Business advice Archives

Using demand generation to create a sales pipeline

Posted on 20 May 2020 by bluedonkey

Demand generation is all about helping the different touchpoints of marketing align, to nurture and build fertile lead pipelines. These days that includes as much technology as it does human interaction. The best customer experiences are those where the online and human touchpoints blend together seamlessly.

An effective sales pipeline is important, especially for companies with consumable products or those that have a more transactional sales pattern. Such organisations are reliant on new opportunities regularly.

Inbound telemarketing

Demand generation and inbound telemarketing often work hand in hand, where one stimulates enquiries and the other services or converts them to the next stage. Having made the significant investment in technology required to find and appeal to potential buyers, organisations are then required to create the most vibrant messaging and human element possible.

Inbound telemarketing not only puts a sensitive intelligent human voice on the receiving end of the customer enquiry, its infinitely capable of adapting around the needs and preferences of individual buyers and their circumstances. The tone, manner and style of the person taking calls will be moulded around the values of each different brand to ensure everything is beautifully consistent and reflective.

ROI

Demand generation activities can also be carefully measured to manage the return on investment as the whole cycle of costs can be carefully linked to cost per sale. This means targets can be set, and metrics can be adjusted so the relevant control levers for success can be tweaked day to day if needs be. For example, certain periods or conditions may require calls to be handled later into the day, in which case resource can be carefully managed to meet demand, and accurately costed.

According to experts at New Breed having well-executed inbound marketing techniques, that have been tested and proven, is essential to the success of your overall marketing strategy. Anyone can throw ‘inbound’ in front of their strategy, but actually driving measurable results, making lasting-relationships with your clients and scaling beyond your competition takes time, dedication and a plan.

Email

Search engine optimisation and blogs are a great way to create inbound enquiries. As well as producing immediate leads, this can be mined for potential using outbound telemarketing and lead generation at some future point. At Blue Donkey whether a project is designed as a demand generation activity or part of a lead generation function, teams will routinely gather opt-in consent for email, direct dial, and future contact as appropriate.

By collecting every relevant item of information possible, different activities can support other marketing channels so not only does the client get the best bang for buck, their brand is getting the benefits of synergies between the channels to help marketing spend go further.

Converting leads

The final step in the sales pipeline is converting leads into sales. If you’ve managed the process in the right way, a sale and hopefully a relationship should come as the natural next step.

Demand generation and a well-oiled sales pipeline will help a business run more efficiently and more productively. To learn more about other powerful sales and marketing techniques, contact a member of our team today.

Choosing the right support for building leads out of lockdown

Posted on 13 May 2020 by bluedonkey

For anyone worried about taking steady steps out of lockdown, or if you’re starting the process of building leads to help grow momentum, you can do a lot worse than taking a look at your local Chamber of Commerce.

Cambridgeshire Chamber has been absolutely excellent! John Bridge OBE, Cambridgeshire Chamber’s CEO, has an uncanny knack of knowing what’s worrying local membership the most and as if by magic, something appears in the inbox to help.

Most SME’s will be thinking about how they’ll begin building leads to get off the starting blocks. However, the practicalities of dealing with the risk of Coronavirus are complex and loaded with potential risk.

We’re sharing the latest guidance below. Including a helpful summary of business owners legal obligations.

Well done Cambridgeshire Chamber and thank you!

Click here for information on the more detailed sector safe workplace guidance released by the government.

To assist, the Chamber has highlighted the following points from the guidance:

Legal obligations

The guidance is not statutory – it is described as a practical ‘framework’ for businesses to think about what is needed to continue or restart operations during the pandemic
It gives practical considerations of how this can be applied in workplaces and businesses will need to translate into specific actions depending on the nature of their business
The guidance does not supersede any legal obligations relating to health and safety, employment, or equalities. It is important that businesses and/or employers continue to comply with existing obligations, including relating to individuals with protected characteristics
The government is clear that workers should not be forced into an unsafe workplace
Businesses should share the results of their risk assessment with their workforce. If possible, they are encouraged to consider publishing the results on their website (and there is an expectation that all businesses with over 50 workers would do so).

Risk Assessments

All businesses will need to carry out an appropriate Coronavirus risk assessment in ‘consultation with unions and workers’
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has provided best practice risk assessments
Businesses will need to do everything reasonably practicable to minimise risk to workers, although it is clear that the risk of Coronavirus cannot be eliminated completely. The business will need to manage risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures
Generally, if businesses read the guidance, undertake a risk assessment and take steps to minimise risks they will have taken reasonable steps
There is a 5 point notice for display in the workplace indicating that a business has completed a risk assessment and taken steps to protect their workforce.

