The ultimate guide to call marketing automation

Telemarketing was once the go-to method for all salespeople. You would get a list of phone numbers, call people, and advertise products or services you are selling. This approach is still in use today. However, there is an even better strategy and it is defined as call marketing. In this article, ConvertMore dwells further into this particular topic. With that in mind, before we even start talking about call marketing automation, let’s first give it a clear definition.

What is call marketing?

Call marketing is a process of adding a company phone number in advertisements broadcasted on TV, company website, and various online channels. By doing this, you are not pressuring potential clients into speaking about the product if they are not interested. A huge downside of telemarketing is that people don’t want to be bothered by strangers calling them and trying to sell products. This way, every person has the freedom to call the phone themselves, if they are interested.

Call marketing is definitely a proven tactic to increase website sales. Clients will reach out to you if they are interested. Give them freedom of choice without being aggressive.

How to improve call marketing?

The latest trend in any business today is process automation. Looking for ways to shorten the amount of time needed for a specific task, or to remove redundancies, is the best way to make progress. In the same manner, call marketing automation is a necessity, and you can achieve with the help of:

• tracking;
• analysis;
• qualification;
• routing;

Let’s see what each of these elements represents, and how you can use them to not only engage and retain existing customers but also attract new ones.

Call tracking

Call tracking only sounds like a shady tactic. However, it is actually one of the most efficient and necessary ways to achieve call automation. The primary purpose of call tracking is to figure out where is the call coming from. Also, from what communication channel. You might have multiple marketing campaigns, each focusing on a different aspect of the business.  You can use a different phone number, and figure out which campaign attracts the most callers.

Furthermore, you can also get the caller’s location and phone number, and discover what region has the most potential customers. That can be a piece of useful information if you are planning to open a new office.

Other important elements of call tracking are the length and time of call, call transcription, and the outcome of the conversation. By analyzing this data, you can tailor your services to a specific group of customers. Call-tracking software has so many wonderful features you can use to automate call marketing and improve your business.

Call analysis

We mentioned how call tracking allows you to use unique phone numbers for individual campaigns. By analyzing inbound calls, you can precisely tell what campaign is making the most progress. By using this approach, you can figure out how to improve future campaigns and increase the return on investment.

Call qualification

Probably one of the most important parts of call marketing automation is call qualification. When a caller calls your number, they connect with an IVR answering system. The caller will get a few recorded options on the answering machine, and respond to them by pressing the assigned number on the phone. This call automation process will collect data, and feed it to the system. It will prioritize calls based on caller interests, and initiate the routing process.

One of the most useful features of call qualification is the ability to determine if you have a potential new customer on the line. That way the IVR system can prioritize their calls over others.

Call routing

Through call routing, you are reducing a lot of manual work. Back in the past, manual operators would answer the call. They would manually route the caller to the right department. In fact, you still have manual routing today.

The call routing automation process will save time for your employees and redirect the caller to the correct line based on their user qualification input. That is not only good for the company employees, but for the client as well. They can quickly get to the right person without having to explain too much or repeat themselves to five different people.

Pitfalls of call marketing automation

Even though call marketing automation is simply an amazing option, there are some things you should know. Specific elements of call automation can also cause problems in some cases. For example, if you have a lot of callers on hold, not all will want to wait and speak with the machine. People can be really impatient when calling to get a piece of information, so make sure you provide a quick way for them to reach a person.

Another downside is the lack of options. You need to structure your marketing campaigns correctly and be transparent about why potential users may call. Sometimes, your answering machine will not cover all the options.  If there is no way to reach a real person, a caller might get frustrated.

Finally, a glitch in the system can cause a lot of mess if not fixed immediately. Some examples are call dropping, or the inability to connect with the IVR. Nevertheless, even with all of the above, the benefits of call marketing automation cannot be overlooked. You simply have to prepare yourself for all possible situations, and deal with the problems as soon as possible.

Call marketing automation is a path to a brighter future for your business

We hope that this guide to call marketing automation will help you understand how necessary this process is. Implementing the automation of processes will increase the efficiency and productivity of marketing campaigns. Furthermore, it will help you to understand what strategies do not work, and where your focus should be. Lead your business to a brighter future, and your customers to a unique user experience. For additional advice on how to convert more leads into customers, contact ConvertMore or read our other articles.