Friends of Punch Creative will know that we’re all about offering solutions and ‘wins’ to our clients. So, in this latest blog post, we invite guest author Nick Ashmore, head of marketing at ResponseTap, to offer an insight into the world of Call Intelligence. He tells us exactly what the technology is and whether it is the key to unlocking greater marketing campaign ROI…
Let’s get one thing straight before we delve into a topic that could get quite technical.
The very nature of the word ‘secret’ implies that Call Intelligence is something yet to be discovered. That’s not strictly true. We’re talking here about a logical – yet sophisticated – evolution of call tracking software. It already exists and is already being used by a number of brands and agencies on both sides of the Atlantic.
But its full potential has not yet been realised.
It doesn’t help that, as with many areas of marketing, the Call Intelligence space is packed full of lingo. I suppose this adds to the air of mystery, but as a result, it probably creates heaps of confusion too.
This – plus the fact that marketers are already trying to use a number of platforms to prove the value of their efforts – means Call Intelligence is often overlooked as a must-have tool. In fact, of all the companies in the UK that could benefit from the technology, only 5% actually use it.
So what exactly does it do?
I’m not insulting anyone’s IQ by dumbing things down here, but in a world where jargon just rolls of so many tongues nowadays, I think it’s important to keep things simple.
So, in basic terms, Call Intelligence works by providing a brand’s customer or prospect with a telephone number, unique to them. This means that, regardless of the marketing channel or campaign that they engage with as they are researching or buying from a company, the marketer is able to follow every single online and offline touch point.
Why does this matter to you?
As a result, as soon as that customer picks up the phone, your brand is armed with data such as the original source of the individual’s journey, what PPC keywords may have been involved, which web pages they subsequently visited, for how long, and at what point they ‘left’ to make a call. And that’s just for starters.
It also helps prevent the statements that so many marketing teams hear themselves saying:
- We can’t prove what happened after that because they went offline
- Our campaigns are so multichannel we struggle to obtain a single customer view
- We asked them how they heard about us when they called, but they couldn’t remember
- Deep down we think it was a print ad that kick-started their journey but we can’t be sure that’s actually responsible for the sale
Sound familiar..?
What’s this got to do with ROI?
Call Intelligence bridges the data gap. The ability to truly understand what made the phone ring means marketing departments can measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and the catalysts for conversions. They can tweak their campaigns and optimise spend, to ensure the brand builds upon any successes it has experienced to date. It is even possible to justify which keywords are worth the investment, even if they are more expensive!
Does this really matter?
Well, obviously I think so. But I’m not alone.
Nobody has a crystal ball which can evidence exactly how marketing spend is going to pan out over the course of 2018. But whether budgets increase or stay pretty stagnant, the ongoing pressure for teams and their agencies to prove their ROI, is not going to disappear.
There is no single ‘quick fix’ for greater marketing success. But there are some relative ‘secrets’ in the industry that marketers need to learn a little more about as they plan their strategies for next year…
ResponseTap is headquartered in Manchester and also has offices in London and New York. The company has 90 employees and 2,400 clients – and counting! Learn more at www.responsetap.com.