Enforcement

The actions the HSE can take ranges from the provision of specific advice to employers, through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements
There is a mechanism for employees to report poor practice.

In addition, to summarise what you can and can’t do, FAQ’s have also been published based on the new guidance.

Chamber Summary of Government Guidance for Business

For further help, a summary of government guidance for business can be found here.

Other essential information links on all aspects can be found at Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce Coronavirus Hub and at the British Chambers of Commerce Coronavirus Hub

How to make the right appointments using B2B telesales

Posted on 6 May 2020 by bluedonkey

Setting an appointment with the right potential clients is the first important step in b2b telesales. Not least because making the right selections at this stage could take you to next year’s game changer relationships. Giving you the chance to come face to face with potential clients, appointments help you to strengthen your business connections and secure exciting pipelines for new business.

However, for an appointment to be of any meaningful value, it needs to be of the right quality and fit your, and the potential client’s criteria. The last thing you want is for your potential client to cancel as soon as you’ve put down the phone, or for either of you to feel the meeting was a waste of time because you didn’t exploit the opportunity to gather detail when you had them on the phone. We share how below.

Pencil it in, or cement an action?

If you tell someone you want to ‘pencil in an appointment’, you’re unwittingly sending out a message that you’re not sure you can help them, and providing them an excuse to cancel. When you’re using the telephone and can’t make eye contact, it can be hard to define how well someone is listening or taking on board what you’re asking them for so b2b telesales needs to be followed up with a meeting if your product or service is of substantial value or if you’re looking for a long term relationship as opposed to a single transaction. So if the appointment isn’t set in stone, the potential client won’t feel obligated to meet the commitment. Many will actually cancel as soon as it feels even a little inconvenient. Instead of giving prospects this ‘easy out’, get them to commit to a firm time and place for the appointment.

Begin by finding out when they’re free to meet and make the appointment as convenient for them as possible. Make it clear that, as far as you’re concerned, the meeting is going ahead. This should help to prevent them from cancelling and ensure the appointment takes place.

Motivation to meet

From your point of view, a meeting is important because it gives you the opportunity to get to know their business a little better. It’s also a valuable chance to get under the prospect’s skin, boost brand awareness and increase your chances of making a sale not just in the short term, but as a valued long term business partner.

It’s really important then that the benefits for your potential client are absolutely clear. When Harrods throw open their doors on sale day, people climb over each other to purchase their products so great is their desire for a shoe sale! Think about how you can create desire, the opportunities your product or service represents to the prospect, and how you are better than the competition, who will also be using b2b telesales to compete for your buyer. If they’re not 100% sure they want to use your products or services, they may be unwilling to commit to an appointment. As salespeople, it’s our job to show them how the meeting will benefit them as well as us.

Before you pick up the phone to make an appointment setting call, try to think of a few good reasons why the potential client should commit to a meeting. For example, as publishers Biz Journals say’s “Who has greater knowledge in the solutions you offer: You or your buyers?” Make sure you think carefully about their context and what you can offer them that will make enough of a difference that they actually want to meet you. If it’s important to them, they’ll meet you because you did your job of communicating the specialness – the differentiators of your business.

Confirmation

When setting an appointment, it’s incredibly important to be clear about when and where the meeting is going to take place. Repeat the time and place at the end of the call and make sure they’ve put it in their diary. It’s also imperative to ensure you know exactly where their premises are so that you are able to find the location easily and efficiently. Check details such as parking.

I’ll be in your area ☹

Finally, b2b telesales gets a bad enough rap without professionals using limp excuses for a meeting such as “I’ll be in your area”. Surprisingly, high numbers of people still think this is an OK strategy. It’s not, it will undermine you and your brand and is highly unlikely to entice a decision maker to give you their time face to face or take you seriously in the future.

Learn more about b2b telesales and making good quality appointments by taking a look around our site, or getting in touch with a member of our team.

What every appointment setter should know about lasting first impressions

Posted on 23 April 2020 by bluedonkey

Whether your role is about managing customers or you’re employed as an appointment setter, first impressions matter. Though it may be a cliché, it’s true that you only have one chance to make a first impression. As well as getting your sales process off to a good start, a positive first impression will lay the foundation for a rewarding long term business relationship.

