Call intelligence is the process of optimizing inbound phone calls through tracking, automating and reporting a variety of call metrics. These metrics include (but are not limited to):

  • Call duration
  • Employee skills
  • Geographic location
  • Interactive voice response
  • Keywords and phrases
  • Marketing channels
  • Referral sources
  • Time of day
  • Wait time

Companies use data collected from phone calls to improve conversion rates, monitor the success of marketing campaigns and manage call centers. For best results, gathering the necessary call data requires software that tracks and records performance metrics. This software makes it easier to analyze calls and extract key information.

How Call Intelligence Works: Call Tracking

Call intelligence can be broken down into several components. The first is call tracking, or the process of tracing a call from its point of origin to its result (such as scheduling an appointment or making a purchase).. Information derived from call tracking is useful for determining everything from which marketing channels bring in the most qualified leads or sales conversions to how well individual sales representatives interact with different types of calls.

How Call Intelligence Works: Call Automation and Conversation

When companies understand what happens to the calls they receive, they can then employ other aspects of call intelligence. This includes call automation and conversation. Call automation includes qualifying incoming calls and routing them based on geographical location, the type of campaign they come from and even the skills of call center representatives. For example, a company with more than one call center may direct calls from existing customers to one call center and new customers to another.

Call conversation takes a close look at the keywords and phrases that lead to or come up during the phone call. For example, a company may notice that most of their calls come from people searching for a specific keyword or phrase. They may also discover that during calls that lead to conversions, the callers repeat certain words (or ask questions). Alternatively, they may find that the employees with the highest or lowest conversion rates use specific words or phrases during the conversation.

Call Intelligence Example

Say, for example, a dentist’s office wants to attract new clients and places an advertisement on a social media platform. The office designates a phone number to use on that advertisement to track the number of calls that originate from the online ad. They may also set up their phone system to route all calls from that number to a specific member of the team.

Call intelligence data can tell them more than how many callers respond to the ad. It also tells them where those callers live, the services they want and how many of them schedule and appointment. From this information, they can deduce the services desired in a specific geographic area and then advertise those services in future marketing campaigns.

How to Use Call Intelligence

Call intelligence helps businesses make better decisions when designing marketing campaigns and how to capitalize on the skills of their employees. The company in the previous example may discover that most of their calls come from people looking for a new dentist in the area. They can adjust their marketing to focus on building relationships with clients.

The new campaign may take into account call conversation data. Perhaps they noticed certain keywords or phrases used in the previous calls that resulted in appointments. They can train employees to use those phrases, even go so far as to use role play to practice how to respond to phone calls.

Another option is to experiment with levels of social media interaction. If they want to gauge the value of chatting with or responding to online comments, they may set up two different phone numbers (or even social media accounts). Calls to one line may be routed directly from the website, while callers to the other line may participate in a web chat before speaking to a person.

What Types of Businesses Use Call Intelligence

Any company that relies on phone calls can use call intelligence to enhance their business practices. It’s especially powerful when integrated with other marketing tools like a customer relationship management system or Google Analytics. Integrating with these tools makes it possible to connect phone calls with actual revenue.

Call intelligence is also useful for businesses with a strong mobile presence. Voice communication continues to thrive in the digital age. Consumers use their mobile phones to research products and companies and often call them directly from the websites they’re viewing. These callers typically have a higher intent to purchase than those researching from a computer.