Maybe you’ve taken the free CallRail trial but want to compare other types of software before committing? Whatever your reasons, there are some excellent CallRail alternatives out there in the marketplace.
If you’re running a business that has a telephone number on the website, it’s easy to see why call tracking software would appeal to you. There are a lot of businesses providing this service, so it’s a really good idea to shop around before you buy.
Call tracking isn’t always the best way to increase qualified leads. In this article, we’ll explore some of the brilliant alternatives out there that might be better for your business.
There can be a range of factors that affect business boom and bust, it’s hard to always be able to attribute a rise or fall in customers to a single marketing campaign especially when wider economics, government, and other external factors your business doesn’t control come into play. This is why lead attribution is so important.
When you know where most of your customers are coming from and why this becomes a powerful tool to grow your business and buffer those external factors that you can’t always control. This is why call tracking technology and similar types of software are so valuable for businesses.
In this post, we’ll talk about some of the best CallRail alternatives open to your business.
Call Tracking; What is it?
Call tracking works by generating dynamic phone numbers for each new website visitor, that then appear on your website, social media channels, digital ads or other marketing channels. This allows you to identify individual traffic sources, campaigns and keywords driving those calls.
The calls are routed to your usual business number, however, as users are dialing different numbers, call tracking can identify and record data about the call.
There are all kinds of call tracking software out there, but most offer a similar package to CallRail. Call tracking is technology that allows businesses to do several things, but the basic premise is that it simply tracks and records where incoming calls originate from. When using most types of this software you should easily be able to answer questions like:
A) What geographical location are our calls coming from?
You should be able to see where in the world or country that all of your calls come from. This is an especially useful feature if many of your callers find you through organic search and are not traceable to any particular marketing campaign. There may be locations where there is more demand for your product or service, indicating places you may see higher ROI on marketing efforts if you concentrated in a particular area.
B) Which marketing campaigns are generating calls (including both seo, digital and offline)?
If your business is spending time, energy and money on marketing campaigns then it’s essential you know what the ROI from these campaigns is. Once you know this, you can replicate successful campaigns and drop or change campaigns that aren’t working. This helps you save money by pulling campaigns that aren’t working and putting resources into other campaigns that are.
C) What do people want to know when they call?
Call recording software can have several benefits. If you can get a good picture of what customers are generally asking when they call, and what an average customer-sales conversation consists of, then you can tailor your business to address or answer these “most pertinent” issues.
Call recordings are a great resource for effective training. Less experienced sales and customer service agents can practice by listening to how more experienced agents structure their pitch, objection handle and generally present a confident and trustworthy dialogue.
It also means that if there are any particular sales agents experiencing lower lead qualification rates, their call recordings will reveal specific pain points and knowledge gaps which can subsequently be addressed by tailored extra training and additional support.
D) Where on my website are visitors calling from?
With call tracking software, you’re often able to see what page of your website that callers are (or were) on when they called you – so you already have an idea of what a customer may be interested in before, or as soon as you pick up the phone. Not only does this help you prepare extra information to suit your customers’ needs… it also gives insight into which pages on your website are prompting the most calls.
E) What did the visitor journey look like before and after they made the call?
As well as identifying the location and page source your leads are calling from, you can also see the journey they made leading to the phone call. How many times they visited your website and which pages they visited before they called.
This would be useful if you could see a user had been browsing an e-commerce site for a long time, with multiple page views. This might indicate they are lost and cannot find what they are looking for.
Alternatively, if you can see they landed on the site from an organic search via the blog, you might assume this person is researching and would likely have questions relevant to their current search.
What Other Features are Available?
As well as providing the basic call tracking software, there are other features that companies such as Call Rail are branching out into, giving businesses more touch points to get a bigger picture. These include:
- Form submission tracking
- Transcribed phone calls
- Keyword identification within phone conversations
These extras aren’t always included, so it’s worth checking.
Transcribed phone calls can be a much less time-consuming way to analyse data. Automatic keyword identification allows you to pick up patterns on what kind of products or services are being asked about most, so you can focus your attention there.
CallRail Alternatives
Now we’ve explained a bit more about CallRail and what other call tracking software offers in general, it’s time to talk about the alternatives. There’s some truly brilliant and incredibly useful options out there so like we said, it doesn’t hurt to compare what’s on offer!
ResponseiQ
If you’re looking for a way to increase your qualified leads and ultimately convert them into paying customers, this is one of the most effective, simple and comprehensive tools out there.
ResponseiQ Vs CallRail: What’s the Difference?
There are some key differences between these two services. Although they’re both easy to install and setup and help to answer many of the same questions, the effect that using them has on a business can be different.
