There are several toll-free tracking options on the market including CallSource and Marchex (formerly Voicestar). CallSource has a better reputation for reporting and integrating with Salesforce but Marchex has a JavaScript Rewrite function that I have found to be invaluable. I have heard, though, that Callsource is providing this same technology for select accounts.
If we remember back to our initial goals, they are, in this order, inquiry calls, inquiry forms and increased brand awareness. If we set up our tracking URLs described in Part II correctly, Analytics will be able to tell us how many inquiry forms we have received as well as interest metrics such as Average Time on Site and Pages Per Visit for each campaign. In Part IV, I will review a few rich media tracking options to help the client better understand the awareness impact of their campaign.
The most important goal, inquiry calls or sometimes referred to as phone leads, can be tracked across multiple media sources such as print, radio, search, banner etc. with Marchex. Creating a new account and setting up your first toll-free number is a fairly simple process. Once that is complete and you’ve created your first campaign, the next step is to use their JavaScript Rewrite technology to automatically change the phone number based on where the user is coming from.
Below is a quick illustration:
Marchex will dynamically replace the phone number in the website based on the campaign. And the best part is that the toll-free number will follow the user throughout the website. So if I click on the Banner Ad and get the toll-free number 800-333-3333 on the landing page, it will be the same on the About Us page, Contact Us page etc. Also, it will remember me for 30 days.
For Print, TV or Radio ads, you will have to register a vanity URL such as GoKilmurry.net for each campaign. Within the registrar you can set up a domain forward and set GoKilmurry.net to forward to the landing page using the correct tracking link.
In my next installment, I will detail exactly how to set up tracking URLs that will rewrite multiple phone numbers.
Matthew,
Our agency utilizes CallSource for our clients as the data it provides is invaluable, and I’ve noticed that you seem to have a fair amount of experience using CallSource, and possibly some experience or knowledge integrating CallSource with SalesForce.
We have a client that would like to integrate CallSource and SalesForce, and we wanted to know what your experience is doing that, and if you know any developers that have experience doing that and would be willing, and how I can contact them to get a quote?
We’re in a time crunch and need to get some sort of solution in place and at least quoted by the end of the week, as our client is making the decision to either go with CallSource or IfByPhone. Any direction that you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Nathan Kreger
Nathan. My apologies. Your comment got caught in the spam filter. Obviously you’ve made your decision, but for the record, integrating with Salesforce is a breeze. Which phone provider you choose should be based more on how ‘scrubbed’ their numbers are and the technology they have in place to dynamic replace numbers. For that reason, Callsource is a great choice. They have made much improvement in that area since I wrote this in 2009. In fact, they have a fantastic rewrite function that I used all the time.