As a sales manager at DialogTech, I answer a lot of questions about voice-based marketing automation—especially call tracking. (I actually addressed the top 5 questions I receive in another blog.) With all the questions I field, from mid-market businesses to enterprise-level companies, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that there are three levels that marketers can achieve when it comes to PPC call tracking. Do any of these sound familiar?
Beginner
The beginning level is very common. Many businesses are running PPC ads—often dedicating a big chunk of budget to it—but not tracking the calls those ads generate. But beginners or not, lately I’ve been noticing a pattern: that they’re having epiphanies, and that although they may not be tracking calls yet, they’ve become aware of its importance. 6 in 10 CMOs are on the hook to prove the value of marketing, and as a result they’re looking around them to find a solution. Beginners usually don’t stay beginners for long.
Intermediate
The intermediate level of marketers is a little more advanced than those at the beginner level: they are running paid campaigns and are tracking call conversions on a basic level. However, despite this slight edge, there is an overall similarity: none of the marketers at these levels are able to track call conversions where they are managing their bids. This means that they might be paying a lot of money for a campaign that is driving very few calls, and a small amount of money for campaigns that are actually high call converters. So while the intermediate level marketers have their eye on the right prize, they’re falling short in what they’re actually able to do with call tracking for PPC.
Advanced
Marketers at the advanced level have learned how to get an edge on the competition. They understand the importance of integrating with Google Analytics (or their preferred bid management solution, e.g. Kenshoo, Marin, DoubleClick, or Acquisio) and their CRM, and they see the power in being able to track keywords and caller location. They understand the value of tracking more than just leads: they want to track qualified leads by source; they want to track opportunities by source; they want to track revenue by source. They want to compare revenue from PPC to total spend for a given period, and so much more. Marketers at the advanced level are advanced because they see the way the world is changing—the increase in mobile traffic, for example: calls in the U.S. from mobile search projected to increase from 30 billion in 2013 to 73 billion in 2018—and want to do something to save their business from oblivion. They may be unable to do all of those things just yet, but that’s why they get on the phone with me.
Like anything else, success is often a mindset. With that—and the right set of tools—I’ve seen marketers go straight from beginning to advanced in one step.
What level is your understanding of PPC call tracking? Leave a comment below. And if you want to learn more about becoming a Hero, download this free eBook: The Marketer’s Guide to Call Tracking for Google SEO and PPC.