Do you know that the idea for missed call marketing originates from a very general practice of ‘leaving missed calls’? A habit that millions of people have acquired ever since mobile became commonplace.
Although we all leave missed calls now and then, emerging markets for flash call marketing in Nigeria, India and Africa have invented their unique codes to convey messages via missed calls.
For a significant number of the populace, talk time rates are still unaffordable and leaving missed calls is a recognized mode of communication.
However, little did we know that a purely price conscious practice would become one of the most widely-used inbound marketing tools.
In this article, we will do our best to explain what missed call marketing is, what it isn’t, its unique benefits and ways to leverage campaigns.
Let’s begin!
What is Missed Call Marketing? Understanding its Unique Advantage
Missed call marketing is an inbound marketing solution where the user leaves a missed call on an advertised number to express interest in a product or service.
It is a pull marketing strategy that draws only interested customers.
With the help of missed call marketing tools, brands can create inbound channels for their customers to reach out to them.
For example, Kirusa Konnect has an inbound communication tool called SnapCall that helps in generating successful campaigns.
As an inbound marketing medium, missed call campaigns can build high quality leads for the sales team. It enables better recognition of one’s target audience and heightens prospects for a productive brand-customer engagement.
Unlike most other channels that directly reach out to assumed buyers, missed call marketing generates interest without being intrusive. It is the ‘buyer’ who signs up for information because they are aware of your product, which is the point where consumers enter the awareness stage of your marketing funnel.
Hence, missed call marketing has the advantage of pulling a relatively more informed and decisive customer.
How does Missed Call Marketing work?
Missed call marketing is a cost-effective mechanism and starting your campaign is not difficult. One has to remember that it is not a typical brand awareness campaign. Following are the steps that you can execute on an inbound marketing platform.
- Start by purchasing and configuring a set of numbers.
- Advertise a specific number for people to leave a missed call which is the call-to-action. Remember that the number has to be circulated via other communication channels.
- Set up a response SMS as an acknowledgment or confirmation of the missed call being received. Some consider this step optional, but it is highly recommended. Also, enable a mandatory feedback SMS from the customer.
- Following these exchanges, you can measure the number of incoming calls and responses or analytics on your inbound platform. Kirusa Konnect’s SnapCall can help visualize and monitor the progress of campaigns in real-
- You can use SnapCall as an effective communication platform to supercharge your missed call marketing campaigns. It is a versatile medium to generate awareness of the brand.
However, the utility of missed call campaigns extends beyond general commercial purposes. Following are the various uses cases:
Lead generation – Brands can implement missed call marketing as an efficient way to generate quality leads for their business. Following is a typical example of an insurance agency.
- Agency advertises a new insurance policy across various media channels, along with a phone number (this is called the CTA or Call-To-Action).
- People who view the advertisement can give a missed call to the number to express interest in the insurance policy.
- As soon as the missed call is received, the insurance agency captures the phone number of the caller, which is how a lead is generated.
- The agency sales team then reaches out to these leads to turn them into customers.
- Examples of brands using lead generation include insurance companies (life insurance, health insurance, home, vehicle, electronics, ), loans, etc.
Contests and voting –
- During contests or elections, people can leave missed calls on a given number to vote and make their votes count.
- Typical examples include voting for your favorite participants on a reality show.
- Governments and regulatory bodies can use missed call marketing to gather votes, support and public opinion for socio-economic or environmental causes.
- Simply put, missed call marketing can be used for multiple purposes-from extending support to an individual to advocating a particular cause. Kirusa Konnect’s inbound SMS portal has been helping with successful voting campaigns.
App downloads –
- Brands can increase their app adoption by employing this classical marketing technique. One can leave missed calls if they wish to download an app. The customer support eventually calls them back, or they receive a text containing a link.
Service requests –
- Customers also leave missed calls if they require some service. For example, users frequently request checkbooks from their bank by first leaving a missed call on a given number. This is usually followed by a callback or a text.
On-demand information –
- Bank balance, shipment status, flight details, personalized information, are some of the details that can be gathered via missed calls.
General Awareness –
Missed call campaigns can also be applied to generate awareness campaigns against epidemics and natural disasters. Users can leave a missed call and indicate interest if they want further information. For instance, Kirusa Konnect has played a role in facilitating the Ebola Education Campaign to educate Ghanaians on the Ebola epidemic
What does Missed Call Marketing not Mean?
Conceptualizing a missed call marketing campaign is only half the job done because the exercise is not an end in itself. One must explore and utilize various media/communication channels to generate a robust campaign, including print and electronic media.
Let’s take the example of uniBank which is offering a zero percent payment plan for a comprehensive policy on motor insurance. This message is advertised in print, electronic or social media, TV radio, billboards, etc. A SnapCall number is also popularized with the content to encourage interested customers.
Through the Konnect SnapCall portal, the customer service team of uniBank can access the database of interested people. The team calls back customers to sign them up for the motor insurance policy and other UniBank bank assurance services.
Once the leads are generated, brands become aware of their audience. This is the point where one needs to watch out for conversions and ensure constant communication along with impeccable customer service.
Successful implementation of missed call marketing campaign also requires a regular tracking of metrics and the demography of users. The results can be further used to discover other channels of communication and reach out to newer prospects.
In conclusion, we have learned that missed call marketing is a unique method that assists other forms of advertising for strong marketing ROI. It is an empowering mechanism that makes use of very general practice by letting users reach out at no cost.
The combined effect of auditory/visual communication like Radio and TV with missed call campaigns can inform and educate the buyer. Consumers with limited access to data/internet can make better decisions and understand their needs.
To top it all, the possibilities are limitless, and one can discover innovative ways to further utilize the power of mobile.
Related Pages-
Missed Call Marketing for NGOs and Charities | Missed Call Marketing for Voting and Elections | Missed Call Marketing for Lead Generation | SnapCall