First impressions

Though first impressions take just seven seconds to form, their impact can be very long lasting. Come across as pushy, bored or, untrustworthy, and your brand’s reputation could be in tatters before you’ve even started your pitch. Come across as likeable, professional and knowledgeable on the other hand and your call could be on track for success from the start. Business publisher Forbes.com say you should speak slowly and clearly. When you start talking to someone for the first time, don’t worry about conveying lots of information as quickly as possible — while this may seem like a fast way to impress others, it can overwhelm them. Instead, speak slowly and clearly: It will make you seem more articulate and intelligent, and it will give your listener more time to digest what you’re saying. Speaking slowly and deliberately is also a sign of confidence, which is indispensable in making a good first impression.

And watch your posture: Keeping good posture, with your shoulders back and your head held high, makes you seem more confident and powerful to other people, strengthening your first impression. It may also increase your own feelings of confidence, giving you more power in your interactions.

These skills are as relevant to the appointment setter by phone as they are when you meet face to face, maybe even more so, since you have fewer senses with which to capture and keep the right kind of attention.

Making a good first impression

Recovering from a bad first impression can be difficult at the best of times. For the appointment setter trying to win face time, they will need to work all the harder to impress a decision maker well enough to warrant their time in a meeting. This means it’s essential for salespeople to make a good first impression if they want to hit their goals.

Though there are no hard and fast rules for making a good first impression, there are techniques you can use to start calls off on the right foot. As we’ve said before, it’s important to smile as you dial, this gives your voice a more engaging tone and puts you in a more positive frame of mind.

Another popular technique used by the successful appointment setter is positive visualisation. By thinking about a person and visualising a face an appointment setter will be able to engage with the contact on a more human level, cutting out some of the unnecessary awkwardness or formality that can sometimes happen in a cold call designed to generate appointments. At Blue Donkey we encourage our telemarketers to get excited about the product or service they’re promoting by helping them focus on its competitive benefits before they pick up the phone. This enthusiasm will come across in the call, helping to create a great first impression and successful outcomes.

Improving your technique

By continually working to improve the quality of the first impressions you and your team make, you can help your sales department to achieve its goals and create positive relationships with the companies you contact. If you need help developing your telemarketing techniques, or if you think there’s more your team could learn from us, get in touch with Blue Donkey today.

Telemarketing isn’t dead, it just smells bad

Posted on 3 March 2020 by bluedonkey

Anyone who has ever tried to recruit ‘telemarketing’ staff will know that word is pretty much bottom of the food chain these days. Due largely to the ever-increasing demands made by companies fighting hard for market share, far from being dead, telemarketing is more relevant today than ever as long as it’s used in the right way. As we’ve seen over the past decade, used inappropriately, telemarketing not only damages brands, it threatens the whole industry and makes the profession unappealing for newcomers.

Most complex businesses need an intelligent voice to communicate their differentiating factors. Mass marketing doesn’t work for these products or services, that’s pretty much anything in relationship-driven b2b marketing. This means you can’t write it down succinctly enough to keep attention, it can’t be broadcast without being a long boring ad, and you can’t create messaging that appeals to the almost unique demands of each individual buyer.

You need a human element, personality, charisma, intelligence and yes, patience, to ask questions and deliver material accordingly. Telemarketing does everything needed to get your message out there in a way that wins the hearts and minds of new customers. It’s quick to do, and cheap compared with other human methods such as face to face marketing, or trade shows. Its good stuff this telemarketing. So why the pong and what can we do about it?

Not just another water cooler

Firstly, make sure telemarketing is the right medium for you. Telemarketing companies don’t usually take any project that comes along, they make a value judgement about whether the calls will be helpful to the people selected to receive them, and whether the skills and imagination of the agency’s staff is the right fit for the project. Some products are never right, alas many telemarketing companies feel there are simply enough water coolers in this world already.

6 key benefits

Follow this format to help decide if telemarketing is a good fit. In single sentences write down 6 key features that mark your product out as special. Then add the words ‘which means’ and finish each sentence. This is simple benefit selling. If you can do that in less than 500 words, telemarketing probably isn’t right for you because it requires skilled labour which is generally more expensive than other marketing. Pick the method that gets your message out in the most effective and efficient way.

Polished dataset

Use a defined dataset. Telemarketing should never take the view “I can sell to anyone”. No one in a b2b context can sell to anyone, if you’re thinking about using telemarketing, you need to define a particular sweet spot in your potential buying universe and target them specifically. Use test calls to uncover what appeals to your target buyers in a way where you can sustainably meet their needs long term. In other words, bringing them in with massive discounts won’t be a long term solution, and frankly isn’t a skilled strategy for building a business.