Firstly, let’s look at the similarities. Both provide:
- Easy to install software
- Geographical location of callers
- On-site customer journey before call
- Analytics for marketing campaigns
- Integratable with form tracking
- Call recording capabilities
- No changes are required to current telephone infrastructures for either service, no matter how many sales calls your business gets, or locations your business operates from.
Now, let’s take a look at the differences…
Operation
Unlike CallRail, with ResponseiQ, customers don’t even need to pick up the phone and call you. Instead, they simply enter their phone number onto a non-invasive pop-up widget which sits on the bottom of all or selected site pages.
Depending on how speedy your sales teams are, a prospect could be speaking to the relevant person within 20 seconds. Not only is speed key here, but the fact the sales agents receive an email with customer location and page origination means they can quickly identify and tailor their conversations to close a deal.
Effectively, this tightens the customer journey and leads to happier customers who didn’t have to waste time on hold or explaining themselves from the beginning.
The widget content, image, and timing can be customised intelligently to trigger only on specific URL’s, when chosen keywords are present and in specific countries. It can even be hidden on irrelevant pages. Ultimately, the widget will appear when the customer needs it, is tailored to the buying and sales process and frees up your live-chat or direct phone lines for customer service enquiries.
How it works
When someone enters their number into the widget, the technology calls your business line. ResponseiQ only generates the outbound call to the customer when someone in your team has ‘claimed’ (answered) the inbound call. This all happens in less than 30 seconds, fitting into the optimum window to make a sale*.
The slick and speedy nature of the process removes consumer stumbling blocks, such as reluctance to dial, concerns about cost, lack of time and general psychological reluctance to prepare themselves for a conversation.
*The technology was developed as a reaction to a groundbreaking study conducted by MIT which asked a very important question: “How Much Time Do You Have Before Web-Generated Leads Go Cold?” The conclusion was that you are 21 x more likely to qualify a lead if you follow up within 5 minutes.
As published in the Harvard Business Review, research by James Oldroyd, PHD, visiting research fellow at M.I.T & David Elkington of InsideSales.com looked at 3 years of data across companies that respond to web-generated leads. The study incorporated 15,000 unique leads and over 100,000 call attempts.
CRO
Unlike CallRail’s more laid back approach where the benefits only kick in AFTER a customer decides to pick up the phone and call you, ResponseiQ actively ENCOURAGES your web visitors to call you as SOON as they arrive on your landing pages. They do this using some tried and tested techniques:
- Displaying a clear call to action in the widget speech bubble which can be customised to suit your company brand and tone. E.G ‘Booking Enquiries, we’ll call you in 27 seconds or less’.
- Citing the study above, this technique consistently has proven to work and is almost guaranteed to increase calls to your site. Coupled with the quick response enabled by the widget, this technique can significantly improve your CRO.
- Allowing prospects to schedule a callback if you’re closed or they don’t have time to speak immediately means a warm lead will never turn cold because they forgot to re-visit your site.
Unlimited Minutes
With many of CallRail’s packages, minutes are limited. With ResponseiQ, you can talk to as many leads as you want, for as long as you want. You’re not limited to locations as the widget works from 100+ countries. Operating on a simple, fair credit based system, ResponseiQ’s bottom line is transparent – ROI for your business.
Location
ResponseiQ is UK based and Call Rail is US based.
Out of hours solutions
With ResponseiQ, visitors can schedule an alternative time to talk to you within your business hours that suit them. If you’re closed, they will only be able to schedule a callback at times over the next two working days. 30 minutes before your customer is called, they will be reminded via SMS and have the option to cancel if they choose.
Pricing
ResponseiQ starts at £49 per month for 40 credits Vs CallRail at £30 (however CallRail only includes 10 local UK numbers – minutes, doesn’t include international calls). Operating on a credit system, ResponseiQ count one ‘credit’ as a 10-minute block*
UK to UK calls. Calls to other countries will count as 2+ credits, a full list is available at demo stage.
Summary
Response IQ fills a gap in the website-to-call market, providing a fast and convenient way to get in touch with a customer service or sales representative within 27 seconds – and that is guaranteed.
It is proactive with its easy to use popup widget, increasing the likelihood of closing leads off the back of your site’s traffic. The dreaded ‘churn’ is greatly reduced by its streamlined callback offering.
ResponseiQ is a genuine free trial. For one week your rep will be able to assess your needs and the package which is best for your business. No contracts or commitment, the service operates on a rolling month to month contract.
