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Monthly Archives: June 2017

Growth strategies and what they tell us

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Business growth

According to Entrepreneur.com, only half of startups survive their first five years while just a third are still around after a decade. Though there are a huge variety of factors that can have an impact on the viability and longevity of a new business, one of the things that can make or break a new venture is strategy.

A good growth strategy not only gives a company a template to work around, it also helps to focus employee energy and ensure everyone in an organisation is on the same page. Creating a workable and relevant growth strategy for your company is therefore an important part of business. So what options are there for your company and what do different strategies tell us about businesses and their goals?

Types of growth strategy

Growth strategies come in many different forms, however in general, they involve either diversification, product development, market penetration, or market development. Businesses can try to grow their customer base by broadening their product line and widening their appeal. Alternatively, they might opt to increase brand awareness by working on market penetration, or a company might invest in development in order to ensure the products they offer are at the cutting edge of what’s available. Each type of growth strategy involves a different approach, however all require a unified effort on the part of business owners and employees if they’re going to be successful.

What growth strategies tell us

The path a company chooses will depend on the type of growth they want to achieve and this can tell us a lot about their long term goals and ambitions. For example, a business that wants to appeal to a broad swathe of customers may opt to diversify its product line, increasing the variety of products and services it offers to ensure it has something for everyone. On the other hand, a company that wants to earn itself a reputation as a specialist within its industry may focus on product development in the hope that they’ll create products that offer the consumer something different.

The growth strategy a company chooses tells both its customers and its rivals the direction in which it intends to go. Analysing the different directions that competitors have taken should give business owners an idea of their long term goals and could also inform a business’ own growth strategy.

How to develop a growth strategy

Almost all growth strategies rely on customer interaction and market research in one form or another. In order to develop new products, move into new areas and boost brand awareness, businesses need to understand their market base, communicate with their customers and listen to feedback.

The most effective way to carry out this research, and keep lines of communication open, is to invest in a telemarketing campaign. A fast and reliable way of gathering important information and boosting brand awareness, telemarketing can help you to achieve your long term growth goals.

To learn more about growth strategies, or to find out how telemarketing can help your business to achieve its goals, contact a member of our team today.

Getting the most from databases

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Hard drive

As the foundation of any telemarketing campaign, databases play a crucial role in generating new business and developing existing relationships. Used well, they can offer an easy and effective way to increase business and raise a company’s profile. However, in order to get the most from databases, businesses need to know how to use them. Without an in-depth knowledge of the subtleties of the database, their unique potential may well go unfulfilled.

At Blue Donkey, we have extensive experience of working with databases. From defining criteria to identifying targets, we’re able to use our extensive skills to refine a database and ensure we get the most out of it. Keep reading to find out more.

What is a database?

A database is the bank of information you have on potential and existing customers. Often, it will include the name and phone number for each business – as well as the name of a relevant contact. Ideally, the database should also include information on the industries and specific areas each business is involved with. If companies have purchased products or services from your business in the past, this information should also be contained in the database.

Data can be collected through various means. There are companies out there who offer ready made lists, or you can put your own database together by compiling information on existing customers. You can get more information by asking potential clients to fill in relevant information when they sign up for a mailing list or special offer, or you can run a cold calling campaign to garner relevant data.

Categorise and target

A key part of using a database effectively is knowing how to categorise its contents. If you’re hoping to increase brand awareness, calling companies you already work with on a regular basis won’t do much to help you achieve your goals. However, if you have a list of businesses you know work in fields that can benefit from your products or services, but who are yet to work with you directly, you can be reasonably confident that they’ll be interested in what you have to say. By focusing on targets that have the greatest propensity to produce results, you can minimise the time and money you spend on your campaign while maximising on your results.

Defined criteria

When planning your telemarketing campaign, it’s essential you have a clear idea of what you hope to achieve. If you know exactly what you want from each call, it will help you to create defined criteria. You can then use these criteria to help refine your list and make your telemarketing campaign more effective.

Name names

Adding a little more information to your database can reap big rewards. Taking the time to find out the name of a key decision maker in one of your target organisations can make the difference between getting past the gatekeeper and getting knocked back at the first hurdle.

