Owner guide
How to get more towing calls
Last updated
The short answer
More towing calls come from three things done well: being easy to find when someone is stranded, being easy to call in one tap, and looking trustworthy enough that they pick you over the next name on the list. Most of the gain is in fixing what you already have before you spend on anything new.
Where do towing calls actually come from?
Towing calls come from a short list of sources: a search on a phone, a map listing, a recommendation, a motor club or account you already work with, and repeat customers who saved your number. A stranded driver rarely browses. They search, look at the first few names, and call the one that looks nearest and most real.
That means your job is not to be everywhere. Your job is to be obvious in the two or three places a person with a dead battery or a flat bed of glass on the road will look first, and to answer when they call.
What should you fix before spending on marketing?
Fix the phone first. A missed call on a slow night is a tow that went to a competitor, and no ad makes up for it. Make sure the number on your website, your map listing and your truck lettering is the same number, and that someone or something picks up.
Next, look at your website on your own phone with one thumb. If the number is not a tap-to-call button near the top, or the page takes a long time to load on a weak signal, you are paying for visitors and losing them.
- One phone number, everywhere, answered or returned quickly.
- Tap-to-call on every page.
- A plain list of what you tow and where you go.
- Real photos of your trucks and your team, not stock images.
How do you make a stranded driver choose you?
People choose the company that looks close, looks real and looks like it will answer. Reviews, photos of actual trucks, the towns you name, and a clear statement of what you do all add up to that look.
Be specific. A page that says you handle wheel-lift tows, flatbed loads, lockouts and winch-outs in the towns you actually serve is more useful to a scared person than a page that says you do everything everywhere.
How do you know which effort is working?
Ask every caller how they found you and write it down. It feels old-fashioned, and it is the cheapest marketing report you will ever get. After a month you will see whether the map listing, the website, word of mouth or a motor club is filling your board.
TowSitePros records the source of every job, whether it came from the website, the phone, a motor club, a fleet account or a walk-in, so the answer is in your reports instead of on a sticky note. It does not try to track phone calls back to ads, so keep asking the question on the phone.
Step by step
Answer or return every call
Decide who picks up when you are on a job. If nobody can, set a plan to call back missed numbers quickly, because a stranded driver will call the next company while you are still on the roadside.
Make your number one tap away
Put a tap-to-call button at the top of every page of your website and use the same number on your map listing and your trucks.
List the services you really run
Write each service on its own line or page: wheel-lift towing, flatbed hauls, lockouts, jump starts, winch-outs. Leave off what you do not do.
Name the towns you cover
People search by place. List the towns and neighborhoods you actually reach so a caller knows you can get to them.
Set up and keep your Google Business Profile
Fill in your categories, service area, hours, photos and website, then keep them current as things change.
Ask every customer for a review
Ask at the end of every job while the help is fresh, and reply to every review you get.
Ask how they found you, and write it down
Log the answer against each job for a month, then put your time into the sources that fill your board.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to run ads to get more towing calls?
Not necessarily. Many small towing companies get steady calls from a clear website, a well-kept map listing and good reviews. Ads can help, but only once the phone is answered and the website turns a visit into a call.
Should I be on every directory and listing site?
Focus on quality over count. Start with your Google Business Profile and your own website, and keep your name, address and phone number identical anywhere else you appear. A few accurate listings beat many outdated ones.
How fast should I return a missed call?
As fast as you safely can. A person on the shoulder of a road is calling several companies, and the first one to answer usually gets the job. If you cannot pick up, a quick call back is better than silence.
Is more calls the same as more profit?
No. Calls you cannot serve, or that sit far outside your service area, cost you time. Say clearly where you go and what you tow so the calls you get are the calls you want.
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