Some salespeople tell the truth. REALLY! I've seen it myself.

Ronald Reagan said, "Trust but Verify", back in 1987. Good advice on the Former Soviet Union back then and even better advice on advertising today.

As a truck shop or road service owner, it's your job to maximize sales and minimize costs. And sometimes you have to rely on third-party information to make solid business decisions. Your goal is to get the most accurate information you can. As much as you can.

Advertising is imperative for almost any business. And it's a big expense. So it makes a lot of sense to verify you're getting good value for your money!

Is Your Advertising Working?

As a truck repair shop owner or road service provider, you need to confirm how many calls you are getting and how much business you receive through your paid directory listings. This article will show you how.

It's easy, it doesn't take a lot of time to set up, AND it's not very expensive. You just need to know the secret.

Large Companies and Marketing Agencies Measure their Advertising

Large companies that have a dedicated marketing department or those that hire a marketing agency are very familiar with measuring their advertising. They do it to save money and get more customers at the same time. It's part of the competitive advantage you get by being big enough to have a dedicated marketing team.

Measuring exactly how much value each advertising opportunity brings gives them the advantage of being able to analyze where they get the most bang for their buck. And to shift their advertising spend to the most valuable sources. Thereby minimizing costs and maximizing sales.

You can use the same measurement strategy to help you level the playing field. But more importantly to make sure you're getting good value and great results for the money you spend on advertising.

Call Tracking is the best way to measure your paid directory listings. And it will only cost you $20 to $50 per month for a few months depending on the call tracking service you choose.

Call Tracking - A Guide for Repair Shop Owners $ Mobile Business

Comparing Paid Listing Directories

The idea behind call tracking is simple. Let's say you're comparing the results from three online business directories that you pay for every year. That can be expensive. Of course, each directory claims to have the best leads (and the most leads). But you don't know for sure where your best source of customers is coming from. Trust but verify.

If money matters (and of course it does), you'll want to find the best source of customers from those directories. Save the rest of your money for another advertising opportunity or some other expense. Or put it in the bank for a rainy day.

How does Call Tracking Work?

With this call tracking example, you'll buy three phone numbers, a separate one to post on each directory site. When a customer dials that distinct number it first gets routed through a call tracking system. The system counts the call and then forwards it to your business phone line. This all happens through VOIP technology in milliseconds.

In addition, the calls are timed, tagged, and recorded. Depending on the call tracking service you choose, many other features can come in to play. Those other features are beyond the scope of this article, so we'll stick with our basic premise.

Any time you want to check on the progress you can look at the call reports. Each call that came from each number can be tagged in any way you want. You may want to tag calls as qualified, unqualified and customer. Use any tags that make sense to you. Tags enable you to distinguish how many calls came from each directory site and how many of those calls turned into paid business. Make sure to tag any robocalls or telemarketers as spam so they aren't counted in your analysis.

It's easy to spot worthless calls because they usually last less than thirty seconds!

Also, it goes without saying that you should not give these numbers out to anyone. Each number is for one directory site and one site only. Giving the number to anyone else will skew your results.

All inbound calls get recorded with most call tracking services. If you need a reminder on who became a customer and who didn't you can just press play!

How long should I use Call Tracking for?

Some businesses use call tracking on an on-going basis. After checking your online directories you can switch out the numbers to test highway billboard signs, postcard mailings, or any other type of advertising. Measuring all of your advertising will turn you into a marketing machine. And as you can see....it's not very difficult or time-consuming.

Make sure to run your call tracking campaign for at least three to six months. You decide when you have enough information to make an educated decision on who will earn your business.

Keep in mind that if a certain directory is listed on GPS systems, it usually takes longer for those GPS companies and their users to update software with the new tracking phone numbers. In that case, you might want to run call tracking longer to account for that.

Why don't I just ask my customers how they found me?

You could do that. It's the cheapest way to go. But definitely not very effective or accurate. And it's always a pain in the butt.

How many times have you asked a customer how they found you and they've said, "the internet". Not very helpful. How about all the times you've been too busy or just plain forgot to ask them?

Tally up the Numbers

All reports can be exported to .CSV files for those who like to play with spreadsheets. Or you can figure it out on the back of a napkin if you don't like math that much.

At the end of six months (or whenever you have a good amount of information)...tally up all the qualified calls that became customers from one online directory. Divide the cost of the directory advertising by the number of customers. That's your "Cost per Customer".

i.e. - If you received 10 customers per month for six months (60) and the directory cost $300 (for 1/2 year)...your cost per customer is $5.00. ($300/60 = $5.00)

Of course, those are sample numbers. Every repair shop will be different depending on location and other variables.

Use the same simple equation on all three of your online directories. You'll very quickly see where you have to be advertising and where you could cut back.

If you take the time to add a dollar amount to each customer you can start making all kinds of interesting comparisons. Quality of leads. Average dollar amount per job. That can make things really interesting, but we'll have to save that discussion for another day.

Call Tracking Works

The bottom line is that call tracking works. It works well and it's not very difficult. It's going to help you maximize sales and minimize costs. Period.

Call Tracking – How to Set-up Call Tracking

You can do it yourself without a marketing agency

Although you can easily hire someone to set up your call tracking for you, it’s not hard to do it yourself with a little knowledge. I’ve chosen three to demonstrate price, features and ease of use. You should choose one that you are most comfortable with. And they don’t have to come from this list.

Here’s a breakdown of three very good call tracking services you could try.

Author’s note: Keep in mind that I am an independent marketing consultant and an independent reviewer. My concentration is in video marketing where we use call tracking on a regular basis.

TruckDown had no input on which services to demonstrate or suggest to you. TruckDown is not affiliated and has not had any communication with any of these services.

Without further delay, here are my three suggestions.

In this video    I talk a bit more about each of these services. Also, there is a complete video demonstration on how to use the call tracking service that I would use if I were comparing three online directories. Once again, you should choose any service you’re comfortable with.

Well, now you know the secret to setting up your own call tracking. You can measure which of your online directories are providing you with the most value for your advertising dollar.

I encourage you to try this marketing method to maximize your sales and minimize your advertising spend. Measurement is key to great marketing of your business!