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If you’ve ever run the numbers on the cost of producing an incoming
telephone lead, you know how high it can go. This article explains
how and why you should record and track incoming phone calls for
your HVAC or similar business for three purposes: source of
business, lead quality, and your company’s effectiveness of handling
the lead.
How to Track Incoming Phone Calls
Asking a caller how they learned about your company is rarely
reliable. First, hardly any phone reps remember to do it
consistently, especially when other callers are waiting. Second, for
internet leads, many customers do not know the difference in a
natural search result (center part of a search results page) and
your text ad on the top of the page or the right side column. The
solution: tracking telephone numbers that forward to your
main telephone. These were created for marketing and offer many
useful reports and features. They are available in toll-free or
local numbers that look like your current phone number. In the
process of forwarding, tracking numbers capture the source of the
call and other important statistics. Recording the conversation is
optional, and has benefits along with some privacy and HR
responsibilities.
Tracking phone numbers have long been used for print ads. They can
also be coded into your website to tell you the call came from the
website. The latest improvement: dynamic substitution on your
website to identify and track multiple sources of incoming calls.
When both features are combined, you can see your calls from
multiple sources in the same online dashboard: calls from natural
traffic plus your marketing efforts by source.
Clients often ask us who owns a tracking number, and this is a
legitimate concern. The better tracking number providers allow
clients to “port over” a number at no cost. This means you can move
the tracking number to a new service provider.
Why Tracking Call Numbers Puts More Profit In Your Pocket
Tracking phone calls provides three critical pieces of information:
a-the source of the call (truck sign, website, etc.), b-the quality
and potential value of the lead, and c- how well your phone rep
handled the call. The first two parts are straightforward and
monitored by some of the more effective HVAC companies. The third
part gives you insights into how your phone reps can handle calls
more efficiently or effectively, and often gets overlooked,
especially during the busy season. Having listened to thousands of
minutes of recorded conversations, I can assure you that listening
to them is worth the time it takes or cost to pay a service to do it
for you.
Your goal is more business and profits, not more phone leads, right?
Then you must understand the source and quality of incoming calls
and how effectively your company is handling them. It’s that simple.
Tracking calls combined with improved internal handling allows you
to spend less to get new customers leads you need at the time you
need them.
About the Author
Gary Walker has a BS in Environmental Science and more than 25 years
experience in marketing, sales management, customer service and
search marketing. He is certified as a Google AdWords professional
and with Yahoo! Search Marketing. His company, TopSide Media, uses
online search technology and internet publishing to connect the best
local HVAC companies with consumers to achieve more indoor comfort
while saving energy. Visit his HVAC marketing blog at
http://www.hvacmarketingonline.com or email
gary.walker@topsidemedia.com. Toll Free 1-866-516-2301.

How Web Site Search Engine Ads Can Increase
Your Sales NOW
September 2008
By Gary Weber
For most of the country the summer heat and humidity was not as much
of a business-generator as you could have wished for. On top of that
more homeowner’s’ household budgets are being stretched thin from
increased costs of gasoline, utilities, food and more. Below are
three search engine advertising actions your company can use in the
slower seasons to keep your phones ringing with new customers.
1. Use sponsored link ads to attract customers looking for Indoor
Air Quality solutions
While maybe not as motivating to every human as extreme heat or
cold, the online search volume for IAQ products tends to be less
seasonal than A/C or heating searches. Someone suffering from pollen
allergies or humidity levels that are too high or low can be very
motivated to get relief. The topics of whole house air filters,
humidity control, ventilation, or carbon monoxide prevention are
good demographic matches for Internet users, who tend to have higher
average household income and education.
2. Reach customers while they are searching online for a related
topic or benefit and direct them to your website
An example of this “side door approach” would be a sponsored link
text ad campaign using keywords such as “pollen relief”. Your
potential customer may be searching with medication or medical
treatments in mind, but might buy a whole house air filter system
for their home or office. In cost-per-click advertising, there is no
incremental cost for an ad that does not get clicked. Another
example would be someone searching online for information on lower
utility bills. Serve them up an ad with a rebate or off-season
special offer for a new high-efficiency heating and A/C system.
3. Use the contextual mode of advertising offered by engines such
as Google AdWords.
Instead of reaching customers while they are actively searching
(like the two above examples), with content (also call contextual)
ads you reach them with sponsored link text ads while they are
reading related content. The content can be a consumer information
site, a blog, Gmail, etc. In the past few months, there have been
improvements in this mode of online advertising that make it worth a
look, once you have maxed out the search option in the geographic
area your company services.
About the Author
Gary Walker has a BS in Environmental Science and more than 25 years
experience in marketing, sales management, customer service and
search marketing. He is certified as a Google AdWords professional
and with Yahoo! Search Marketing. His company, TopSide Media, uses
online search technology and internet publishing to connect the best
local HVAC companies with consumers to achieve more indoor comfort
while saving energy. Visit his HVAC marketing blog at
http://www.hvacmarketingonline.com
or email
gary.walker@topsidemedia.com . Toll
Free 1-866-516-2301.

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