June 13, 2012
By Jason Wells
The problem with a relatively new advertising medium is that it can be judged out of context. For example, we cannot compare the success of television ads clearly focused on branding with direct mail pieces clearly focused on driving phone calls. That is comparing apples and oranges. Most marketers understand this.
But yet we still do it with mobile.
Calling it as it is
Most marketers are still trying to measure mobile marketing with the same metrics that they have used in online marketing for years. They are trying to measure click-throughs, visits, abandon rates and conversions in the same way as they would measure a banner ad on a desktop.
The problem is that mobile and online advertising are as different as TV and direct mail. The same rules do not apply. The same metrics do not apply. And the same goals do not apply.
What then is the goal of mobile marketing? What should mobile marketers measure?
The goal of every mobile marketer is – or should be – to produce a phone call.
Now, of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Some companies will want to break this rule. That is fine.
But, generally, a phone call should be the goal of any mobile marketing campaign and should, therefore, be what you design your landing pages to produce and should be what you track with your marketing analytics tools.
Why should mobile marketers seek to produce a phone call in every case? There are several reasons. Here are three:
First, because phone calls are the most natural action for mobile consumers. A recent study by xAd found that 52 percent of all mobile ads generate phone calls. That is astronomical. And, stunningly, the number is even higher after a mobile search.
Google says that mobile searches make a phone call 61 percent of the time. Clearly, a phone call is the most natural step after a mobile ad or a mobile search.
Marketers should promote the method of engagement that is most natural. Clearly, that method is a phone call.
Next, our research shows clearly that close rates are 10 to 15 times higher with a phone call than with landing page conversions, email or even Web visit. This may sound like groundbreaking data, but it is pretty intuitive. You have the chance to actually engage with someone if they call you. The more you engage, the more likely they are to buy.
Think about it this way: mobile marketing is very, very good at producing phone calls, the action that generates the highest close rates.
Finally, phone calls produced via mobile marketing are not only remarkably easy to produce, they are remarkably easy to track. For instance, Google AdWords mobile campaigns require that a phone number be placed in the ad. Google will then track how many people tap that number and call your business. They show you this information in concert with other Google Analytics data.
Other call tracking tools take it one step farther and allow you to measure calls from every mobile marketing source—pay per click, SMS, mobile search, banner ad, coupon, or business listing.
All of the call data—quantity of calls, which methods are producing them, and who is calling—is integrated within Google Analytics.
Additionally, some call tracking tools record the calls and score leads that they receive from each mobile marketing source. Mobile marketers should seek to produce phone calls, in part, because those calls are ridiculously simple track.
The bottom line here is simple: include phone numbers with all mobile marketing you do. Make sure a phone conversation is only a finger-tap away.
Jason Wells is CEO of ContactPoint, the developer of LogMyCalls.com, St. George, UT. Reach him at jason@contactpoint.com.
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