When we looked around and saw the options businesses had for advertising online, we realized there were far too many programs that charge for clicks or impressions. The reality is that nobody really wants a ‘click’.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Both calls and leads connect your business with someone interested in the category of service you provide (e.g. personal injury lawyer, plumber, auto repair, dentist, etc).
A 'call' is a live phone call sent to a tracking number assigned to your business, so you always know what calls came from your eLocal program. A ‘lead’ is an online request from a potential client or customer, relayed to you by e-mail or SMS text message.
With our PFP program, you may choose to receive leads-only, calls-only, or a combination of the two.
eLocal reaches potential consumers at the time when they NEED your services through our robust network which includes our proprietary nationwide directory(eLocal.com), major search engines, and top publishing partners.
If you choose to purchase leads, you can choose to receive them exclusively or on a shared basis. Shared leads, our most popular choice, are sent to a maximum of 4 businesses. 'Exclusive' leads, as the name suggests, go to one business and one business only. As you might expect, exclusivity comes at a premium, so shared leads are considerably less expensive. Phone calls, on the other hand, are always exclusive because you can only connect a caller to one business at any given point in time.
We provide every business with a login and dashboard to view their account details and all related activity. We keep a record of every call and lead sent to your business. For calls, we create dedicated tracking numbers so you know which calls came from your eLocal program. With your opt-in permission, we can also record those calls and make the recordings available to you. Not only do these recordings help substantiate the value of the calls, many of our customers use them to help monitor the effectiveness of their staff. If you prefer to not have your calls recorded, for whatever reason, we can simply charge you for calls based on the length of the call (e.g. 60 seconds).
Forgive us for getting technical for a moment…
Valid Call We define a Valid Call as a phone call from an individual interested in the general category of services you provide.
Valid Lead We define a Valid Lead as a lead submitted by an individual interested in the general category of services you provide. Additionally, the lead must contain valid contact information, including a working telephone number.
Additionally, it is important that telephone calls are live-answered in a timely manner. In cases where calls are not live-answered, hang-ups are considered valid calls. We charge for any call where we are able to determine the caller's intent. We establish intent by putting callers through our call center, looking for keywords in call transcripts, and through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system where we prompt users to confirm their desired category and zip code.
We believe that our value proposition is the delivery of that live call. The ability to answer calls, in a timely fashion, is an important component to success with our program (or any program, for that matter). Callers nowadays are increasingly impatient and quick to hang up when they hear an answering machine, too many rings, or if they are placed on hold for extended periods of time.
The following are NOT considered valid calls and leads:
All other types of calls and leads, not included above, are considered valid. Our proprietary technology will often identify invalid calls so that you never get charged for them. However, if we inadvertently charge you for an invalid call, you can request a refund within 4 days of being notified of that call or lead.
It’s important to note that a 'valid' call or lead is not synonymous with a 'good' call or lead, which is subjective. Judging a good call or lead is like judging beauty. It is in the eye of the beholder. Every business handles calls and leads differently. They have different intake processes, follow-up, and closing skills. As a result, we could send 10 calls to one particular business that result in 10 new clients, while those exact same calls sent to another business could result in zero.
Still, even for the highest converting businesses, it is inevitable that a certain percentage of your calls and leads will not result in a new customer or client. Some individuals will merely be asking questions or price shopping, while others will want work done at a time or price that you are unable or unwilling to accommodate. The success of a program like this should not be evaluated on a call-by-call or lead-by-lead basis, but on the whole. Does the overall program produce an acceptable return on investment? We have many happy advertisers that attest to great results, but if it doesn’t work for you, you can cancel anytime. We don’t lock anyone into long-term contracts and prefer to let the words of satisfied customers speak for themselves. We encourage you to read our testimonials here.
Absolutely not! We know that most advertising programs either have no concept of a return (good luck requesting a refund for a bad call from Google, your local TV or radio station, or the phone book!) or make you jump through hoops to actually get a refund. We’re different.
We make returns easy. We provide you with a login to view all of your account details, including a list of every call and lead you have received. Here, you can easily flag a call or lead for return and it will automatically be sent to our customer service team for review. As long as the return falls into one of the above types of invalid activity and is requested within the required 4-day window, it will be quickly refunded and credited back to your account.
We use a proprietary algorithm in order to distribute calls and leads. The two most important factors in that algorithm are the price you bid and the percentage of calls and leads you accept, relative to others that are competing for the same activity. We strive to have a very generous and fair return policy, but our advertisers evaluate leads and calls differently, including if and when to request a return. Factoring in the acceptance rate of calls and leads allows us to reward advertisers who better convert activity.
To the extent more calls and leads are available (which is not always the case), the potential ways to increase volume are: (i) expand your categories to include more of your services; (ii) expand your geography to include more of your service area; (iii) increase your bid to be more price competitive; and (iv) convert, rather than return, a higher percentage of the calls and leads we already send to boost your acceptance rate.
Call and lead volume varies by category, geography, and time. While the number of people in a given zip code or city searching for businesses like yours can swell one month, it can dry up the next. Like the real world need for services, volume ebbs and flows. Your share of that volume also varies based on the factors noted in the previous sections. Therefore, we cannot easily predict the volume your customized program will generate. However, this is the advantage of our PFP program: if we are unable to deliver calls or leads, then the program will not cost you anything. In addition, if we are unable to spend your initial reserve within 6 months, then you can request that we refund any remaining balance.
Based on your desired categories and service area, we will work with you to determine an appropriate sample size to test our program. We have found that 20 calls/leads is typically the minimum that makes sense. That sample size will then drive your initial reserve that will be provided as a deposit to start your program. We will only draw from your reserve when we deliver valid calls and leads from potential customers or clients.
Once we've depleted your initial reserve, you’ll receive a custom report detailing all the valid calls and leads we've delivered. You can also review your calls and leads at any time by logging into your account. We provide 4 notification prior to replenishing your reserve. If you would like to discontinue upon notification, just let us know.
It is important to understand that call and lead volume varies by category, geography, and time. While the number of people in a given zip code or city searching for businesses like yours can swell one month, it can dry up the next. Like the real world need for services, volume ebbs and flows. Your share of that volume also varies based on the factors noted in the previous sections. Therefore, we cannot easily predict the volume your customized program will generate, or how long it will take for us to spend your initial reserve. It may take days, weeks, or months. In the rare case, if we are unable to spend your initial reserve within 6 months, then you can request that we refund any remaining balance.
Absolutely not. In fact, the only investment we require is in the form of your small, initial reserve, used to start generating calls and leads. If that initial investment does not generate an acceptable return on investment, then there is no further obligation to continue.
After your initial reserve, you can cancel your account at any time. In addition, you can pause your advertising for up to 7 days out of a 30 day period if you are going on vacation or temporarily unable to accept new business.
We minimize the risk by eliminating setup fees and long-term contracts. After that, every business is unique. As we mentioned above, we could send the same 10 calls to two businesses, with one converting all ten and the other converting zero, based on their intake, timing, etc. So, while no one can completely guarantee the program will be a good fit for you, you can read all the testimonials from happy advertisers that gave us a chance.
Don’t worry – asking doesn’t hurt our feelings! We know you want to make sure your money is being entrusted with a reputable company.
For starters, we've been helping connect local businesses with new customers and clients since 2007. We’re accredited and carry an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. We work with thousands of local businesses across the country and what they say about us is more important than what we say about ourselves. Just visit our testimonials page to see what satisfied business owners are saying about eLocal.
