Who's Calling Blog

Holiday ROI Tracking with TFNs

Emily Ferguson — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:17:00 GMT

With the multitude of Christmas tree graphics, lists of must-buy gifts and images of velour-clad Santas taking over the Internet and retail stores alike, it’s hard to forget that the holiday season is once again upon us. For marketers, this means ramping up a holiday marketing optimization strategy…for next year.

Yes, that’s right – next year. As seasoned marketers will tell you, it’s not only important that you implement creative, effective campaigns this year, it’s also important that you take the right steps this holiday season to optimize next year’s campaigns.

Fortunately, planning ahead doesn’t have to be complicated. One simple method of campaign measurement is to utilize toll-free numbers (TFNs) as ROI tracking tools. This allows you to easily determine which campaigns were a hit and should be implemented again next year, as well as which campaigns weren't so successful.

Not sure where to start? Here are five places to use TFNs in your holiday campaigns:

1. Christmas cards or emails. When your company sends out Christmas cards or emails, insert a TFN on the back of the card or in the body of the email.

2. Christmas gifts. Print a TFN on a sticker to place on Christmas gifts such as cookie tins or candy bars with personalized wrappers.

3. Viral marketing. Integrate a TFN into viral content, whether it be an interactive campaign like Office Max’s "Elf Yourself" or a festive YouTube video.

4. Twelve days of Christmas. Offer a different promotion for your products or services every day for 12 days. Use one TFN for all 12 days to measure the success of the campaign as a whole or assign 12 different TFNs to determine which specific promotion generates the most responses.

5. Calendars. Include a TFN on every page of a calendar and see how much activity is generated throughout the year.

Can you think of any other creative ways to use TFNs this holiday season? Post a comment and let us know!

Social Media Buttons and Tracking its ROI

Cameron Fenno — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:21:00 GMT

Social media has continued to grow, more so than anyone would have expected. It not only connects users with their friends and networks, but also informs users what their own family and friends like. Google saw the Facebook “Like” button taking off and knew their social media presence was lacking. Several of their past social media products never grabbed attention of the mainstream Google users.

Out came the “+1” button several months ago. Initially figured to be a simple optical ranking feature, we’re now seeing how much more powerful it may be soon with their new Google+ social network. A direct competitor to Facebook and Twitter, Google+ could soon connect users with their friend’s and family’s preferences on every single search result page.

Though it may take some time, I expect eventually, when searching for local coffee shops in your area, your results page will show both total “+1” clicks but also your specific friends that have “+1’ed” the coffee shop. This will be very similar to what Bing has already implemented, using your already established Facebook friends.

Considering it’s free price tag, low maintenance, and rate of return for some, these simple social media buttons can really help a product take off and become a great marketing tactic. Facebook still being the most used button, Google’s +1 button has already taken the number 2 spot from Twitter in only its first couple of months, according to BrightEdge Research (via Search Engine Land @ http://searchengineland.com/report-facebook-has-the-most-implemented-social-plugins-googles-1-surging-84926).

Though it may be very powerful, one issue with social media buttons is trying to track its ROI. Managers want to know how well their company’s social media efforts are working and if it is turning sales. Some methods include using analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Hootsuite to track your social media presence, but what if many of your sales come in from phone calls? Call Tracking (local or toll free numbers) can link sales to social media pages or other websites.

Did You Go To The 2011 NAA Convention? We Did!

Cameron Fenno — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:07:00 GMT

The National Apartment Association (NAA) had their 2011 NAA Education Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas this past week. The NAA kicked off the conference with a performance by the band “Anthem” at the Mandalay Bay Beach on Thursday, June 23^rd then continued for 2 more days through Saturday. The 3-day conference hosted a variety of sessions, meetings and networking for several thousand attendees.

Focused on the multi-family industry, 5000 professionals came together at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for more than 40 education sessions by industry experts along with 300 suppliers showcasing their latest products and services. Several guest speakers presented on a variety of subjects during the 3-day event, including best-selling author Daniel Pink and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Throughout the 3 days, we gave demonstrations of our call tracking services and other marketing solutions, as well as attended several education sessions ourselves.

We enjoyed our time at the NAA Conference this year and are already looking forward to next year’s conference in Boston at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center.

Let us know if you were there this year in the comments, www.facebook.com/whoscalling or @WhosCalling on Twitter!

Tracking Online Sales - Learn How At the Internet Retailer Conference

Ricky Westbrook — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:55:00 GMT

Every year e-commerce continues to become more prominent. When consumers were first offered the ability to buy online, they were new to computers and the internet and they weren’t sure if they trusted giving their credit card information over the computer. As online security has increased, so has the number of online consumers.

