What Is call CRO? A marketer's guide to optimizing phone conversions

By Madelyn Sullivan
1 Oct 2025

7 min read

Phone calls are one of the most valuable conversion channels for marketers. Yet many businesses still overlook how to optimize these conversations, relying only on digital conversation rate optimization (CRO) tactics that ignore what happens once a lead picks up the phone. That’s where Call CRO comes in.

What is call CRO?

Call CRO is the process of applying conversion rate optimization principles to phone calls. Instead of focusing only on clicks or form fills, call CRO analyzes what happens during conversations and how those calls convert into revenue.

It combines call tracking, outcome measurement, and AI-driven insights to show marketers:

Which campaigns and channels drive high-value calls
Why some calls convert while others fail
How to optimize messaging, targeting, and sales processes to improve performance

Why call CRO matters for marketers

For many industries, phone calls are the highest-intent touchpoint in the customer journey. A call often means someone is ready to book, buy, or discuss a high⁠-⁠value purchase. But if those calls aren’t optimized, revenue gets left on the table.

The challenge? Without visibility into call outcomes, marketers face:

Wasted budget – driving calls that don’t convert
Low ROI clarity – not knowing which campaigns influence sales
Poor alignment with sales – marketing drives leads, but sales doesn’t always convert them

Research shows that measuring marketing ROI and attribution is one of the top challenges for marketers. By focusing on Call CRO, marketers can close this gap, eliminate wasted spend, and prove their true impact.

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Marketer's guide to CRO: Insights from the experts

How call CRO works

Step 1 - Identify intent and outcomes

Tools like Smart Outcomes automatically capture the intent and outcome of every call. Was the caller looking to buy? Did the call result in a booking or a lost lead? This data is fed directly into bidding platforms, auto-optimizing campaigns in real time.

Step 2 - Spot conversion barriers

High-intent calls don’t always convert. Conversion Barriers reveals why. AI surfaces issues such as stock availability, missed objections, or trust gaps. Marketers get ranked recommendations on what to fix first, from adjusting campaigns to training sales teams.

Step 3 - Optimize campaigns and sales

Armed with this data, marketers can refine targeting, optimize landing pages, and update promotions. Sales teams can use the same insights to handle objections and improve conversion rates. Together, these actions turn insights into measurable results.

Benefits of call CRO

Marketers adopting Call CRO see clear performance improvements:

Boost conversion rates – more high-intent calls turn into revenue
Reduce CPL and CPA – fix conversion barriers that inflate acquisition costs
Maximize ROAS – ensure budget drives outcomes, not just leads
Save time – automation replaces hours of manual call listening
Improve sales-marketing alignment – shared insights improve collaboration and accountability.

Real-world examples prove the impact. Flight Centre used Infinity to track call outcomes, achieving a 30% uplift in call conversions. Pendragon saw a 64% drop in CPA once they identified and fixed conversion barriers.

Practical tips for marketers

If you’re looking to apply call CRO in your business, here are five steps to get started:

Track both intent and outcomes – knowing call volume alone isn’t enough
Use AI insights to refine messaging – update ads and landing pages based on real objections and customer needs
Train sales teams with call intelligence – help agents handle the common issues that prevent conversions
Feed data into bidding tools – let platforms auto-optimize campaigns for the outcomes that matter
Benchmark performance – measure improvements in CPL, ROAS, and conversion rates to prove impact.

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Call CRO in action: Smart Outcomes + Conversion Barriers

The combination of Smart Outcomes and Conversion Barriers gives marketers an end-to-end call CRO solution.

Smart Outcomes automatically identifies intent and outcome, then feeds that data into your bidding tools to optimize campaigns in real time
Conversion Barriers uncovers why some high-intent calls fail to convert, providing actionable recommendations

Together, they enable marketers to capture more value from every call, strengthen collaboration with sales, and confidently demonstrate ROI.