We most often think of phone calls with leads as a follow-up activity, after we’ve captured their attention and contact details. But believe it or not, many people are ready and willing to call you, especially when they have a time-sensitive need to buy or sell their home. Make it easy for them to get YOU on the phone!
We recently added an optional click-to-call function to the Success platform. When activated, it adds a “Call Now” link beside your lead generation forms. Now visitors have a choice of submitting the form or instantly phoning you for more information.
This works best for smartphones — most people haven’t set up their tablet or desktop computer for click-to-call functionality. You can encourage more phone calls from these people by including phone numbers in your website header, page headlines, and graphics. And of course you’ll want to make sure your footer, contact, and team pages have phone numbers as well — these are the most common places people look when they want to call you. It’s possible to add HTML code to the number to make it into a click-to-call link.
You can also experiment with phone numbers in your online advertising. Both Facebook and Google offer ad formats with click-to-call buttons. Or you can include your phone number in the ad copy. (Some restrictions may apply for certain types of ads. Be sure to consult the policies for your advertising platform.)
Remember that this is a Branded strategy. Your Less-Branded website still needs to generate leads from people who don’t know you yet. Prominent phone numbers and “Call Now” buttons are obvious selling flags that will drive potential leads away. Keep the minimum contact info necessary on your Less-Branded site.
We’ve talked before about providing multiple channels to make it easy for leads to contact you. Incoming calls are a key channel you’ll want to make sure you’re offering.
(Note to EngageCRM users: If your first contact with a lead is via an incoming phone call, they’ll appear as “Direct Call” in your database. You should update the record as soon as possible with the person’s name and any additional contact info you get from them.)
Want to learn more about effective digital marketing and lead generation strategies? Our team of experts has 23+ years of digital marketing experience, plus technology you can leverage to get more conversations with less effort. To learn more, click the green button below to get started with a free marketing assessment.
