With 100's of online marketing companies, and telemarketers, besieging your shop's phone every day, it's about time you start asking for facts. Sales people's words, get blown by the wind, Facts are hard to ignore. Proof that your Internet advertising dollar is working, cannot be shown with pretty dashboards, statistics, or shiny objects. The main and only purpose of online marketing is to get customers to your shop, whether in person, or by calling your shop's phone. Even when you ask a new customer, how they found you, the average response you get is, on the Internet. But, where on the Internet? Your website, a Google Ad, a map directory, Yelp? In the majority of cases, all you get is, I don't remember. Therefore, what is the best proof that your advertising dollars are working? Call Tracking! By assigning a call tracking number to every piece of advertising you do, you can pin point exactly, what's working, and what's not. Think of a call tracking phone number as a mask that goes over your shop's phone number. By having one, or ten, call tracking numbers, all calls go to the same destination, your shop's phone number! Let's say that you put a value of $100 to each new customer you acquire, if you get 60 phone calls in a month, then you have recovered (or profit) $600 from whatever you spend in online advertising. Many times I get asked, what about shoppers calling for estimates? The main goal of anyone handling your online advertising is to get people to your phone. Once you receive a call it's up to you, or your service adviser, to use effective phone skills, or salesmanship, to bring that customer into your shop. If you want to find out more about how to use call tracking, whether with us, or any other advertiser you might be using, call (800) 520-9498, or email me at ed@ecommnow.com I don't believe on selling, I believe on building trust, and only deal with facts. Ed Burckhardt