What Is A Pay Per Call Network?

A pay per call network is a company that provides a platform for pay per call marketing campaigns which are built upon the interaction between a publisher and an advertiser. The pay per call network facilitates the ability of a publisher to drive relevant, qualified phone calls from an interested customer to the appropriate advertiser. A pay per call network has at its disposal a system that enables it to receive customer phone calls, qualify those phone calls and route them to a suitable advertiser.

How Is A Pay Per Call Marketing Campaign Initiated?

A pay per call marketing campaign is initiated by an advertiser looking to receive phone calls from interested customers. The advertiser employs the pay per call network to facilitate dealings with relevant publishers Upon the campaign’s creation, publishers apply to promote the campaign and negotiate with the pay per call network to determine the characteristics of a qualified phone call and the cost for each call generated. Examples of the characteristics of a qualified call could include the call length, where the call originated from, the hours in which the call was received, whether the call resulted in a sale or any other criteria which can be agreed upon.

How Does a Pay Per Call Marketing Campaign Proceed?

Once there is an agreement to the terms of a campaign, the publisher (or publishers if the marketing campaign is using more than one) receives unique trackable phone numbers assigned by the pay per call network. The publisher then promotes these numbers across its advertising channels. Advertising channels may include websites, print media, television, radio, direct mail, billboards or anywhere else a customer may come into contact with information they wish to act upon. When a customer calls the phone number they reach the pay per call network’s interactive voice response (IVR) technology and are routed to the appropriate call center or advertiser sales team.

How Do The Various Parties Get Paid?

When a qualified phone call reaches the advertiser, the advertiser compensates the pay per call network the agreed upon fee. The pay per call network, in turn, has tracked the phone number called to the appropriate publisher or marketing campaign. The pay per call network pays the publisher its commission for all the qualified phone calls it generated.

What Other Services Does A Pay Per Call Network Provide?

Besides connecting advertisers and publishers, issuing trackable phone numbers and tying qualified calls to the appropriate publisher or marketing campaign, the pay per call network has access to analytics related to the phone calls and conversations. The pay per call network can record the phone calls for later review, identify caller information including geographical location or device type from which the call was made and decipher different publisher and marketing campaign performances. The pay per call network is also responsible for routing the phone calls to the proper agents depending on caller attributes such as location, time of day and responses to IVR prompts.

How Does A Pay Per Call Network Incorporate IVR Technology?

Interactive Voice Response technology is used by the pay per call network to filter phone calls depending on the customer response to the IVR prompts. IVR can be used to understand exactly what the customer is looking for, where in the buying process they reside and to which agents they should be transferred. IVR is also highly effective at properly routing calls, filtering out unqualified callers and prioritizing high value callers.

What Kind Of Parameters Can Be Set On A Pay Per Call Marketing Campaign?

The pay per call network has the ability to set certain parameters for targeting potential customers. Smartphones and computers enable geo-targeting abilities meaning that online ads can be placed in front of customers in specific geographical locations. The pay per call network can also ensure that ads appear during business hours in the location they specify. Conversely, callers can be routed to businesses or call centers that are open when the call is made rather than sending the customer to a business that’s closed for the day.

What Types Of Businesses Work Best With Pay Per Call Networks?

Pay per call networks are best employed by businesses whose customers are looking to interact with a salesperson by telephone. The customer is typically looking to explain their situation and receive feedback regarding the best possible options and prices. Industries such as insurance, financial, legal and travel services or home and automotive repair usually benefit most from pay per call marketing campaigns. For retail products, a high price point is usually necessary to make a pay per call campaign worthwhile. Products or services that benefit from pay per call campaigns tend to attract customers who already committed to action, but require some human service to facilitate the buying process.

How Have Pay Per Call Networks Evolved?

Pay per call networks first became massively popular with late night television infomercials where viewers were urged to call a toll free number to purchase whatever product was being advertised. The rise of the smartphone has been the next major evolution in pay per call network growth. The advent of click to call advertisements, which are online ads that initiate a phone call when clicked upon by a mobile phone user, led to a rise in pay per call platforms that could intelligently track, filter and route those callers.

How Can CallerReady Help Your Pay Per Call Campaigns?

CallerReady provides the world’s most powerful pay per call marketing platform helping advertisers, publishers and marketing networks increase the volume of qualified phone calls. Get in touch with CallerReady today for a free demonstration.