Most people think that the phone call is dead. We call our parents, our friends on occasion, but texting, email, and social media are just so much easier. And while it’s true that there are now lots of ways for your customers or clients to reach out to you, it’s also true that giving your clients or customers the ability to call you and being able to track, record, and analyze those calls can give you heaps of great data about your business and about your target audience.

And whether you realize it or not, the phone call is still and integral part of selling and it is still one of the most successful types of leads you can get. If you are in one of these industries, you absolutely need to be utilizing call tracking:

1. Any Type of Home Service

Are you a plumber? A locksmith? Do you install sinks? Provide landscaping? Lay flooring? Do anything in the same vein? If so, you need to have call tracking. Why? Because this is actually how most people are going to get in contact with you. They will call to make an appointment, call to make sure you have the ability to take on the service they need, call to compare your service to your competitors. No matter why they are calling, they are going to call, and that means you need to be able to track them.

2. Dentists, Oral Surgeons, Orthodontists

This is another industry where most people are still going to want to and will still expect to have to call and make an appointment. This means that you need to have the ability to track which campaign they have discovered and has directed them to call you, and that you want to be able to glean as much information from that call as possible. Especially if you offer emergency dentistry or surgery services, you need to be visible in the Google search results and have a way to capture those calls as they come in. A website just is not going to do this effectively by itself.

3. Lawyers

Did you know that the keyword “lawyer” and the keyword “attorney” are two of the most competitive words in all of paid search? These services are highly in demand and there is steep competition to be at the top of the search results, as most people work with the first lawyer that they contact. You will, first, want to be as high in the search results as possible and then, when people do call in, have effective call tracking software that makes it easy to capture your phone call leads as they arrive.

4. Real Estate Agents

It’s impossible to find a home to buy or an apartment to rent without contacting some kind of real estate agent these days. While there are plenty of purchases that can be made online, without ever having to talk to a real person, a home is just not one of those things. Someone looking for somewhere to live is probably going to be looking to talk to a real person, especially if they are not actually from the area where they are trying to buy or rent. You are going to want to have your phone number prominently displayed and the call tracking tools to capture leads as people call you.

5. Hotels and Hospitality

Sure, most people can make hotel bookings online, but there are still lots of people that actually like to call the hotel or inn and talk to a real person before making their booking. My father is one of those people. He knows that the people behind the desk are better able to get him the booking he wants than a website that only provides him with a few options. Calls like these are critical to getting people into the rooms in your hotel, so you are going to want the tracking capabilities that comes with call tracking.

6. IT

Even if you are just a department that is a part of a larger firm, you might still benefit from call tracking. This will allow you to record calls as they come in, track which departments are having the most computer trouble, and even generate better, more complete tickets to help you better deal with issues. If you are not a department in a larger business, you’ll still find call tracking helpful, especially as the questions and requests that you receive are often complicated and you still want to be able to see where those calls are coming from and how they are reaching your company.