marinsoftware.com The Online-to-Offline Search Marketing Playbook The Importance of Phone Calls to the Customer Journey Even in today’s digital world, calls from consumers are often a business’s most valuable leads. A Forrester study found that on average, callers convert 30% faster to revenue, spend 28% more, and churn 28% less than consumers who contact businesses online. Calls to businesses are on the rise, thanks in part to the popularity of smartphones and increased spend on mobile advertising. Calls to businesses from consumers engaging with digital marketing on their smartphones were projected to have exceeded 162 billion in 2019, more than doubling the total from 2014. Calls are especially important to the success of marketing campaigns in industries with complex, expensive, or urgent purchases—such as automotive, insurance, financial services, travel, home services, and healthcare. Those consumers often need to speak to a live person to get assistance before booking an appointment or making a purchasing decision. Inbound phone calls are often the most valuable conversions