The terms call tracking and call routing are used very frequently by online marketers and lead generation companies. Some even use these terms interchangeably to refer to the process of capturing the source of an inbound call. However, these terms describe completely different processes.
For that reason, we put together a simple guide to draw a line in the sand between call tracking and call routing software and to break down the features of each. When evaluating software, this should help you identify exactly how each these systems function and determine which is right for you.
Call tracking software allows you to capture the origin of every phone call you receive before forwarding the call to your designated recipient.
This allows you to build sophisticated marketing campaigns and track the performance of each advertising medium individually. In many cases, you can even track individual ads or keywords within the same platform. A classic example of this comes from Google Adwords. Adwords allows you to track calls at the individual keyword and individual ad level to collect intricate data on your advertising efforts.
Call routing software allows you to capture and track call data exactly like call tracking software does. However, instead of forwarding each live call to your designated recipient, call routing software automatically gathers all eligible call recipients and determines the correct recipient to route the call to based on custom business rules that you create. Additionally, call routing software has the ability to capture not just the origin of the call, but also the caller’s area code, zip code and any additional information you want to capture via an IVR.
This gives you the tracking metrics that you need to measure the performance of your ad campaigns, but also gives you flexibility in determining who receives the call at any given time. Furthermore, call routing software allows you to bill for every call you route, giving you the opportunity to run a call generation or caller-to-provider matching service exactly like web lead generators.
The easiest way to determine whether you need call tracking or call routing software is to think about who the caller is expecting to speak to and who you want to receive the call. Are you advertising your own product and forwarding calls to your own sales reps? If so, call tracking software will likely do the trick. This is especially true if you don’t need to send calls to different places based on geographic location.
If you generate calls for your own business but are not sending every call to one place, then call tracking software might not be enough. For example, if you run an insurance agency, but want to route calls to different agents depending on the location of the caller or depending on the number of leads or calls each agent has received, you will need a more sophisticated call routing solution.
Furthermore, if you generate calls generically and utilize your network of service providers to match each caller with the right service provider, then you definitely need call routing software as opposed to call tracking software.
At boberdoo.com, we have been building software for the lead generation industry since 2001. Our call routing technology continues to help our clients customize their call flow, whether that be for internal use or for the purposes of selling live calls to end-service providers.
If you’re curious about how you can use boberdoo to route and/or sell live calls, give us a call at 800-776-5646. We practice what we preach and utilize our own call routing software and IVR options to route every call. Give us a call today to see for yourself!