Call Tracking Solutions for Small Entrepreneurship: What is it and How does it work?

Heavily relying on good old phone calls rather than overestimated-for-customer-service chatbots, consumers are expecting to quickly connect to a knowledgeable sales rep who can accurately address their needs and wants on the spot.

For businesses, delivering call leads to the destination place means using an advanced call tracking solution.

• Empowering businesses to convert more inbound calls, call tracking software collects multiple data across the customer journey, from the first ad display until the caller converts.

But we might have jumped the gun.

Let's move step by step, starting with what call tracking is and how it can help your business, big or small (the scale matters little, if at all, as call tracking software works equally for any number of inbound calls). 

What Is Call Tracking?

Call tracking assigns a unique phone number for a marketing channel (your landing page, TV commercial, etc.) to measure the engagement from start to finish while drawing the complete picture of interactions across all touchpoints.

As your callers progress through their journey, you can get insights into the following call tracking metrics:

• Customer data, including demographics, psychographics, history of purchases, etc.
• Call data like caller's phone number and call duration, result, feedback, etc.
• Marketing data, like the traffic source that triggered the call.

No less important is that all collected customer data is transferred to sales reps in real-time so they can convert more calls. 

How Does Call Tracking Work for Small Businesses?

There's almost no difference in tracking calls for small and big businesses. The only major deviation is the complexity of call routing, as big companies may have to map out multiple customer journeys for many categories of callers.

So where does call tracking start and end? Let's dive into the thick of things.

Depending on the call differentiation you need, you can assign different call numbers for different marketing channels or just digital and traditional traffic sources. Software for call tracking works with three types of phone numbers: local, international, and vanity numbers, each of which serves a unique purpose under unique circumstances:

• Local numbers collect local demographic data for local campaigns.
• International numbers serve heterogeneous audiences across the globe.
• Vanity numbers imprint your brand's name or idea into callers' minds (numbers like 1-800-GO-FEDEX are well-known across the United States).

There are a few dimensions to call tracking numbers: static or dynamic, toll-free or paid. Dynamic toll-free numbers account for most digital marketing campaigns, as they allow free inbound calls while enabling advanced tracking of callers through DNI insertion. 

Step 2 – Meet Your Caller With Advanced IVR to Track More Data

From directing branded greetings to data-driven routing, a well-configured interactive voice response (IVR) system can make a difference in the caller's journey, directing them on the ideal conversion path.

IVR starts with a greeting and then – along with automatic call distributor – distributes the caller by location, budget, sales reps' performance or availability, company size (if you route call leads to a third-party business), or other factors that make sense to your business.

As the sales rep picks up the phone, they already know the caller's problem and persona, significantly increasing the conversion chance. The more advanced the software for call tracking, the more data your sales rep can get. 

The Advantages of Call Tracking Software for Small Entrepreneurs

• Automated customer journey: Manual call processing becomes unbearable as your business grows. Call tracking solutions will help you automate and improve the customer journey, connecting your callers to a relevant sales rep.
• Infinite scalability: Any call tracking solution for businesses can process any number of inbound calls, whether routed to an internal sales department or advertisers.
• Improved SEO: Calls from search engines are a huge part of call-reliant businesses, as 81% of consumers do independent research before reaching out to a sales rep. Call tracking will improve your keyword and budget allocation by making you aware of what keywords triggered what calls.
• Increased call conversion rate: A solution for call tracking will share real-time customer insights with your sales reps, giving them every chance to hit the nail on the head with every caller.

Fraud prevention: Call tracking software will block fraudulent and fishy calls, keeping your sales funnel unclogged for relevant callers. 

How To Choose the Best Call Tracking Solution

With so many different providers offering a variety of features and services, choosing the right call tracking solution may be a daunting task.

Pay attention to the following when selecting your call tracking solution:

• Scalability: Make sure your provider can scale as the influx of inbound calls grows.
• Integrability: Make sure the solution in question synergizes with other components of your lead management system.
• Pricing structure: Make sure there's a package for the business of your size (you don't want to pay for something you won't use).

Last but not least, a hosted call tracking solution must provide round-the-clock support, so you can solve issues immediately at any given time without sacrificing your customers.

Knowing these four major factors will allow you to easily navigate countless call tracking solutions to choose the one that resonates with your vision and technical capabilities. Elevate your customer experience now – integrate robust call tracking software into your CRM or lead management system. 

Wrapping up 

So you can use a call tracking software to Track calls to a phone number on a website. Use phone call conversion tracking to help you see how effectively your ads lead to phone calls from your website. 

Call tracking solutions can be extremely beneficial for small entrepreneurship, allowing them to track and analyze incoming phone calls to improve customer service, sales performance and marketing efforts. Here are  some examples:

• CallRail: CallRail is a popular call tracking software that offers features such as call recording, call tracking, call analytics, and call management. It integrates with popular marketing platforms such as Google Analytics, Hubspot and Salesforce.
• RingCentral: RingCentral is a cloud-based phone system that offers call tracking features such as call routing, call analytics, and call recording. It is also suitable for remote teams and can be accessed from anywhere.
• CallTrackingMetrics: CallTrackingMetrics offers a range of call tracking solutions including call tracking, call recording, and call analytics. It also offers features such as dynamic number insertion and real-time reporting.
• Aircall: Aircall is a cloud-based phone system that offers features such as call tracking, call recording, and call analytics. It also offers integration with popular CRM systems such as Salesforce and Hubspot.
• Grasshopper: Grasshopper is a virtual phone system that offers call tracking features such as call recording, call forwarding, and call analytics. It is also suitable for small businesses and entrepreneurs who need a simple and easy-to-use solution.

When choosing a call tracking solution, it is important to consider the needs of your business and the features that are most important to you. Look for a solution that offers flexible pricing, integrates with your existing systems, and provides reliable customer support.