Analyzing Your Calls: Key Metrics to Look for in Call Tracking

Keeping track of the inquiries that come into your practice is an important step in assessing the performance of your marketing efforts. When you have the data and review it often, you can see if your marketing efforts are working and make any adjustments based on the data. This way you are not wasting finances and resources on marketing that isn't yielding results.

In order to get the most out of your call-tracking data, it is important to identify what you need to know, so that you can use it to measure the success of your marketing. What do these calls, or methods of clients reaching out, all have in common? What information and insight can you get from this? How do you go about gathering this data?

Make Sure You are Tracking the Inquiries that are Coming into Your Practice

To gather any information or see if you are yielding any results, you need to know how many calls you are getting. You also need to know how they are hearing about you, and how the calls are turning out. This is where I encourage you to create a spreadsheet or a tracking form.

You can do this in your Google Drive, but if you choose another way, that's okay. You really just need some way to go back and monitor all the information you gather from your calls. For example, I have had people tell me that they use their EHR to track this. And yes you can do that, but that's really only going to track the outcome for people who actually schedule. Not for the other calls. When you really need to know about all the calls and how they went.

What Should You be Tracking?

Now that you know what purpose call-tracking can serve, it is important to understand what metrics you should be looking out for in order to get the most insight into your practice. Here are some key call-tracking metrics you should focus on:

Number of calls received
When did they reach out (date and time)
How did they reach out (ex. Call, email, website, or online)
Reason for the call (ex. specific services requested, appointment scheduling, general inquiries)
Caller Information (ex. Name, relationship to the patient, phone number, email address)
Outcome of the call (ex. appointment scheduled, not scheduled)

However, before you get too into the details, ask how they heard about you. You don't want to get to the end of the call or interaction and not know if your marketing is working. You want to know how people heard about you. So make sure you have that question at the top of your form, especially if you are on the phone with somebody before they get into the details of their situation. Then when you are finding out their reason for the counseling, consider having a place where you can create a snippet where you can write it out or they can click the box where they heard about counseling.

How This is Beneficial When Clients Don't Schedule

In whatever way you do it, have a space where your assistant can do a little write-up about the client and why they are coming in. This is really effective when clients don't schedule because you have a record of their call. This can be beneficial in the case of if you ever have to file a report on them, like a DFACS report or some kind of abuse report, then you've got a place where it's been documented.

This is why I love Google forms. It is HIPPA compliant and we use Google Forms to track all of our calls. You would be amazed how often callers call back months later. When this happens, we can go in, search, and find that person's name.Then we can see the call that happened before and what the outcome was.

Why are Snippets so Important?

The great thing about writing a little snippet in the form is after we fill out the tracking form, the assistant can send that to me so I can see what happened and the counselor that is going to take that intake. The counselor will then have an explanation of what's going on before they see that client. So, after you have tracked down the snippet that you're gonna get about why the client is coming in, you'll have a drop-down of reasons why they're coming in, and the outcome of the calls.

So did they schedule previously? If so, who did they schedule with? If not, why didn't they schedule? Is it maybe a service you don't have? You want to make sure that you track all of this information. For example, you could review the calls and realize, “Hey, we are turning people away because we don't have a substance abuse counselor!” Then you will know moving forward that is something that you want to offer in your practice.

Using These Tracking Methods

Now you have a lot of ways that you can use these tracking methods. So, once you have the spreadsheet or tracking form made, then it's time to start using these methods. I know some people have their assistant create a spreadsheet once a week and meet with the boss where they review all the calls from the past week and what happened to make sure the boss knows what's going on.

Or if you're using a tracking form, you can have your assistant complete the form while on the call with a client and then send it to you. What's really great about the Google tracking forms is not only the HIPPA compliance but also there's a spreadsheet that you can click on then it creates a spreadsheet version, the little green box.

Or if You Scroll Down on Responses, it Gives You Pie Graphs.

I really like the pie graphs so that I can answer questions like “Okay, how many clients we are getting through Google?" in a really quick percentage way. For instance, I know that our business typically gets 60% of our clients through Google. So I can look at that and see if that number sits about the same. Or I can go to the bottom and quickly see how many percentages of clients are scheduled with each clinician, the total number that is scheduled with us, and the total that didn't schedule. This way, I know if we are dropping below 60%, then I know there is an issue if they are not converting.

Make sure that you have a way that you are tracking your calls, and that you're in communication with your assistant about what that's going to look like. Making sure that you're monitoring that, I would say at least every week is also beneficial as well. It could be more than that, it could be less. It just depends on how many calls you're getting into your practice.

Now, you'll find that within our membership community, there is a sample Google form in Teachable if you want to check that out. You can make a copy of it and edit it for your practice's needs. I have found that people have found this very helpful. So make sure that you find some kind of method that you're tracking these calls and that you're knowing what is on with these calls coming into your practice.

Interested in Making Sure You Are on Track?

Implementing ways to track your calls coming into your practice can support your insight into what is going on and why.It allows you to see if your practice's marketing efforts are reaching clients or if some adjustments to be made. At Whitney Owens Consulting, I offer guidance and support when it comes to setting up new tracking methods for your practice. I will also support you in creating an environment where you can grow your practice and know what the data says is going on. Reach out today to get started on the path to a successful practice! Ready to grow?

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Other Personalized Business Coaching Services at Whitney Owens Counseling

Implementing new methods into your practice can be overwhelming, especially if you are unsure of what is the best route to take. This is why I offer a range of personalized business coaching services to help you make a plan, execute it and track the results. I offer 3-month and 6-month business consulting packages, Enneagram Training, and a Wise Practice Community Membership. Implement tracking methods for your practice today and reach out to Whitney Owens Consulting if you need help getting started! Get in touch today to learn more.