In a study that should resonate with any sales department of any firm –  auto, media, or other – Marchex found that letting calls go to voice mail might well put  sales success at peril. The communication-focused analytics and marketplace firm determined that nearly half of all phone calls to auto dealerships come from new shoppers, and one in five of all calls go unanswered.  Here’s more on the study:

Marchex Finds Auto Dealers Pay Big for Letting Calls Go to Voicemail
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 24, 2012– Marchex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHX) today released the results of an in-depth study showing that nearly half of all calls to auto dealerships come from prospective new customers – which means not answering the phone can literally cost you your business.
Marchex, a mobile advertising company focused on calls, examined inbound calls to auto dealerships and came up with several key findings to help dealers dramatically increase sales.The goal of the study was to give business owners a deeper understanding of customer phone calls. Call tracking and analytics boosts sales close rates and improves customer service.The Marchex Call Analytics platform tracks and analyzes phone calls for millions of local and toll-free numbers. Based on a sample of those calls to U.S. auto dealerships, the analysis found that:

  • 45% of calls to auto dealerships are from new prospective customers
  • 20% of calls to auto dealerships go unanswered

Of the calls that are from new prospective customers:

  • 54% are callers with buying intent who inquire about new cars and/or quotes
  • 23% are callers who want to know directions, hours or the vehicle inventory
  • 19% are callers who inquired about a service or a type of vehicle that is not offered by the advertiser
  • 4% of callers make a purchase during the call/or make an appointment to visit the dealership

“There’s no question about it: Lose a call, lose a customer,” said Rafael Jose, Vice President, Marchex Call Analytics. “Tracking and analyzing customer calls to your business lets you peek behind the curtain. You find out exactly what you need to do to capture unrealized revenue. It takes the guesswork out of the equation.”

Adopting call analytics can also provide dealers with actionable steps to improve their answer rates. “Most unanswered calls are during business hours and can be clustered around times of day when staff is busy, or literally out to lunch,” Mr. Jose said. “Marchex Call Analytics helps dealers maximize the value of these inbound phone calls.”

Marchex will be exhibiting at the Digital Dealer October 23-25 in Las Vegas. Representatives will be available to discuss these trends, as well as what auto dealers can do to take advantage of the enormous opportunity of call tracking and analytics to get the most out of their ad campaigns.

Click here to read more about the study.
ABOUT MARCHEX, INC.

Marchex, Inc. delivers customer calls to businesses and analyzes those calls so companies can get the most out of their mobile advertising.

Marchex supports its customers through a unique technology platform that has three primary components: (1) Call Analytics, which powers all of our advertising solutions, and allows partners to leverage data and insights that accurately measure the performance of mobile, online and offline call advertising; (2) Digital Call Marketplace, which annually connects millions of consumer calls to our advertisers from a range of mobile and online sources on a Pay For Call basis; and (3) Local Leads, a white-labeled, full-service digital advertising solution for small business resellers that drives quality phone calls and other leads to their small business advertisers.
Marchex is based in Seattle. To learn more, please visit www.marchex.com/products.

Source: Marchex, Inc.