Call Tracking Guide for Business in 2022

Do you know how people calling your business found out about it in the first place? 

Was it thanks to your new Facebook ad or rather a Google Ad campaign you launched a month ago? Do you know what to include in your product or service description to help it close a deal?

According to industry research, call leads convert even 10 to 15 times more than web leads because it tells you where the person on the other side of a line is located, which is a huge advantage. 

The truth is, inbound call tracking is a wildly underestimated marketing technology, and many marketers are yet to understand its power, so don’t miss your chance to jump on the bandwagon before it’s too late.

What is call tracking?

Call tracking is a process that identifies how callers found your business. It’s useful in helping you measure how your particular marketing activities drive attention, and therefore, calls from your potential prospects. Tracking calls helps companies understand their target market better and measure the quality and the conversion rate of leads generated via their marketing channels.

Why is call tracking important for B2B and B2C?

Daily inbound calls are standard for many businesses, including both the B2B and B2C spaces.

These calls are valuable moments marketers and sales teams can use to research new opportunities to improve their services or discover issues they were unaware of.

But primarily, inbound calls are meant for sales. For B2B and B2C companies alike, each call from a prospect could result in getting a new lead. 

There are, however, some differences between inbound B2B and B2C calls that influence the process and success of acquiring the said lead.

First of all, products sold by B2B companies are typically priced higher compared to products meant for individual private consumers. 

Secondly, the buying process for companies is usually longer. Most organizations and businesses have buying committees and require getting approval from several stakeholders.

For these reasons, it can be hard to convert a B2B prospect into a lead in one session. For sales teams, it means keeping track of follow-up calls they need to schedule and complete.

Moreover, the leads they got could be at different stages of their purchase journey, therefore they would need to be segmented and monitored for further progress. 

Companies might also want to know how the prospect found out about them to measure the effectiveness of their online ads and marketing campaigns. Or record the calls for training purposes, customer service, ensuring regulatory compliance, and other legal reasons.

And the list can go on and on.

That’s a lot to take in. Naturally, companies would miss a lot of precious data without a proper call tracker and struggle to maintain a smooth workflow.

That’s why having proper call tracking software is so important. It will significantly aid B2B and B2C companies in their daily inbound (and outbound) calls and help them understand the value of their online advertising efforts. 

Using this technology will also let them find out where their customers are coming from, optimize digital marketing activities or particular campaigns, and decide on the channels they wish to invest in.

How does a call tracking software work?

Now, you might find yourself wondering, “Ok, but how do you track a phone number?”.

And that’s where a call tracking app can come in handy. How does it work in a nutshell?

A call tracking software records data about the incoming telephone calls, and sometimes even the conversations themselves. Some call tracking solutions are AI-powered.

On the most basic level, call tracking works by generating a unique, trackable phone number for each marketing source and then assigning a caller to the campaign or based on their location.

Suppose your business accepts bookings, offers quota calculations, or provides customer service via phone. In that case, your number is probably featured on your website, social media profiles, or your Google and Facebook Ads campaigns. 

With call tracking, each time a person calls you from one of these places, it automatically assigns a given channel as a source. Additionally, when the software is AI-powered, you can gather information about each call’s quality, urgency, or conversion rate.

How to set up a call tracking system?

The easiest way to get started with call tracking and test it out without spending a fortune on any fancy tools is to set it up in Google Adwords.

In general, there are two ways you can set up trackable phone numbers:

What data can call tracking apps capture?

Depending on the software you are using, most call tracking apps can collect the following information:

All in all, all the data collected with a call tracking system allow businesses to monitor their marketing efforts more effectively.

Top 5 call tracking software tools for marketers

Call tracking software has a lot to offer to marketers who want to make the most of their online and offline marketing campaigns.

It can streamline lead nurturing, sync marketing data, help map customer journeys, and greatly influence customer support. Such software usually is suitable for both inbound and outbound calls.

Inbound call tracking

Inbound call trackers trace a call back to the marketing channel or campaign that drove the prospect to make a phone call.

The software generates unique phone numbers associated with different marketing channels and campaigns and tracks which calls are coming from which unique numbers. 

Outbound call tracking

Outbound call tracking shows which call still needs to be returned. It also allows for a quick callback and tracking those calls right from the desktop dashboard.

This way, marketers and sales teams spend less time dialing and more time focusing on selling.

So whether you’re looking for an inbound or outbound app, these five call tracking apps will surely meet your needs:

1. CallRail: Callrail replaces the phone number on the website based on where the traffic comes from. It also lets marketers track the performance of all online ad campaigns in one dashboard.

Features: 

• Toll-free numbers
• Local phone numbers
• Multi-channel call attribution
• Call-routing and management

2. WhatConverts: WhatConverts is an all-in-one lead tracking platform that shows marketers how well their marketing campaigns perform.

Features:

• Toll-free numbers
• Local phone numbers
• Visitor & keyword tracking
• Advanced reporting & analytics

3. Close: Close lets marketers email, call, and text their leads without the need to install extra add-ons. It’s packed with productivity tools to help reach more leads and follow up frequently.

Features:

• Audience targeting
• Engagement tracking
• Call management & recording
• Customer database & segmentation

4. NovoCall: NovoCall helps businesses attribute their inbound calls to specific marketing campaigns and get real-time data tracking and analytics. They can track entire customers’ journeys with multi-channel attribution.

Features:

• Auto-dialer
• Keyword tracking
• Call tracking metrics
• Call management & recording

5. HubSpot: HubSpot’s call tracking feature is built into their free CRM and Sales suite. It provides call tracking and analytics and the possibility to make calls directly from the browser.

Features:

• CRM
• Voice Over IP
• Call recording
• Advanced reporting & analytics

Advantages of tracking phone numbers

Call tracking is a vastly underexplored process that can offer promising opportunities for your business.

In such industries as healthcare and tourism, the percentage of bookings done over the phone is astounding. Businesses in these niches are characterized by a specific customer journey, which can be mapped out quite easily using call tracking technology.

Some of the main advantages of telephone call tracking come down to:

• More accurate data and better lead segmentation
• Improved customer service 
• A better understanding of keyword phrases and language that brought people to your business
• Ability to track marketing channels and campaign’s performance and optimize for best results

How to choose the right call tracking provider?

Finally, let’s discuss how you can find the right solution for tracking your business’s inbound phone calls. The simplest way to do this is by answering the following questions:

• Are the local and international phone numbers supported without an extra fee?
• From which marketing channels and sources can it trace the data?
• Is the call tracking software AI-powered? Can it record and transcribe the calls?
• Are there any available integrations with 3rd party apps?
• How do call analytics and reporting work? 
• What kind of data can the software collect and provide?

Once you compare the call tracking providers, all you have to do is choose the most suitable one for your needs, and voilà, you are ready to take your marketing to another level!