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Why and When People Make a Phone Call?

In today’s increasingly digital and mobile driven world, it could be easy to think that everything can be done digitally and without any interaction with another human being. After all there are apps, mobile sites and all number of avenues to transact online – whether that is booking a restaurant, ordering food, buying clothes, booking a holiday, booking a car service etc.

However easy these transactions might be to do on-line, research conducted by Ipsos and Google has shown that phone calls still have a very important role to play.

Specifically, they looked at why people call and when they call.

Why do people call?

There are a variety of reasons why people call:

  • To make general inquiries;
  • To making a booking;
  • To finding out opening hours;
  • To make a purchase;
  • For help and support.

However one of the most important findings to come out of the study was the role price played in whether or not a phone call was made at all.

Price

Price was determined to be an important factor when people considered calling, with 43% of people calling to inquire about a price or to make a comparison. What was most interesting about price however, was that different industries had different average price points at which people were more likely to call a business to make a purchase or transaction. For example in the travel industry – where it has become very common to purchase even expensive holidays online – the average price point to make a phone call was only $320.00.

The research shows that even in industries which are highly developed digitally, the call is still important.

The mean price point at which one would be more likely to call a business for a purchase/transaction

Restaurant 33$
Design 119$
Local 170$
Tech 265$
Travel 320$
Finance 416$
Auto 1195$
When do people call

The different phases of the purchase process highlights the different times people choose to make a phone call, and which phase they felt was most important to make a phone call.

The purchase process involves several phases:

  1. Inspiration – when you realise you need to purchase.
  2. Research – when you actively look for the product.
  3. Purchase – the purchase of the product.
  4. Post – any behavior you participate in after the purchase.

The research found that the highest percentage of likely callers (61%) was during the purchase phase, where someone actually wanted to speak to someone to make a purchase. This was followed by research (52%), Post Purchase (40%) and Inspiration (30%). This is in line with the earlier statement that the majority of callers call to get a quick answer or accomplish a goal.

Making phone calls easier

The research found that up to 46% of people would most likely explore other brands if they were unable to call a business directly from search results. This makes having click to call numbers available across all your digital channels – your website, EDMs, Google My Business Listing, Call Extensions – incredibly important to your business’s success in lead generation, and in developing trust with your audience and potential customers.

Source for the article:

Source:  Google / Ipsos. (2013). The Role of Click to Call In the Path to Purchase.