Telemarketing is in a unique position to interact directly with buyers. It’s something a web site can’t do. This gives telemarketers the opportunity to respond to specific issues and to learn more about the problems that buyers face.
Are B2B telemarketers capitalizing on this opportunity?
Marketing Sherpa this week summarizes the results of a recent survey on the tactics that B2B marketers are using to improve their telemarketing.
The insights they highlight are:
- Marketers see growing importance for telemarketing
- More marketers are using telemarketing for lead nurturing and data hygiene campaigns
- Appointment-setting campaigns increase as marketers focus on generating revenue
- Multichannel integration is essential for satisfactory telemarketing results
- Agent training and product/market alignment are critical factors for telemarketing campaigns
It’s hard to argue with these insights – more marketers using telemarketing, a focus on revenue in tight recessionary times, integration with other marketing activities, emphasis on training and alignment with the market.
But do they go far enough? Are they getting full value from their activities?
Marketers could get much more out of their telemarketing, and in the process create more value for their buyers. Here’s how:
Customer’s journey
Buyers have different questions and problems at the various stages of their journey. By asking questions, telemarketers can quickly identify the issues the buyer is concerned about and suggest ways to help.
As the company learns more about the particular journey their buyers’ take, it will become easier to recognize what stage they are at and how to create value for the buyer at that stage. It will also be easier to know when to bring in a sale person for more direct and interactive conversations about becoming a customer.
Opportunity for learning
Telemarketers can use the feedback from their calls to learn more about the customer. This could take a variety of forms, from general knowledge to more specific. For example, instead of using the recession as an excuse to force the buyer to accelerate their buying process, use it as an opportunity to ask recession-related questions about the problems they are experiencing. Then use this information to find ways to create additional value for your buyers.
This is more of a service-oriented approach. The telemarketer is communicating to the buyer “I’m here to do what I can to help you solve problems in relation to our expertise. We hope you’ll become a customer some day, but we realize you have questions that need to be answered first. What can I do to help answer your questions?
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