TRICKY REASONS WHY A TELEMARKETING CAMPAIGN CAN MASSIVELY FAIL – AND HOW TO FIX IT QUICKLY.

Implementing a Telemarketing Campaign is not always an easy process. A failed marketing campaign can set your company back financially, tarnish your reputation, and have a negative effect on your brand image. It’s easy to go wrong, make mistakes, and end up with results that are wildly different from your goals. There are however two crucial parts to any campaign which will always decide on failure or success: how well you understand your audience and how good you are at transmitting your message.

Let’s look at the most obvious mistakes that outbound campaigns encounter – and how to fix them quickly:

 

1. A Marketing Strategy…? Do I need one?

We believe a marketing strategy is far more important to small businesses than marketing tactics. It is an explanation of how you are going to reach your set goals. When you are discussing strategies for your marketing campaign, make sure you are always keeping your customers’ needs in the context of your current marketing strategy. This extends to more than just reaching the audience on the right platform. Failing to develop a marketing plan can result in budget problems, low conversion volume and, in a worst-case scenario, the closure of a business. Setting the right goals and establishing the right expectations are crucial for an outbound telemarketing program to succeed.

 

2. Anyone can use my service, really…

Think about the audience you are trying to reach. At the start of every campaign, we discuss with our customers who they are looking to target. Too often the answer is that any company can be their customer, any size, any industry. Daring to narrow this down, can be tricky, but it is absolutely essential for any marketing campaign, including telemarketing. There are at least 5.4 million registered companies in the UK, spread out over more than 200 different industries. Knowing that may help you realise that your target market really needs defining. Where does the sweet spot lie for your company? Who is your best customer, in terms of enjoying working with them, a healthy profit, great terms of the contract for both sides. The more specific and focussed your campaign is, the more successful it will be.

3. Marketing is expensive, let’s buy cheap, bulk data

Telemarketing works best when it begins with quality data. You only want to spend your time and energy on those companies that are genuinely likely to need your services. Before you even start your campaign, consider investing in a data list that has been matched to your particular profile – in terms of location, turnover, sector and so on. Not every call that gets made as part of an outbound telemarketing program will produce the desired action, but every call is an opportunity to collect valuable data. This data can be used to develop a better understanding of the market, improve strategy and make the type of adjustments that are required to turn an underperforming program into a performing program (see below). Make sure you collect all the valuable information which can turn a not so successful campaign into a better performing one.

See our previous blog for more information about telemarketing data at the link below.

https://edivert.co.uk/blog/item/the-importance-of-reliable-data-for-telemarketing

 

4. I don’t need a brief or a script, let’s wing it

Telemarketing services rely solely on the communication between two people. A consistent marketing message is therefore essential and a script allows you to include your key points that resonate particularly well with your market. Having the right materials in front of you is going to help to be organised and handle any objections effectively. Ensure you make a plan and you know the product or service you are selling. Then learn the script by heart and practice to play around with it. Every person you call will respond differently and you will need to be prepared to handle the initial objection and lead the conversation. There is no point in writing a long script that you are going to read out; this will only confuse you and your prospect. Last, but not least, it is important to make your script inspiring and get your prospect excited about the solutions that your service or product can offer them.

 

5. Let’s just push these calls out today – it’s all about volume

Doing the same thing over and over and not getting results means only one thing: that you can call the whole list and you will not get results. Try to recognise where you are going wrong and immediately try a different approach to get the desired result. Adjustments can dramatically improve campaign performance. Your message and content should speak directly to their needs and interests. Making sure the brief and script are ready from day one and ensuring that the person making the calls fully understands the brief, is one of the best ways to ensure that the campaign will be successful.

 

6. Let’s tell my telemarketer that I always convert 9 out of 10 prospects into a face-to-face appointment – that will motivate him to do well

Established businesses are aware of how hard it can be to get the attention of new prospects. Start-up and young businesses on the other hand often set themselves unrealistic goals. At eDivert we love working with new and young businesses. They are usually super-enthusiastic about what they are selling, which helps us to create an exciting script to work from. However, their expectations are often a little too high of what can be achieved and how fast results can be achieved. It’s worth knowing that not every call that gets made as part of an outbound telemarketing campaign will produce the desired action, but every call can lead to some new data or an understanding for adjustment. It is about growing a pipeline of leads to follow up with in the future, nurturing your leads and over time converting these leads into customers. Setting the right goals and establishing the right expectations are crucial if an outbound telemarketing campaign is to succeed.

 

7. My leads will call me when they are ready to buy

If your sales team is not following up, the marketing campaign efforts may not have much effect. It’s very important to maintain communication with your potential customers. Follow-ups turn leads into sales and can ultimately make or break the success of your campaign, so set up a time in your diary for second, third, fourth and even fifth calls. You don’t want to harass your leads every day, so either judge what would be a good time to call them back or even better, ask them when is a good time to call them back. Sometimes the last call brings the desired result. It is also important to follow-up after the sale is completed. A quick telephone call after your product or service has been delivered to ensure your customer is happy with the result, will help future sales. You can easily differentiate yourself from your competition by making the effort to follow-up with your prospects and customers. Don’t take it for granted that they will call you. Be proactive and contact them.

 

Even if you’ve made some mistakes, don’t worry too much! You can recover from a failed marketing campaign, you just need to take time to review the previous campaign, recognize the errors you made, and learn from the mistakes. In the future, keeping these common mistakes in mind can help your company avoid advertising failures and allow you to create marketing campaigns that produce the exciting results!

 

At eDivert, we love working on your B2B Telemarketing. Our team of delightful and talented telemarketers are fully trained to generate amazing results for your company. Need to boost your sales? Contact us today for further details on: 01628 637 900 or e-mail us on info@eDivert.co.uk.