SEATTLE -

Judging by data analysis released today by Marchex, Inc.,  each time an employee at a dealership or service center answers the phone, he or she may have a good opportunity to turn that conversation into a sale.

Marchex, a mobile performance advertising company, found that consumers now place millions of calls to the auto industry directly through mobile ads.

And once consumers connect to a representative over the phone, 79 percent “want to buy”, the company contends.

Using Marchex Call Mining software, which scans for key words and phrases and voice tonalities, company analysts put together “a portrait of consumer behavior” and discovered the following:

•    Consumers calling auto dealers are highly motivated, asking about inventory and booking test drives.
•    Consumers who call from mobile ads tend to be younger than the general population.
•    Men call more often than women.
•    Smartphone callers tend to have higher income.

“Our findings underscore how very important it is to be available, in person, to answer the phone when calls come in,” said John Busby, vice president of the Marchex Institute, the research arm of Marchex. “The auto industry should think of these conversations as money on the table. Every voicemail can cost you.”

So, how did Marchex come to these conclusions?

Analysts aggregated anonymous data points from more than 65,000 calls placed to auto dealers, repair shops and national call centers, officials said.

The calls — driven through Marchex’s mobile advertising network — came from consumers engaging with mobile ads via mobile directories, apps, mobile banners and voice search.

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