Do Phone Calls or Online Forms Convert Better for Subscription Sales?

Every subscription site should list a phone number which prospects and members can call to get their questions answered. But is it better to

Every subscription site should list a phone number which prospects and members can call to get their questions answered.But is it better to focus on phone calls or online form fills as your main conversion tactic?The answer depends on your type of content and conversion funnel.Just looking at the data, phone calls (whether incoming or outgoing) definitely lead to more immediate sales. In fact, up to 35% of calls lead to a sale for some online businesses, versus conversion rates in the 2%-5% range for online forms, according to Jason Wells of Log My Calls and Tim Ash of Site Tuners, who spoke on the topic yesterday during a Webinar.But phone calls are far more expensive. So, with bigger revenues come bigger costs. And form fills tend to generate more volume of leads since they’re a low barrier to entry.Ash and Wells summed up which conversion tool works best for which sorts of businesses:

Phone calls are better for local businesses, B2B markets, and vertical markets. They’re especially good when you’re using a live demo as a conversion tool.
Online forms are better for eCommerce, lower priced items and retail.

So where does this leave subscription content sites? Well, B2C sites with subscription prices in the double digits should focus on high-volume leads through online forms and trial offers.On the other hand, B2B sites (especially directories and databases with high subscription prices) should always offer a phone number. In fact, you can even create a two-panel conversion page, where one side offers a phone number to call and the other has a form to fill. (See example below.)

One caveat: if most of your traffic is through mobile devices (not tablets), then a phone number embedded with click-to-call technology is best since it’s easier for a mobile prospect to call than fill in a form. And use a button — not just text — to display the phone number since prospects will be using their fingers. Lastly, make sure to create an interim step where prospects have to confirm the call since many click-to-calls are accidentally triggered.