Be special to someone

Taking the time to understand who your product is the best fit for will enable you to target your marketing budget in a way that gets the best return. Don’t expect your telemarketing to be like the first day of the Harrods sale! You’ll rarely get a fast or big response to your telemarketing campaign, it takes time. The rough reality is that initially you do a lot and get a little, eventually, you do a little and get a lot. People who appear at telemarketing companies saying they did it before and it didn’t work, usually suffer from unrealistic expectations about how quickly things happen in telemarketing. It’s a phone, not a magic wand.

Generic strategies

To be successful, telemarketing companies need their briefing process to include a generic strategy that’s clear and aligns with the brief being delivered. In other words, if the product on offer is capital equipment for a particular niche, then the telemarketing brief needs to be specific to that particular buyer type and niche. Obvious you might think, however, it’s not unusual to get a brief that is simply too broad to deliver because the client hasn’t quite decided on their targeting strategy.

Well known business academic Michael Porter illustrated this idea in his 1985 book ‘Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance’. He described four key strategies that an organisation can choose from. He believes that a company must choose a clear course in order to be able to beat the competition. The four strategies are Cost Leadership (cheapest), Differentiation (meets specific needs), Cost Focus (wide market appeal and low cost), Differentiation Focus (niche appeal and higher cost because it meets more specific needs)

Whatever market or strategy a company pursues it’s important to remember that business relationships take time to build. The big game-changer wins are more possible using telemarketing than another method of reaching out because human touch is powerful. However, even the best telemarketing companies can’t just throw open the doors metaphorically speaking, and find themselves run over by hungry buyers. Just doesn’t happen and any attempt to push buyers hard creates long term damage. Telemarketing like life needs to be worked at.

If you would like to find out more about how telemarketing can work for you contact Blue Donkey Intelligent Telemarketing on 01353 724 880.

The value of referrals and reviews for generating b2b leads

Posted on 24 February 2020 by bluedonkey

We all know that a personal recommendation from someone we trust is more powerful than almost any other form of advertising. Whether it’s a film, restaurant, or book, when friends endorse it, we’re likely to act. Also known as word of mouth sales, referral marketing is an effective sales tool in generating b2b leads because we instinctively trust a business that someone tells us they’ve had a positive experience with. These days reviews can work as well as referrals, in fact, a handful of 5 star Google reviews can make all the difference if you’ve shortlisted a bunch of suppliers who look similar on the face of things.

Referral selling and reviews

Referral selling is not new, it’s actually one of the oldest marketing techniques. Unsurprising, therefore, that it’s as effective for creating b2b leads as it is for consumer sales. One of the best ways to improve a company’s performance is to offer an outstanding service in a sustainable way. This means charging appropriately and having happy, engaged staff on your front line who reflect everything that’s good about your business and its objectives. This turns clients into long term advocates, who respect and champion your business leading to word of mouth referrals, as well as good reviews. According to a study by Harvard Business School, reviews have a direct impact on revenues. They go on to say ‘a one-star increase in a Yelp rating leads to a 5% to 9% increase in revenue’. Simply put – the better (and more) reviews you have, the higher your chances are for building a reputation that is trusted and has a loyal following – inevitably leading to referrals.

Selling is only one of your success measures

Although generating b2b leads that convert to sales may be the ultimate goal of marketing, moving the emphasis away from selling can actually help you to sell more in the long run. Not selling at every opportunity will help you to build trust with your customers and will show them that you’re putting their needs first. Instead of always looking for ways to make a sale, ask your customers if there’s anything that you can do for them. The more you can find out about their needs and their requirements, the easier it will be for your business to offer a relevant and high quality service.

Listening skills

Although it can seem counterintuitive, listening is an important part of the selling process, especially if you’re trying to build long term business relationships. Ask about your customer’s long-term goals and the challenges that they face in achieving those goals. When creating b2b leads try to remember important facts about the industry and the individual business and add to your knowledge bank regarding all aspects of your customers’ requirements. The more genuinely interested you are in their business and their world, the more you’ll be able to adapt your products and services to suit their requirements. The happier your customers are with your products, services and performance as a whole, the more likely they’ll be to tell others about your company.

Seek out new ways to help

One of the main benefits of listening to your customers and taking an interest in their industry is that it will give you the perfect opportunity to show how you can help. Explain to your customers exactly what you can do for them. Don’t exaggerate. Be honest about the products and services you offer. Customers are much more likely to respond well to a realistic sales pitch than to one that promises them the earth and stars. If your company offers a high-quality service, competitive prices and great products, customers are likely to refer your business to other potential clients. To find out more about how to generate b2b leads, sales or effective marketing techniques, take a look around our site today.