By building a comprehensive database, and learning how to use it, you can ensure your telemarketing campaigns are as productive and successful as possible. To find out more, contact a member of our expert team.

Meeting buyer needs

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Meeting buyer needs

Buyers are one of the most important aspects of any business. By continually working to improve the buyer experience and meet customer needs, companies can grow their market share and ensure their customer base is as loyal as possible. However, though most businesses know they need to meet buyer needs, not all are clear on exactly how they can do it. At Blue Donkey, we work hard to meet the needs of all our customers and we’re proud of the service we offer. To help ensure all of the companies we work with get the most out of their customer relationships, we’re sharing our most important insights on meeting buyer needs.

Communication

One thing that’s crucial to meeting buyer’ needs is good communication. Buyers want to know that they can speak to someone directly when they’re making an order, or when they have queries about the products or services they’re purchasing. What’s more, good communication will help to develop your relationship with your customers – give them a good impression of your company and help give your business a personality.

To ensure your company is able to communicate efficiently, your inbound call handling needs to be just as good as your outbound telemarketing. No matter if you’re getting 10, 5, 100, or even 1000 calls a day – your team needs to be able to answer them all and treat each call individually. If your company doesn’t have the resources to handle the volume of calls you receive, it may be worth investing in a third party company to manage your inbound communications.

Expertise

When buyers have a query or a complaint, they want to know that the information they receive is accurate and reliable. The better trained your staff are and the more familiar they are with the products or services you offer, the more likely it is they’ll be able to offer customers the information they need. If you don’t feel like your team are currently able to offer the standard of service you’d like, it’s well worth investing in extra training to bring them up to standard.

Know your buyers

The better you know your buyers, the more able you’ll be to meet their needs and offer them the service they really want. As far as it’s possible to do so, try to familiarise yourself with their buying process, their business requirements and their industries. If you have the time and the resources, talk to your existing customers about how you can improve your service and how you can make their lives easier. By making your company as customer focused as possible, you can help to make your company one of the most attractive and approachable around.

To learn more about developing a customer centric approach and improving your inbound communications, contact a member of the Blue Donkey team today.

Choosing the right customer segments

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Mirror segments

Even the most talented and passionate sales team in the world won’t have a lot of luck on a telemarketing campaign if they’re targeting the wrong customer segment. If you haven’t done enough market research, if your database is incomplete – or if you don’t know how to define your criteria, you could well find your telemarketing campaign doesn’t achieve its full potential.

Choose the right customer segments, on the other hand, and your campaign should see real results. Every call your team makes will have a better chance of hitting its mark and you’ll be more likely to connect with companies and individuals who have a real interest in what you’re offering.

Defining your goals

In order to ensure you choose the right customer segment, you first need to define your goals. If you know exactly what you want to achieve from your telemarketing campaign, it will be easier for you to decide exactly which demographic or segment is most relevant for your call list. Decide if you’re trying to raise brand awareness, or develop existing relationships, think about the needs of the businesses you’re contacting and make sure everyone on your team knows exactly what your goals are.

Identifying the right segment

Once you’ve defined your goals, identifying the right customer segment should be relatively easy. If you’re hoping to raise brand awareness with your telemarketing campaign, you’ll probably choose businesses that are related to your industry – but who have yet to buy directly from your company. If you want to build customer relationships, you may well want to call existing customers to find out how you can best serve their needs and if you want to appeal to a new demographic you’ll probably choose a call list weighted towards that segment.

Using databases

If your database has been carefully put together, it should be possible to refine your call list using relevant criteria. As the database will form the foundation of your telemarketing campaign, ensuring the information you’re using is up to date, well put together and correct is essential. If you don’t think your database is up to scratch, it’s well worth investing time and resources in adding to it and bringing it up to date. If you’re not sure how to make the best use of your database, we can help you to refine it and make it work for you.

If you’d like to find out more about choosing the right customer segments, or if you want to train your team on using databases effectively, we can help. Give us a call today, to speak to one of the expert members of our team – or take a look around our site.