A new report shared with MMW on Thursday is opening eyes today as its publication generates headlines across the marketing blogosphere.
A shift from offline to digital marketing spend, combined with the ubiquity of mobile, is increasing calls to businesses at an upward clip, according to the 2016 Call Intelligence Index published by Invoca, a so-called “call intelligence company.”
According to a provided announcement, the annual index analyzed more than 58 million calls across 40 industries, providing insight into the role of the phone call in today’s omnichannel customer journey.
This year’s Index found that digital is now driving more calls to businesses than ever before. In 2015, digital channels drove 92 percent of these calls, up from 84 percent in 2014. Additionally, the report finds more customer calls come from mobile search than from any other channel. Search and social features like Google call-only ads and convenient click-to-call buttons are further blurring lines between channels, making it easier for customers to call businesses on mobile.
“Marketers speculated that the rise of digital would kill more traditional channels like the phone call,” said Kyle Christensen, VP of marketing, Invoca. “But what we’re seeing is the opposite. As people use their phones to interface with the world around them, they’re also calling businesses more. The marketers who will thrive in this environment will be those who optimize for calls as an integrated part of their omnichannel strategies.”
The report also shows that the omnichannel nature of the customer journey is increasingly evident. The 2016 Call Intelligence Index reports that 79 percent of people switch devices during an activity, and that 63 percent of people complete a purchase offline after searching online. Marketers are responding to this trend by capturing call data and applying insights from those conversations into their other marketing programs, such as email campaigns, retargeting ads and search marketing.
To learn more, check out the report here.