5 Things you should know about B2B Market Research calling

Posted on 17 February 2020 by bluedonkey

Market research companies may well be busier than ever this year, as changes in the economic and political landscape reflect on B2B buyer behaviours. It’s no great secret that uncertainty affects business. However, what happens when uncertainty starts to lift and B2B purse strings gently begin to stir? Do all our clients return to their hungry selves, or can we expect the competition to sweep in and tempt some away.

Often the folk called in to ask these questions are market research companies like Blue Donkey. Our task is to seek out buyers and delve deeply enough to understand the motivations and triggers that will keep them loyal, or have them jumping ship to the competition. Here is what we’ve learned in our 22 years at the coalface.

1. Objective

Market research companies set out with a defined plan about what they want to understand. Often a problem, opportunity, new product idea, or threat has been identified and the questionnaire will be designed to throw light on it. Research with a flimsy objective such as ‘What’s the next big thing’ (yes that happens!) will have vague outcomes at best.

2. What are you really thinking

Unwitting messages are really important. These usually appear in the tone of voice, or are implied but not explicit answers to questions. Market research companies listen carefully for cues as to what a respondent is saying beneath their answers, for example, if a respondent answers a question then add the words ‘I suppose’, market research companies may gently probe to see if there is more to the response.

3. Objectivity

Market research companies can be objective, which is why organisations will usually decide to outsource. A company’s internal team will naturally have a cognitive bias in the way they understand and report answers, and they may feel protective or defensive. Market research companies won’t feel personally affected by outcomes so will be able to keep a professional distance.

4. Market research is market research. Sales is sales

Market research companies will never ever take sales leads from market research. Your calls must be either sales, or market research. It’s unethical and frankly rude to dress your call up as market research if what you are actually looking to do is find sales leads. Responses or respondent details are not be linked to the report, they should be completely anonymous.

5. Curiosity didn’t really kill the cat

It’s important to remember that every interaction with a client or potential client is a potential opportunity to learn something new. Market research should not start and end with market research companies, it should form a part of everyone’s role. Curiosity is good for business, how often did a question that you asked a client as an afterthought lead to tangible new opportunities, upsell, or innovations?

According to one of the world’s foremost authorities on strategic marketing professor Malcolm McDonald, the first step to business success is all about understanding what customers value, and how best to deliver it.

To find out more about Market research, or to learn how we can help you to improve the quality of your research calls, take a look around our site or get in touch with a member of our team today.

Herzberg two-factor theory and Lead generation marketing

Posted on 10 February 2020 by bluedonkey

We’ve looked at how Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory can be applied to workplace motivation and sales. His thoughts on the elements that motivate workers by their presence and those that de-motivate by their absence can also be applied to lead generation marketing and can help managers of lead generation marketing activities get the best from their data.

Herzberg’s theory has broad applicability to any process or activity that involves people, so naturally, it can be applied to sales. However, by reflecting on the motivating factors and the hygiene factors he identifies in his theory, we can see how companies can motivate a customer to buy a product from their business instead of from a competitor, and how qualifiers can be used to differentiate in a noisy market.

We all want to believe we’re completely responsible for the decisions we make at home or in the workplace. However, anyone who’s interested in the workings of the human brain will know there is a myriad of subconscious factors influencing our psychology and therefore our decisions. According to brand specialists Clutch Marketing, understanding the psychology of your buyer is the secret of great marketers. They say Marketing is about persuasion, creating the impression you want to make, eliciting a specific feeling or response, and then enticing a person to take action. The keys to success are bound up in clever marketing which manages to create an alluring proposition, that stands up to competition, then surrounding it with compelling messaging that picks out its differences.

Hygiene factors in lead generation

In his motivation theory, Herzberg discusses the need for hygiene factors to be present in order to maintain entry-level consideration. They are the qualifiers, the basic must-have features. These hygiene factors are the essential things that a potential buyer will be looking for, and as markets evolve the list gets bigger, for example nowadays all mobile phones have cameras, and so all customers will expect to benefit from one.

When you translate this theory to lead generation marketing you can see that hygiene factors are essentially qualifiers – the features that buyers expect to be present in a product or service. Although the presence of these qualifiers won’t necessarily help to push decision makers into responding to your sales message, their absence will discount you from the selection process completely. Understanding these qualifiers can influence your potential buyers, and working this theory clearly into your sales messaging could help your business to improve the results of its lead generation marketing.

