Rock and roll. Peanut butter and jelly. Han Solo and Chewbacca.
Some things are made for each other—like virtual receptionists and call tracking.
On their own, virtual receptionists and call tracking each provide distinct value for your business:
- Virtual receptionists ensure no phone call goes unanswered, capturing opportunities and saving you time while making real connections with callers.
- Call tracking helps you understand why callers are reaching out—for instance, if a call is related to a specific marketing campaign—so you can determine which efforts are really driving results.
Together, virtual receptionists and call tracking technology empower you to make the most of every call. It means greater efficiency, less guesswork, and more leads. Let’s explore how this powerful combination works.
But first…
What is call tracking?
Call tracking is the process of determining how callers find your business. Many businesses still ask the classic question: “How did you hear about us?” But that only goes so far. Chances are you’re running different marketing campaigns, and the caller will most likely respond to that question by sharing the last touchpoint they encountered—causing you to attribute 100% of the sale to the last point of interaction.
Call tracking tools allow businesses to tie each call back to the specific advertising campaigns they’re running, providing a clearer picture of what channels the caller interacted with before placing the phone call. This helps businesses more accurately attribute which channels are causing the phone to ring and what campaigns are generating the most qualified leads.
What are the benefits of call tracking?
Call tracking helps businesses accurately attribute their inbound phone calls to the marketing campaigns they are running. With 62% of marketers sharing that they fail to attribute inbound phone calls, it’s clear that businesses require more insight into how their marketing campaigns are performing. Call tracking software like CallRail helps businesses bridge this gap by providing valuable call tracking metrics such as:
Call volume by channel: This metric shows you which marketing channels are generating the most calls. This metric plays an essential role in any inbound marketing strategy and helps you determine which efforts are influencing callers to dial your business.
Call duration: In general, the longer somebody talks to your business over the phone, the more likely they are to be a quality lead. Use this metric to determine which marketing campaigns are leading to more meaningful connections over the phone.
First-time callers: This metric shows you which marketing initiatives are reaching new customers—a critical piece of any growth marketing strategy.
Keywords: Visitor-level call tracking can show you which keywords are driving the most traffic to your website. Use this metric to determine how your leads found your phone number by searching the internet.
Another key benefit of call tracking is the ability to track the performance of offline marketing campaigns. Offline marketing campaigns include traditional marketing channels such as outdoor advertising, direct mail, and print ads. Call tracking allows businesses to measure the performance of these offline channels by assigning each source a unique phone number.
When a caller dials that unique phone number, their call is then forwarded to your main business line—so you can see where the opportunity originated without adding extra complication for anyone on either end of the line.
How does call tracking work?
In its basic form call tracking works, by assigning a unique phone number to each of your marketing campaigns. As we explained above, each number is forwarded to your main business line. So, while the caller experiences the same phone call they would have if they called you directly, you can see which marketing channel influenced their decision to reach out. (This type of call tracking is also known as source level tracking.)
When someone calls your business from an online source, dynamic number insertion takes it a step further. Dynamic number insertion is an advanced form of call tracking that allows you to understand the full behavioral journey that influenced a caller to pick up the phone. Rather than assigning a unique phone number to each marketing channel, dynamic number insertion displays a unique phone number to each person as they view your website. When the person calls that unique phone number, cookies tie their session data to the call, providing you with much more information on that caller.
Through tracking an online source through dynamic number insertion, you can see:
- The source of the caller—whether they found your website through a digital ad, online search, or were referred by another website
- How the caller interacted with your website
- What keyword(s) the caller searched for to find your website
- The landing page the caller first reached on your website
Want to learn more about source level tracking and dynamic number insertion? Check out this video from CallRail.
In summary, call tracking provides you with a detailed view of what sources are causing the phone to ring—so you can make decisions that will ultimately bring in more leads.
Now that we’ve discussed how call tracking can help you optimize your marketing strategy, let’s look at how virtual receptionists can provide your callers with positive first impressions over the phone.
What is a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist is someone who answers the phone for a business, but is not employed by that business. Virtual receptionists handle all your inbound and outbound leads and are experts in providing positive interactions over the phone.
Businesses use virtual receptionists because they help them save time, provide better customer experiences, and ensure that they never miss a call. Virtual receptionists can collect contact and other important information about your callers, answer frequently asked questions, assist in qualifying your leads, and more.
In simple terms, virtual receptionists ensure you never miss a call—and that every person who calls your business connects with a friendly, empathetic professional who can help them.
See Ruby’s virtual receptionists in action.
What are the benefits of using a virtual receptionist service?
Virtual receptionist services such as Ruby ensure your leads have the best possible experience when calling your business. With 93% of consumers sharing they’re likely or very likely to become repeat buyers after positive customer service experience, it’s vital to provide positive first impressions over the phone.
In addition to providing positive first impressions, virtual receptionists offer a cost-effective solution for business owners who need their phones answered 24/7/365. As an easy-to-implement alternative to hiring and training in-house, virtual receptionist services free up time so business owners can focus on what matters most—serving their customers and earning new ones.
Now, let’s take a look at how virtual receptionists and call tracking work together to drive results for your business, using CallRail and Ruby as examples.
How CallRail and Ruby work together
When paired together, CallRail and Ruby provide a complete solution to win you more business. With CallRail’s call tracking software, you can determine which sources are bringing in the most qualified leads, so you can focus your time and energy on the channels that will yield the best results. Similarly, you can also leverage the insights gained from call tracking to determine which marketing efforts need improvement—and apply that knowledge to adjust your marketing strategy as you go.
But driving qualified leads to your business is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s equally important to ensure every lead who calls your business connects with the right person. That’s where Ruby comes in. Ruby’s US–based virtual receptionists answer your phone calls live, making sure you never miss a call—and that every lead talks to someone who can assist them.
Below are just a few ways that CallRail and Ruby can serve as an extension of your team.
Improving lead quality
With call tracking, you can segment the quality of your leads by source, providing you with a clear picture as to which channels are yielding the most qualified callers. With this information, you can determine your conversion rate by channel and even identify which marketing channels produce leads that convert at a faster rate than others. On top of that, Ruby’s virtual receptionists are trained to qualify your leads, screen out any unwanted calls, and only transfer callers to you when they’re interested in signing up with your business.
Providing positive first impressions
First impressions matter, especially when it comes to earning new business. Ruby’s virtual receptionists are trained to be empathetic and put customer service at the forefront of how we interact with your callers over the phone. Combine this with call tracking data and you’ll be able to visualize the full purchasing journey, from how your callers found your business to how receptionists qualify them as leads over the phone.
Measuring ROI
Call tracking data plays an essential role in ensuring that you aren’t guessing when it comes to marketing. By understanding what’s working and what’s not working, you can make informed decisions that will lead to better results. Additionally, call tracking helps you determine the return on investment of each marketing channel, and you can pair that knowledge with the qualitative information collected by virtual receptionists to have deeper insights into your callers.
Like Batman and Robin, or ketchup and fries, call tracking and virtual receptionists just make sense together. With call tracking, you can understand what marketing channels are driving results, so that you can make informed decisions that will bring in more callers to your business. And by answering calls full-time, part-time, or as backup, virtual receptionists ensure you never miss an opportunity to turn those callers into customers.
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