Innovation and invention is the mother of success. In today’s fast-paced world, the only way to keep abreast is through continuous improvement. And in a world where the telephone still matters almost as much as the internet, finding simpler, better and faster ways of keeping track of calls has never been more necessary. Even with the intent of mastering marketing and efficiency, while driving online leads and sales, it can be difficult to manage incoming calls as this can be both an on and offline function. As such, the pay per call initiative was born.
What is pay per call?
Pay per call is a tool that tracks calls pretty much in the same way that clicks are tracked by networks. With this performance marketing tool, publishers or affiliates make quality calls on an advertiser’s behalf, and, in return, are paid for this service. An advertiser creates a campaign that drives potential clients to connect with the business over the phone, and this campaign is then launched by the affiliate who is rewarded for calls that are generated.
It is no secret that people prefer some sort of interpersonal touch, even when dealing with businesses online. In fact, a recent survey showed that at least 60% of people prefer to speak with a business directly after finding them online. Pay per call provides a beneficial connection between a customer, publisher and advertiser in that both the latter achieve their desired monetary reward, and the former gets the special connection that they need.
Benefits for advertisers
By using the pay per call campaign, advertisers are able to maximize their distribution and inbound call volume, with complete transparency and control over the customer experience. It also affords advertisers the ability to test new publishers with low risk, and this is imperative since brand integrity and optimal customer service is key. The pay per call option also removes the need for a team that’s dedicated to answering calls, thereby freeing up time and resources for the advertiser, without negatively impacting the client or client service in any way.
Benefits for publishers
Publishers expand their influence and of course, receive an additional source of income. Pay per call is not about clicks or calls, but both, and it subsequently offers publishers an opportunity to monetize both online and by phone by utilizing the existing channels and methods. This in turn improves their capabilities, credibility and online awareness resulting in more business. Advertisers set the criteria for payment, and determine whether a call is commissionable or not. If it is, the commission could be based on factors such as the date or length of the call, a geographic area that the call came from or even the outcome of a call, to mention a few.
Benefits for the client
Because a pay per call service involves the service of external sources, there is a greater emphasis on customer service. The brand that a publisher represents does matter! The client ultimately receives high-quality service without actually never knowing that it is not the actual business that they’re speaking to.
Benefits of pay per call
There is a myriad of digital marketing strategies, and advertisers need to explore them until they find what works for them. There are times when there may be one standout strategy, and others may find that a combination works best. Whatever it may be, the need for a tool like pay per call cannot be undermined given that people want to actually speak over the phone. The first benefit of using this service is that people are more likely to buy a product or service over the phone than they are online. Anyone can click on the internet, but picking up the phone to make a call shows intent and interest in the actual product.
Phone calls, therefore, make it much easier to convert a potential client into a paying customer, and because businesses understand the value in this, they’re willing to pay higher rates. Pay per call, in line with this, also offers higher rates than click campaigns do. Pay per call can be used almost anywhere and can turn any advertising strategy into a success. In addition to this, calls can be filtered based on location, time, phone type or even new or repeat callers, and calls can be routed to specified destinations.
Tracking of calls to their source
Pay per call simplifies the tracking of calls to their source by giving each publisher a unique phone number. Every call made to that specific phone number is immediately tied to it. Businesses are then able to review the progress of any campaign at any given time, make necessary changes and focus on their goals. Access to real-time data and analytics through Pay per call optimizes customer experience, lead generation and conversions.
Social Media and Pay per call
There are various social media platforms that, when utilized correctly, are very effective at driving call traffic. The key though is knowing how to attract and engage your audience with valuable content and advertising, and understanding that this works in tandem with driving people to your call button. Advertising shouldn’t be cheesy, and because people are smart, they know when they’re being pulled into a useless sale campaign.
Using headlines with strong verbs that capture and invoke curiosity is central to any marketing campaign on platforms such as Facebook and the likes. Avoid clickbait titles that add no value and can do more harm than good. Remember that these social media platforms can be integral in driving your pay per call strategy.
Summary
Pay per call is definitely an innovative tool that can be used in conjunction with a number of other marketing strategies to optimize conversion into sales. It is not often that you’d find an all in one service that not only works but also is beneficial to all the parties involved. Pay per call is extremely cost-effective, and the value add in terms of service, time, and resources is undeniable.