4 Common Call Tracking Pain Points

The demand for call tracking software is on the rise, as is demand for more sophisticated ways to route and analyze calls. By offering advanced tracking analytics, intelligent call routing, call recording and self-service phone number provisioning, you can separate your call tracking platform from your competitors by miles.

But these capabilities rely on quality carrier services, and the provider you choose can make or break your customer experience. Choosing the wrong provider can add unnecessary complexity, reliability headaches and extra costs. The right provider, on the other hand, can take your call tracking platform to the next level.

Keep these call tracking pain points in mind when choosing the right provider for your platform:

1. Not Enough Phone Numbers

Having a small phone number supply can limit your options when building a call tracking application. It could impact not only your ability to run detailed attribution tests but also the number of campaigns customers can track with your software. It may also limit your ability to provide call tracking necessities like sequential and vanity numbers.

Maybe you require dynamic number insertion or call tracking by campaign or keyword. Or maybe you just want a large selection of numbers. Your provider needs a deep enough phone number inventory to meet your needs. It’s also a good idea to choose a provider that owns its number database — rather than one that relies on third parties — to avoid high markups and less flexibility.

2. Carrier Downtime (and Speed to Resolution)

Downtime can severely affect your business operations. Even a few minutes of downtime could lead to hundreds or even thousands of missed calls — and lost revenue.

The public internet is a security liability that wasn’t built for real-time communications, so it’s important to choose a provider with a private network infrastructure — ideally built on a fiber-optic backbone with virtual cross-connects. This will minimize not only the chance of cyber attacks but also latency and packet loss.

Redundancy is another factor to consider when minimizing downtime. Avoid providers with single points of failure, instead choosing one that has properly diversified its technology stack to automate failovers, ensure full redundancy and help you avoid downtime caused by network outages.

When all else fails, you’ll want 24/7 support to quickly troubleshoot and resolve customer issues. Otherwise, you could waste valuable time waiting on a resolution — if you can even reach the support team. Choose a provider with free customer support around the clock.

3. Lack of Control

If your customers can’t self-serve, your call tracking app will feel more like an ordering and fulfillment portal rather than a call tracking platform. Give control back to your customers with these tools and features:

• Real-time media streaming (forking) for sentiment analysis and call recording
• Call control for better analytics and insight
• Debugging tools to identify and troubleshoot call flow issues

Enabling customers to self-serve makes your call tracking platform appealing to a broader range of people, and it can also reduce your customer service workload.

4. High Costs

Many providers rely on middlemen for call routing and core communications functionality, which means added costs for you. From phone number markups to misleading billing minimums and increments, costs can compound quickly when you’re not working directly with a carrier.

For example, providers may use large billing increments to charge you for minutes you don’t use. A 60-second increment means you pay for a minimum of 60 seconds, even if your call only lasted a few seconds. This may only cost an additional few cents per call, but the charges add up. By choosing a provider that bills more precisely (like in smaller six-second increments), you could save up to 40%.

Is your current provider causing pain points and bottlenecks? Make sure you choose the right provider to support your call tracking platform. Start with a full-fledged carrier for better visibility, control and pricing.

Want to learn more about removing carrier hurdles with your call tracking application? Download Your Complete Guide to Call Tracking to start building a platform that stands out among the competition.