Resolve to Get More Calls in 2019

When you gaze into the year ahead, which would you choose: receiving more prospect phone calls or more web form fills?

If you’re like most business owners, you would choose phone calls. The ability to connect directly is the most efficient way to turn prospects into customers and to capture additional revenue while you’re at it. Not only do phone calls create a more nuanced and better customer experience, phone calls are proven to be 10-15x more likely to convert than clicks and result in higher levels of revenue due to the ability to engage and up-sell.

Don’t get hung up on the over-promise of digital. Voice connection is tried and true. Let’s make this year the year of increased phone calls.

More phone calls means more revenue, faster for your business.

Here are 9 ways to get more calls in 2019:

1. Tell people your number. This sounds basic, but it’s something many business owners overlook. Your phone number should not be just on the contact page of your website or on your business card. It needs to be everywhere, including: your website header and footer, social media platforms, directory and business citation listings, employee email signatures, print materials, advertisements, uniforms, car wraps, schwag, and so on.
2. Link your number. Mobile web traffic continues to rise across all industries. More and more visitors to your website will be coming from their smart phone. Make your phone number click-to-dial to reduce any friction between locating your number and dialing.
3. Answer the phone. Nothing is more frustrating for prospects and customers than thwarted efforts to contact a business. It negatively impacts your brand image and degrades brand loyalty. If a patron knows they can depend on reaching you, they are more likely to do it than to seek a new, unknown provider. If you hold specific office hours and don’t want to use an answering service, be incredibly diligent answering voicemail messages.
4. Advertise your number. With such intense focus on online marketing campaigns that are designed to drive clicks, print advertisements and out-of-home advertising have become not only less expensive, but more likely to cut through the clutter. For digital ads, take advantage of click-to-call options that encourage direct connection and have been proven to make ads more effective.
5. Determine which channels produce quality calls. Whether you use tracking numbers, call tracking software, or simply build it into your scripts to ask where the caller found your number, knowing which sources result in the most calls can help you adjust your marketing spend to be more efficient. This includes search, display, social, email, affiliates, out of home, traditional advertising, and so on.
6. Target ads during peak call hours. Optimizing your advertising campaigns isn’t just about the channels, it’s also about the time of day. Once you have analyzed your call volume, you will get a picture of what the most productive times of day are. Adjust your campaign strategy to focus on exposure during the hours most likely to drive calls.
7. Simplify your calls to action. Whether on an ad or a landing page, try to focus on getting your prospects to pick up the phone. There is a tendency to want to give the audience options for outreach, but too many can overwhelm. Navigate to a website? Make a phone call? Fill in a form? Follow on social? Use a hashtag? Too many options can actually turn a viewer away. If you agree that phone calls are the best, make sure the instructions to call are clear and the focus of your campaign.
8. Entice callers with promotions. Consider offering discounts for prospects who call to set appointments or purchase. With higher likelihood of closing deals and the higher average revenue from phone calls, you’ll more than make up for any additional labor cost.
9. Build a referral program. Transform your current customer base into a sales team by encouraging them to share your contact information with friends and family. You can incentivize them by offering discounts or referral fees, but sometimes it can be as simple as just asking. Once you design you program, make sure you build it into your scripts and all customer follow up to spread the word.

Bonus tip: Use a memorable number. We would be remiss to not mention the power of an unforgettable phone number to increase call volume. It makes your ads stand out and increases response rates. A custom phone number becomes part of your brand identity and an evergreen marketing asset. No matter what channels or what time of day, a memorable phone call always generates more phone calls.

Get your custom vanity number today!