With Lisa Whitehouse from Whispertree who provides sales support including out bound telemarketing services.
Telemarketing is one of my favourite marketing tools. I was chatting with Lisa about it the other day.
There is a perception, in this digital world, that consumers only want to interact with a touch screen. This is suited to the fast pace of consumer buying when the risk is small. In business where the risk is often larger, people still buy from people and tend to buy from people they know and trust.
Customers often seem fickle. They will do business with whoever gets in touch last. It pays to be “front of mind” – marketing speak for a business being the one a customer recalls first. You want that business to be you.
Telemarketing is useful in many ways. It’s good for gaining marketing intelligence. What do customers really want? Who is the decision maker? When will the customer be looking to buy? What other products or services are they interested in?
Telemarketing qualifies sales leads. This ultimately maximizes return on investment. Use your marketing budget to keep in touch with customers who are interested.
Telemarketing works well post marketing campaigns. It consolidates the marketing message, checks that the right message has got through and presents another valuable opportunity to communicate with your customers.
Telemarketing, like all marketing, is about building relationships. “Everyone likes to feel loved.” Customers included. Regular personal contact helps establish and maintain the relationship. Most people like talking about themselves. They like people who listen, who want to know about their business problems and can offer potential solutions.
Finally clean data is important. Again maximize the return on investment by making sure you’re calling people who are still working for a company that is still in business.