The idea of optimizing business for the e-commerce boom is the conference agenda for the Internet Retailers Conference & Expo this July in San Diego, CA. The conference will lay out strategies for marketing and selling to web-centric consumers. ClickPath will be on hand at booth #1839 to demonstrate how ClickPath’s pay per click (PPC) call tracking solution is a key to optimizing PPC advertising for the new wave of online consumers.

The importance of ClickPath to online retailers revolves around search engine marketing. The main tool consumers use for shopping online is their favorite search engine. They simply search for an item and find the best deal. So as e-commerce increases, so does the value and importance of your keywords. Knowing which keywords are driving consumers to your site is an advantage that businesses can not afford to miss. In addition to knowing which keywords are working, it’s equally beneficial to know which keywords are not working.

The key to optimizing PPC advertising is to utilize a pay per click call tracking solution that can trace a phone call back to the keyword that started the sale. This is the patent pending technology behind ClickPath and the information it provides is invaluable towards optimizing your PPC budget.

Please join us in San Diego, CA for the 2011 Internet Retailer Conference, June 14-17 at the San Diego Convention Center. Click here for more information about the Internet Retailer Conference.

Will you be there? Let us know in the comments!

Get Real-Time Access to Call-Generated Lead Data

Ricky Westbrook — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Who’s Calling offers an exciting desktop application called REACT that changes the way Who’s Calling clients fully utilize their call tracking services.

With REACT, clients can efficiently and effectively measure and immediately respond to live calls without ever having to log into their Who’s Calling product website. Clients can monitor in real-time their incoming and outgoing call traffic, update lead details and listen to call recordings while calls are in progress without opening a new browser or logging into the Who’s Calling application.

“REACT will truly enhance the way our clients track and manage lead traffic while providing them an efficient tool to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty,” said Suzanna Hellinger, Product Development Manager.

With REACT, clients can better track which of their campaigns are generating leads and which of their employees are making outbound calls using an outbound dialing number or using their Click-to-Call feature. The Who’s Calling application syncs immediately with REACT so call detail information will always be up-to-date and accurate.

Never miss another lead with REACT.

Check out REACT here to find out more information.

Call Evaluation Made Simple With RESCUE

Ricky Westbrook — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:58:00 GMT

It is proven that evaluating your service and sales agents is an effective way to improve their performance. Additionally, effective call evaluation procedures can capture missed or lost opportunities due to improperly handled call interactions. But who has the time or training to do all that?

To solve that problem, Who’s Calling launched RESCUE, a product developed specifically for dealers to handle the process of sales and service call analysis in order to efficiently and effectively identify mishandled opportunities. This process will enable dealers to recapture lost leads which will help reclaim lost revenue.

The key to RESCUE is our call evaluation professionals that will listen and monitor your calls. They are highly trained in dealership operations and have the skills and the knowledge to identify ineffective call handling immediately, providing you with ways to train and evaluate your staff like never before.

“By listening to customer feedback, we learned of a growing need for a product that could help hold sales and service staffs accountable in order to minimize inefficient call handling and increase revenue” said Craig Watts, Manager of Client Support. “And the easiest way for dealers to increase revenue is by effectively handling the customer calls that are already coming in.”

Check out RESCUE here to find out more information.

We've Got Your Number

Susan DeSantis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:15:00 GMT

Thought you were already using Toll-Free Numbers (TFNs) everywhere you could be?

Think again. Here are additional ways in which your advertising can benefit from your TFNs, besides call recording and call tracking.

VIP Treatment – Your customer is your most valuable asset. After the sale, give them a “gold card” with a number that rings directly to the manager. At any time, should they ever feel they are not receiving the best customer service; the manager will handle the matter personally.

CSI Tool – Create a number specific for customer suggestions or complaints to ensure immediate response and action when these calls come in.

Referrals – Give a special number to existing customers and discover how many referrals you receive from satisfied customers.

Recruitment Ads – A great way to ‘pre–screen’ prospective employees is to review their initial interest call.

Business Cards – Assign a unique TFN to each sales representative so prospects can reach them directly.

Yellow Pages – Feel like you spend a lot of money on your Yellow Page ads? Find out which books are really performing for you by placing a TFN in each ad.

Newspaper Ads – Different types of ads work better in different ways. Find out whether your liner ads are performing better than your display ads (or vice versa), which days generate higher call volumes for each, and more.

Internet Ads/Sites – With so many websites and internet promotions available, it’s hard to know what really drives the traffic, but with a TFN you know exactly which ones are the most beneficial.

Promotional Items – Place a unique TFN on all promotional items and use these as a form of advertisement.

Outbound Email – When prospects are ready to take the next step and get more information, they will usually pick up the phone, even when responding to an email. Be sure to place a TFN in all communications, including electronic media.