In a recent webinar, we uncovered insights from 1.1 million leads to explore exactly how your business can improve lead generation, refine marketing strategies, and increase ROI.
Here are some of the most crucial insights.
Key challenges in lead generation
- Limited visibility into high-performing channels: Many businesses struggle to identify which marketing channels deliver the most qualified leads.
- Missed insights in lead data: Everyday call insights hold valuable information, but it often goes unnoticed or underutilized.
- Difficulty optimizing marketing ROI: Without actionable insights, businesses find it challenging to maximize return on investment (ROI) for marketing campaigns, especially with paid channels like PPC.
Top channels driving conversions
When it comes to lead generation, three key channels consistently drive conversions across all industries:
- Google Ads: Accounts for 37% of leads.
- Google My Business (GMB): Accounts for 23% of leads.
- Organic Traffic: Accounts for 22% of leads.
While these channels are consistently effective, their impact can vary from industry to industry. For example, some sectors may see better results from local search (GMB), while others find that paid search or organic traffic delivers the highest ROI.
See below for the channels driving the most calls by industry:
Action item: Refine your marketing strategy based on insights. Focus on the channels that deliver the best results for your industry and adjust when necessary.
Missed calls are missed opportunities
One critical insight from our research is that inbound calls are among the most valuable sources of leads. Yet, most missed calls result in lost opportunities, as 85% of customers won’t give your business a second chance after you miss their call. This highlights the importance of having the right tools in place to manage calls effectively.
Action items:
- Implement automated messaging for missed calls: When a call is missed, tools like CallRail can send an automated text message to the caller, acknowledging the missed call and letting them know someone will be in touch shortly. Maintaining the connection reassures the caller that their inquiry is important and can prevent the lead from moving on to the next business on their list.
- Leverage advanced call flows: Tools like CallRail’s advanced call flow system can help reduce missed calls and improve lead follow-up. For instance, you can: Route calls to available team members when someone is busy, use voicemail-to-email transcription for quick responses, or customize call flows to suit your business needs, ensuring every lead is captured and nurtured.
Key channels driving conversions
The top three channels contributing to qualified leads across industries are Google Ads (47%), organic search (23%), and Google My Business (15%).
The top channels that lead to the highest return on investment across industries are organic search (78%), paid search (75%), and social ads (70%).
The top channels that contributed to the most sales appointments made across industries are Google Ads (36%), Google My Business (32%), and organic search (18%).
Action item: Invest in high-performing channels that drive the highest rate of qualified leads. For example, industries like automotive and real estate see the best results by prioritizing website traffic for lead qualification.
How customers are finding your business
Insights from self-reported attribution reveals how customers discover businesses:
- Online Search: 38.5% of customers.
- Returning Customers: 39.5% of customers.
- Personal Referrals: 15.6% of customers.
- Direct Mail: 6.2% of customers.
Understanding these sources can help your business double down on the strategies that work best for your audience.
Top keywords to optimize your pay-per-click strategy
Aligning your PPC keywords with customer interest is critical to driving that high quality traffic and maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing spend. Using the right keywords ensures your ads reach the right audience, increasing the likelihood of conversions, whether it's for leads, appointments, or sales.
See below for the top performing keywords by industry:
![Four blue rectangles list services for Automotive, Home Services, Real Estate Industry, and Real Estate Investment.
Transcribed Text:
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
We buy junk cars
Sell my car
Mobile mechanic
HOME SERVICES
Garage door repair
Roof repair
Junk removal
AC repair
Plumbers near me
REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
Searching for apartments
Senior or assisted living
Searching for apartments near me [near X]
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
E-waste
Land for sale
Extended stay](https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2F18cf0bc1157f43cbaa8aed1276d9b9ad%2F81dce36d45b94d27b8aa37204f8c8c55?format=webp&width=2000)
Quick tip: Customers increasingly use intent driven queries such as location specific terms like ‘near me’ or industry relevant keywords. Using these localized relevant keywords improves visibility in search results and ensures your ads are seen by customers actively searching for your services.
How call sentiment analysis personalizes your customer experience
You can use call sentiment to track overall customer satisfaction trends to get a general idea of how customers feel about your business. Call sentiment can also spot at-risk leads, such as customers who are expressing frustration or dissatisfaction on a call. Using this information, customer interactions can be more mindful and you can tailor the conversation to the specific needs and wants of each customer.
Action item: Drive conversions with sentiment-driven strategies to personalize the customer’s experience. Use sentiment analysis to get a sense of what the customer needs, their demeanor, and what you can prepare for the next conversation to appropriately address their needs.
Key takeaways
- Track calls to measure marketing channel performance: Using call tracking where your calls originate helps you better allocate your marketing budget and focus your efforts on the highest-performing channels.
- Leverage AI-powered insights to optimize strategies: Analyzing call insights, sentiment, and keywords allows your business to refine its marketing strategies to align with customer behavior and needs.
- Use tools like Convert Assist to convert leads quickly and effectively: While AI helps uncover insights from customer conversations, tools like Convert Assist take it a step further by generating next steps, follow-up messaging, and coaching feedback so that businesses can act on these insights faster and increase conversions.
Data-driven insights are the key to unlocking better lead generation and higher marketing ROI. By focusing on high-performing channels, leveraging call management tools, and refining your marketing strategy based on performance, you can drive growth and capture more qualified leads.
