The importance of call tracking in your attribution model.

There are two key reasons to include call tracking in your attribution model. The first is to track leads and conversion via the phone the second is for conversion optimisation.

Path to Conversion

Calls represent a key path to conversion, including them in your attribution model helps bridge the gap between online activity and offline conversions increasing the accuracy of you attribution model.

In the last couple of years the importance of phone leads has been well documented, and with statistics suggesting that over 50% of all mobile ads result in a call and “Click to Call” campaigns achieving between 5% - 30% improved conversions* it’s not hard to see why.

With the continued proliferation of smart phones (it’s predicted that 60% of the world’s population will own a smart phone by 2019**) the immediacy and convenience of a phone call as form of conversion and information gathering is unlikely to depreciate anytime soon.

Online or Dynamic Call tracking is also easy to implement, most  providers can implement their solution though container tags such as Datalicious, Tealium,ensighten, and Google Tag Manager.

Once on site dynamic numbers enable online marketers to automatically display a unique tracking number on a website according to the specific keyword, search engine, referring website or banner ad. Assuming your provider is using a real time session based methodology, this allows you to accurately attribute calls back to the online traffic sources that generate them.

Given the value of a call, the level of accuracy in reporting and the ease of implementation you need to be tracking calls in your attribution model to capture what is a key path to conversion or inquiry for your customers.

Conversion Optimisation

Call tracking also delivers additional information on calls which can help you assign a more accurate value to phone leads and therefore the channel that generated them. Giving you the opportunity to optimise to higher value leads within your attribution model.

The current focus of the call tracking industry has been on the development and improvement of “Call Analytics” solutions, which focus on measuring the value of a call. Companies like Call Journey  with their Emotive Voice Streams solution which combined with a call tracking provider like AVANSER can report on not only the source, purpose and status of a call but also the tone, sentiment and result. Creating a whole new data source and a richer/ deeper metric to your attribution model.

Combined with other basic call handling features and reports such as, recording, location and call trend data. Call tracking provides the insights you need to optimise the conversion of leads coming in via the phone and the channels that generated them. 

There is no point building an attribution model unless you intent to optimise it and if you are not tracking calls, then you are likely missing a key path to conversion, a vital piece of your attribution model and the chance to optimise your activity to its full potential.

I originally this posted on LinkedIn, to read more visit Simon Pereira 

Source: 1, www.Marketingchart.com. 2, Ericson Mobility report 2013, Angry Conversation Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

People Management - how to avoid Kids Club

I was speaking with a colleague who has recently been promoted to management, and after a rough week he broke and declared - It feels like I am running a kids club!

Ironically my advice to him is probably just as relevant for kids as it is for sales teams. 

There was more to it then what I am going to share, but I thought there were two points that apply to almost every situation:

Treat them like adults

Make sure you're treating them like adults and not children - If you stand over their shoulder, micro manage and show a lack of trust, then they will reflect that in the way they act and respond to you.

Empower them to conduct their roles with autonomy (ensuring they operate with required systems and process) and give them the responsibility of meeting mutually agreed targets.

Adults tend to act more like adults when they are treated as such. 

Keep them busy 

Make sure they're busy, idle hands are restless and will often look for distractions and people to join them in their quest for entertainment (distracting others who may well be busy).

However there is a caveat to this one, make sure its productive / engaging work. Most sales people (employees) want to feel like the work they are doing has value, work for the sake of work will just make staff feel like you don't trust them enough to do something of value and then you can refer back to point number 1.

I would love to hear you thoughts, comments or abuse?

Image courtesy of Stuar Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Call Tracking

Within an increasing competitive economic environment the focus on campaign optimisation and realising a more accurate ROI (Return On Investment) from your marketing activity, has never been more acute. 

Call tracking is a hugely valuable piece of this puzzle and one that is largely underutilised. So for this post I thought I would address the basics and introduce you to call tracking in its simplest form.

What is Call Tracking?

In simple terms, call tracking is the ability to trace phone calls back to the person who initiated the call, as well as the relevant advertising channel that prompted this call.