Ruler Analytics
Ruler Analytics is based in the UK, in Liverpool (unlike CallRail who are based in the US). Their call tracking software, again, has many similarities to all call tracking software. The messaging on their site is focussed on “closing the loop between leads and revenue” (better attribution) – a reason many businesses try call tracking in the first place.
Ruler offers businesses more touch points for attribution. Instead of just being able to tell where your calls are coming from, you can follow all the other channels your customers use to get in touch, as well as the conversions that result. You can attribute leads using form and call tracking and also with live chat. This gives you a highly accurate way of measuring the ROI from your marketing investment.
These guys have a great form tracking feature that is also easily integratable with ResponseiQ. They can tell you where your form submissions come from, the journey your customers took on the site before form submission and how many times they visited your site before contacting you. It’s pretty much just like call tracking but for form submissions.
Ruler Analytics Vs CallRail: What’s the Difference?
- Both have many of the same features, such as:
- Google Adwords & Analytics integrations
- Quick and easy setup
- Dynamic number insertion
- Static and offline call tracking
- Call recording capabilities
- Campaign and keyword call tracking
- Both provide Free phone numbers
However, unlike ResponseiQ neither Ruler Analytics or CallRail actively encourage customer calls from web visitors once they’re on your website.
Now, let’s take a look at the differences…
Location
Ruler Analytics is UK based and CallRail is US based. Ruler offers local UK numbers (although Call Rail offer a more limited number).
Attribution
Ruler offers more attribution touch points including purchases, sign-ups and more, as well as calls and form tracking.
Integration
Ruler easily integrates with CRM systems to pass over key information (source, keywords etc…).
International
Ruler provides local phone numbers in over 50 different countries whereas CallRail currently offers just 8.
Transcription
CallRail has the ability to transcribe recorded calls, Ruler Analytics doesn’t.
Pricing
Ruler Analytics basic package starts at £99 per month and includes up to 1000 minutes. CallRail starts at £30 pm and includes 500 minutes.
Summary
Ruler Analytics is the go-to choice for businesses in the UK when it comes to form tracking. Their easy integration with CRM systems and other software like ResponseiQ mean they can make unbeatable combinations when it comes to identifying touch points and improving CRO.
If your business uses several ways of capturing leads online and phone calls aren’t the sole (or even main) way you need to communicate with customers – maybe there’s multiple download opportunities, questionnaires etc… on site for example – then Ruler is probably your best option.
Response Tap
Response tap, like CallRail, focus on connecting the customer journey to the phone call. They’re probably one of the UK’s biggest competitors when it comes to call tracking. They’re extremely focussed on calls but when it comes to form tracking or identifying a wider range of touchpoints, this is where they fall short.
Response Tap has, however, got a great feature which allows you to easily link your call revenue to marketing activity. Simply upload any CSV file to close the gap in your reporting and see how much revenue has been generated in calls through marketing activities.
Response Tap Vs CallRail: What’s the Difference?
- Both have many of the same features, such as:
- Easy setup
- Call recording capabilities
- Google Adwords & Analytics integrations
- Campaign tracking
Now, let’s take a look at the differences…
Location
As Response Tap is UK based and CallRail is US based, they have a lot more flexibility and choice when it comes to local UK numbers.
Call Recording
Response Tap allows you to split call recordings to listen to either the sales or customer service representative, or the customer.
Transcription
CallRail has the ability to transcribe recorded calls, Response Tap doesn’t.
Pricing
You get unlimited minutes with Response Tap, whereas with CallRail you get a limited number of minutes depending on the package you buy.
Summary
Response Tap is one of the UK’s leading call tracking software businesses and offers far more flexibility in choice and numbers than CallRail does if you’re based in the UK. Call Rail may provide a few more capabilities, but nothing that would eclipse the excellent service Response Tap offers.
Response Tap is, however, lacking form tracking software which for some businesses could be a deal breaker. They also offer fewer touch points than Ruler Analytics.
Conclusion
All three alternatives to CallRail have enough similarities (and more benefits) for UK businesses solely interested in monitoring calls and tracking on or offline marketing campaigns. If your interest doesn’t stop there, however, each alternative has its own merits.
If your business is specifically interested in improving CRO from your website, ResponseiQ offers a much stronger solution as it works to increase calls, not just monitor them. You can also integrate the service with Ruler Analytics to incorporate a much wider range of marketing touch points if you need or want to.
If your main concern is monitoring calls from running campaigns and pinpointing ROI on those campaigns, Response Tap does this really well, in part thanks to its easy CSV file upload feature. Its services are more limited than CallRail, but it has a razor sharp focus on helping businesses shed light on that ROI dark spot where marketing campaigns.
