As marketers we’re used to change. From the emergence of search engines, the birth of social media, and now the power of mobile, we continually adapt our strategy to engage with customers. Right now, in today’s mobile-first world, that means leveraging new marketing trends to drive more inbound phone calls. Research shows call conversions become revenue 10x more frequently than web conversions and are the leads sales teams want most.
These 8 powerful trends mean more call conversions for your business and shouldn’t be ignored.
1. Shifting Ad Dollars to Mobile
I can’t start a blog post like this without mentioning how marketers continue to shift digital ad budgets to mobile. By 2019, 72% of all digital ad spend will be spent on mobile marketing – marketers recognize the need to take a mobile-first approach to their campaigns. More ad dollars shifted to mobile will generate more calls: by 2019, mobile marketing will drive 162 billion calls to US businesses.
2. Increasing Mobile Phone-Through Rate (PTR)
Our DialogTech Insights report revealed the average PTR from mobile landing pages is 2.3% (compared to form fills at 2.4%). We mentioned that because when marketers fail to measure PTR, they could be making a 49% ROI mistake. We’re seeing PTR increase every month, meaning marketers not on top of this trend will continue to misattribute conversions and be at a competitive disadvantage.
3. Mobile Commerce Growing Faster Than Desktop
M-commerce is growing 5x faster than desktop e-commerce, yet a monetization gap has emerged. Consumers spend a lot of time browsing, but don’t convert on mobile. They either convert via desktop or perform a secondary action, such as call or visit a store. Marketers optimizing mobile campaigns for secondary action rates (especially phone calls) versus click-through rates (CTR) have seen improved conversion rates.
4. “Near Me” Searches on Google Have Doubled
80% of those “near me” searches occur on a smartphone. When searching for places or services near to them, people desire relevancy and are ready to take action. And calling remains the easiest way for them to take action on a smartphone. In fact, 70% of mobile searchers have used click-to-call on a SERP to talk to a business directly (which leads me to my next point).
5. Introduction of Call-Only Ads
Google and Bing took call extensions one step further by introducing call-only ads. Mobile searchers want to call from search results – and innovations like this make it easy for marketers to connect with them in conversation. Call-only ads allow marketers to create paid search ads with a single call to action: a phone call.
6. New “Call Now” Buttons on Social Media
Marketers shouldn’t be surprised to hear that social media users access the platforms via mobile devices. What you may not know is that calls from social media advertising will increase 5x by 2019. Both Facebook and Twitter have introduced a “Call Now” button marketers can include within their advertising to drive more call conversions from mobile users.
7. Considered Purchases That Require Conversation
When you are considering a big purchase, sometimes it requires a conversation. In fact, 67% of online shoppers call a business directly for any purchase greater than $100. If your product or service is expensive or has a long, complicated buying process, consumers will call for more information and call to complete a purchase. To convert more callers to sales and revenue, you should also think about optimizing the caller experience.
8. Advanced Call Routing Capabilities
Advanced call routing technology that offers customizable routing rules impacts how callers convert to revenue. A caller that connects to the right agent, store, or location on the first try is less prone to frustration and more likely to convert. For performance marketers, pay-per-call marketing has resurfaced as a result of the growth in calls from mobile marketing, and there are ways to optimize pay-per-call routing to drive more call conversions.
Trends change, but right now more mobile marketing means more calls. And every marketer needs a versatile call attribution and conversion platform to drive more call conversions. Request a demo to see how it can work for your business.