How does it work?

Call tracking works by assigning unique virtual tracking numbers to different advertising sources. Within a traditional media mix this would allow you to identify which medium (TV, Press, Outdoor, Radio etc.) generated a call. Take call tracking online and you can identify calls by campaign, source, medium, conversion page and even back to a keyword level.

Why use Call Tracking?

Call tracking gives you greater marketing transparency and allows you to optimise your marketing activities, by providing reliable, relevant and actionable information on which advertising sources are generating phone leads into your business.

Call tracking is not a Silver bullet; however the phone call is a valuable path to conversion. Understanding how and where calls are generated and having the ability to optimise campaigns based on that information, not only improves the accuracy of your ROI calculations but it can significantly increase the ROI and ultimately help you grow your business. 

If you want to know more Check out http://www.avanser.com.au/

Picture Source: freedigitalphotos - David Castillo Dominici

Use objections to close more sales

Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a previous blog I outlined 5 steps to handling objections or concerns which is how I prefer to approach them, but if you are just handling them, you are missing a great opportunity to increase your close rate and shorten your sales cycle. 

Essentially, most objections/concerns are, first and foremost, an indication that at some level the prospect has or is considering buying your product/service and as sales professionals we should welcome these opportunities to progress the sale. 

Even as a consultative or strategic seller, at some stage within the sale process, prospects will raise concerns about how your product or service will meet their needs and fit into their business. It is these concerns that should then become the foundation for the rest of your pitch. By identifying and putting to rest prospects concerns you are far more likely to close the sale. In addition, if you can uncover and deal with the majority of their concerns early on within the sale process, you are also likely to reduce the length (time) of the sales cycle.

The main reason why it’s so important to work through objections/concerns is because it helps you quite naturally work toward a really strong close, the kind where the prospect themselves realise they are out of reasons not to buy. 

Personally, I always press a prospect to uncover any concerns they have in my initial presentation. If I can deal with them then and there, I can generally be at the negotiation stage of the process within that first meeting. Even if I can’t overcome their concerns there and then, I would rather know exactly what I need to answer in our next correspondence, then having walked out of the meeting leaving a prospect with unaired concerns. 

How often have you been in that situation where you never hear back from a prospect, despite having initially thought that you nailed the presentation? 

I would suggest more often than not it is because you left the prospect with concerns, which unanswered, can lead the prospect to discount your offering, or worse still, choose a competitor because they did a better job addressing their concerns. 

Objections often provide another valuable insight, FEAR. It is not uncommon for a prospects objection to reveal broader business issues, which can then be leveraged to your advantage.

With all the positives that can be gained from uncovering and then working through prospects concerns, it poses a big question. If it’s so effective why does everyone not do it. Easy answer, FEAR. All too often a sales representative will walk out of meeting without pressing for objections/concerns because they don’t want to hear them. It’s the fear that a concern may uncover a flaw in your pitch or a mismatch with your product and the prospects needs. 

But consider this- what should you be more scared of- wasting time on a prospect that’s not right for the business or a little rejection which can actually bring closure and allow you to move to potentially more prosperous prospects? 

As always Only My Opinion and I would love your thoughts, comments and or abuse.

5 Things I have to know.

When I was working with new team members in the media industry, they often forgot the entertainment side of the business was still BUSINESS!

So I developed a very simply A4 document titled, 5 Things I have to know. The purpose of the document was to reinforce that every interaction was an opportunity to gather information, information that we might be able to use to add value to our clients business, and therefor our business.

The form itself is simple enough but of course the trick is being able to ask the right questions to get the information. 

I would love to hear from you, if you have some great questions that you use to help uncover important information from your clients?

THE EVOLUTION OF ONLINE MARKETING

THE EVOLUTION OF ONLINE MARKETING

A brief History of online marketing relative to the perceived importance of the Telephone

copy write ice2eskimos 2013:  Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net left to right Picture 1,3 David Castillo, Picture 2 Renjith Krishnan, Picture 6 Nattavut, Picture 7,10 digitalart, Picture 8, cooldesign.