research covered over 5,000 people from 35 different industries, both small companies and international enterprises randomly chosen. As part of the research some analysis were carried out and a comparison was made between the web forms and the mobile calls in relation to the number of successful sales. The results showed that 49% of the conversions came from the phone calls whereas the rest came from the web forms.
So, if the phone calls were neglected it would have meant that almost half of the conversions would have been lost. Depending on the industry the percentage can be even higher thus making the loss even greater. These purchases refer mainly to things that people don’t buy on regular bases as they are more complex and require more involvement from the sales person. People usually investigate these things online but when they need to make the final decision they need a real person to clarify some of their queries.
So basically mobiles are a real hit, as you are getting both digital conversions and conversions from the phone calls. And as mobiles are now inseparable elements in our lives the effect of this type of marketing can only grow in time.
According to Steve Griffith’s study even 81% of the calls that customers made to the companies were inspired by the landing pages that they have searched through their mobile devices. The search is in fact the thing that sells the products or the services. Very often people know exactly what they need and want to buy so they use the search engines as a tool for easier communication. They don’t need more ads for companies that offer the services or products they are looking for; they simply want to find a phone number from the company they are interested in and get more details for the product/service of interest. Companies have become aware of this practice so it’s no surprise to see their phone numbers added as an extension to the information relating to the company. In addition, customers are often redirected to mobile-friendly web pages for the company they search and they can contact them directly from there. The behavior of the customers has been closely monitored on regular bases in order to obtain more accurate results that would lead to greater profit and better marketing.
Phone Call Marketing
Since every business is unique the phone call marketing has given different results depending on the specific industry. Some businesses find the phone call as good way to promote and trade with their products or services while others believe that this method is not very beneficial for them and won’t increase their profit. Companies that have more narrow scope of work are more oriented towards the phone calls as an effective method of marketing simply because the other methods can’t do much for them. These businesses offer services or products that you wouldn’t usually buy so easily and the team needs to convince you that this is exactly what you need. To make it even clearer for you, here is an example of companies that do well in phone call marketing: insurance policies, financial services, services for your car or your home; basically everything that involves letting people in your house to promote their products or services. Surely these people won’t just come into your house, give you a brochure and walk away; they would need to develop a conversation that will convince you that you want to buy the product or service they offer.
Luckily for the companies that are in this line of work, today people spend a lot of time on their cell phones due to the hectic life they lead so why not spend some time listening to a promotional speech about something they might need.
The interesting part is that these phone calls are not short one minute conversations. In fact the average duration of the marketing calls is 5.2 minutes, which is enough time to exchange a lot of information. The average duration of these phone calls varies depending on the different industry. If you take the financial services as example you would get an average duration of about 8.5 minutes, which sounds a lot for marketing calls. However, the thing is that there is more to it than just simple marketing. People are actually talking to the representative and are engaging into conversation that can clarify their ambiguities. This enables the company to have more personalized approach towards the potential customers and create a closer bond that can make the customer feel special and involve them in the product or the services that are offered. It’s all psychological elements, as some people find it hard to say no to others during direct communication. After the phone call is finished some would probably regret their decision for the impulsive purchase they’ve just made, but there is no point in crying over spilled milk.
All these things are important aspects of every sale and can have significant impact on the profit that the company makes. It’s not only about how long the call between the customer and the representative has been, but it’s about what has inspired the customer to make the call in the first place. The main questions are – What did they look for, where did they look for it and what made them visit the page they did to make the phone call. All these information can be very important when trying to improve the marketing tactics and might enable you to reach a larger audience or even increase your profit.
Based on all of the above it would be a real loss if the company doesn’t have the resources to handle every call that comes in and not be able to assist everyone who is looking for more information. Here are some data obtained during the research that show how important the phone calls are for customers:
- If the company the customer is interested in doesn’t offer the click-to-call option, 41% of the customers will look for other brands that do offer that option.
- 60% of the people who search companies through their mobiles believe that businesses should include a phone number where customers can call and obtain more information.
- 70% of the mobile searches have decided to use the call button for the company of interest.
These numbers give a clear picture of the importance of the phone marketing and the influence it has on people.
Another aspect why having a phone number available for the customers is because it gives your business a level of credibility. When people don’t see a phone number they usually don’t even bother to contact the company, they simply move on to another one that is more accessible. There are many questions evolving around the phone number; should it be a local number; or maybe a toll-free number for larger audience? There is no wrong or right answer – you should go with whatever works best for your company and whatever sells your products or services.
BIA/Kelsey, an analyst research firm conducted a survey covering several small and medium sized companies aiming at investigating the impact that different leads have. It included leads over the phone, those directly from the store, the ones from the popular social media sites and others. The results, as you probably anticipate, were that the phone leads were the most successful ones. This should come as no surprise especially since people who decide to pick up the phone have already made up their mind in relation to the product or services they are looking for. They usually don’t require additional persuasion, as they already know what they want. All they need is a real person that can finish the procedure in a few simple steps and save them the hassle of having to bother with the exhausting process of online shopping.
To learn more about the results of the survey you can visit Dialogtech.com and find the answers to all your questions.