Is Your Bank or Credit Union Marketing Team Ready for Call-Only Ads?

With more than half of all web searches now coming from mobile devices, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of changing technology. Instead of filling out web forms, potential customers and members are now more likely to call – especially when they can do it with a single tap of their screen. In fact, 75 percent of all appointments now come from calls, up from 50 percent just a few years ago, and the majority of these come directly from a search ad extension.

This is great news for banks and credit unions because calls convert to revenue 10x to 15x more than web form fills.

More people are using their phones to search for financial products and services than ever before. Is your bank or credit union keeping up with changing technology?

But how do you make sure you’re taking advantage of these trends and converting the most leads while keeping your cost per lead low? We’ve run dozens of these types of campaigns, and here are some things we’ve discovered that work:

6 TIPS FOR CONVERTING MORE PHONE LEADS:

1. Create campaigns and ads targeted only to smartphones.
2. Include a Call Button as a Google Ad Extension, and make Call Now the primary call to action on your landing pages.
3. Dedicate an individual phone line to each campaign so you know what the lead is calling about and can track where your leads come from.
4. Use local phone numbers – they drive 3x more calls than toll-free numbers.
5. Evaluate your phone system and work out the kinks. Phone answering machines that require multiple options before speaking to a live person end in frustration, rather than conversion.
6. Hire a call center agency to take after-hours calls; create professional, personalized voicemail messages; or only schedule ads to run during business hours.

ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE READY TO PICK UP THE PHONE

Many people who are in the market for financial products and services are searching during the evenings and weekends. This presents a problem for bank managers and their marketing teams – do you only run ads during business hours and risk losing leads, or do you keep running ads when no one is there to pick up, even though these leads may be less likely to convert?

You have 3 options:

1. Hire a call center agency to take after-hours calls.
   Don’t underestimate the value of always having someone available answer your calls. They may not be able to answer all your lead’s questions, but if you provide a good script and training on capturing information, then notify the bankers quickly, you will get more leads who are ready to convert.
2. Create professional, personalized voicemail messages.
   While more economical than hiring an agency, you lose the benefit of having your lead speak with someone live. Some people won’t leave messages, and it’s more difficult to collect information like email addresses.
3. Target your ads by time of day.
   In many cases, it’s better just to concentrate your marketing resources during the times when your lenders are available to take calls. This usually gives you the lowest cost per lead and highest conversion rate, though it may produce less volume.

Remember, the easier it is for a lead to contact you, and the faster they can speak to a person, the more likely they are to convert.

Contact our experts about turning more leads into customers with your marketing and paid search campaigns.