7 Statistics That Show Customers Want to Call Your Business

Driving inbound calls to your business has never been more important. As technology advances, it’s tempting to think that everyone wants to get in touch via the latest fun app or newest social network feature. While we can’t ignore those trends – indeed, every business should be trying to get ahead of them - Over the last few years, we've noticed a number of articles and studies springing up to support this idea, leaving a compelling case for business owners to up their marketing game with a more memorable phone number. By the Numbers: The Shape of Calls to Come

It's not like the value of calls ever went away, or has even been called into question. That being said, the boom of mobile devices alongside the emerging standard of online and wi-fi calling has thrust the humble telephone number right back into the spotlight. After several years allowing social media and search marketing to hog the limelight, memorable, branded contact details are again taking the starring role. Ironically, it’s the same devices that connect us to the digital world that are also driving a surge in customer calls. It’s rare that a smartphone or mobile device is far from the customers’ reach, so businesses must make sure customers can easily recall how to get in touch. The numbers support this. Customers are calling more often, simply because they are able to call at any moment. That is, assuming they can remember the number they need to call! [search-tag]

Calls Are Still Important to Customers

Let's take a closer look at some of the numbers that demonstrate just how pivotal a role that brand recall – and, by extension, a brand’s contact details - play in the customer's purchase process:

• 1. No Number, No Contact: A memorable number strengthens brand image and awareness. 47% of searchers told Google that businesses with no phone number would make them more likely to explore other brands. (Source: Google).
• 2. The Personal Touch: All the online options in the world can’t beat connecting with a human, according to Consumer Reports Magazine. Complaints from phone customers took up four of the five top service issues, with not being able to talk to a real person topping the list of frustrations for 89% of those surveyed.
• 3. Mobiles Mean More Calls: In 2013, 30 billion inbound calls were placed to businesses via mobile search results. By 2018, the figure is expected to reach more than double that, at around 73 billion calls. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
• 4. Mobile Search Also Matters: The surge is being driven by the popularity and increasingly affordable smartphones, which connect mobile search with the ability to place a call directly. In 2013, there were 144.5 million smartphone users, more than double the 2010 number. By 2018, that number is expected to reach 220 million, more than two-thirds of the US population. (Source: Statista)
• 5. Give People Options: Adding an option to call increases ad clicks by 8% (Source: Google). Furthermore, a RingBoost study found that a custom number included in a search ad increased clicks by 33%.
• 6. Calls Lead the Pack for Prospects: 61% of businesses classify their inbound calls as an “excellent” source of prospects, which puts calls top of the list in terms of inbound lead generation. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
• 7. Click-to-Call Converts Well: One of the largest advertising networks outside of Google, xAd, also found that 52% of all mobile advertising results in a phone call. Again, this was the most high-performing customer conversion of all potential actions. (Source: xAd)

The sheer volume of routes to customer is overwhelming in the digital age, making it tough to prioritize any one channel over another. For the moment, the thing to remember is this: most customers want to talk to your team at some stage in the purchase process, making a direct line to your team an essential tool. Make that contact point as easy to remember as possible and you stand the best chance of winning the call, at which point it’s over to your sales team to convert them into customers!