Motivators in lead generation marketing

Motivators are the second component of Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory. They are the extras that help motivate potential buyers to select a particular product or service above a competitor. Usually associated with benefits, these factors are designed to differentiate and position. For the purposes of B2B lead generation marketing, benefits are almost always to do with time, effort, money, or security. So again, building your messaging around the elements of your product or service that are exclusive to you, and which provide one or more of these benefits, will really help motivate buyers towards your product or service and power up your lead generation marketing.

Motivating factors include extra guarantees, the number of customer service touchpoints, endorsements, testimonials, and accreditations. In lead generation marketing, these motivating factors can be directly compared with Order Winners. The little extras help to make a product or service more compelling for the decision maker and can easily swing a deal. If marketers know how to use these Order Winners correctly, and how to combine them with qualifiers, they should be able to make their lead generation marketing more persuasive and encourage a higher number of decision makers to opt for their brand.

To find out more about sales and telemarketing techniques that really work, or to learn how we can help you to improve the quality of your sales calls, take a look around our site or get in touch with a member of our team today.

The importance of influencers in B2B telemarketing

Posted on 14 January 2020 by bluedonkey

Influencer marketing is having a big impact in B2B telemarketing and marketing generally. Understanding the important role played by influencers in business can help marketers power up their brands like never before.

The rise of influencer marketing

To some extent influencer marketing has been around for a long time. As soon as one business recommends a product or service to another business, they’re influencing decisions and acting as brand ambassadors. These days, influencer marketing is used in a much more deliberate way and on a larger scale. From recruiting selected online ‘influencers’, to designing online and offline campaigns to encourage recommendations from person to person, companies have now embraced different influencer marketing techniques.

Data

Like influencer marketing, data driven marketing has long been used by B2B telemarketing companies to identify potential customers, target campaigns and drive marketing. However, the introduction of big data is now providing organisations with an unprecedented level of information about their customers, to help feed marketing decisions and success. According to data experts Search Data Management, the ever-growing volume of internal and external data flooding into businesses, means educated data management strategies are essential. Companies use the big data accumulated in their systems to improve operations, provide better customer service, create personalised marketing campaigns based on specific customer preferences and, ultimately, increase profitability. Businesses that utilise big data hold a potential competitive advantage over those that don’t since they’re able to make faster and more informed business decisions, provided they use the data effectively.

Data & influencer marketing

Combining data driven marketing with influencer marketing will help organisations achieve better results from their campaigns. Gathering key metrics about potential and existing clients means marketers can understand their target audience better. This, in turn, enables them to mould campaigns around specific needs and wants, and ensure their marketing message is always responsive to changes in mood, so it’s on point and relevant. In B2B telemarketing having informed and relevant content is vital to the success of metrics around engagement and conversion because you only get one chance to make a strong impression on the phone. Unless telemarketers come from a position of having sound informed marketing insight and can demonstrate an understanding about why customers decide to buy from one business rather than another, their campaigns won’t be as effective. Additionally, good quality data about buying habits, customer needs, and competitive offerings, can also boost future product and service development for the demographic they’re targeting.

Multi-platform approaches

The more a business knows about its customers, the easier it is to find appropriate platforms on which to promote and raise brand awareness. Using multiple platforms in a marketing campaign can help to reinforce the message and achieve maximum exposure. For example, a business could work with relevant influencers to promote products or services and then follow up the initial influencer campaign using telemarketing. If the call list used in the telemarketing campaign is created with the help of such data, it’s likely to be relevant, accurate and productive.

Taking full advantage of all tools and techniques available can help businesses to improve the results of their marketing campaigns. Find out more about telemarketing and successful marketing techniques by taking a look around our site.

B2B telephone market research

Posted on 23 December 2019 by bluedonkey

Market research is a key component of any successful business. Understanding what clients think and need, not only helps cement lasting relationships, it informs product development, service enhancements, and the broader marketing mix. In fact, market research helps companies ensure they are making the right products for the right people.

For organisations selling to other organisations, b2b telephone market research is usually the preferred method for collecting new insights from clients and potential clients. This is because the phone offers some unique opportunities to gently probe and tease out the right kind of information to enable marketers to gain information that is reliable, valuable, and as informative as possible. However in b2b, telephone, like all other areas of telemarketing you need to be asking the right questions.

Demographic

One of the most essential things you’ll need to learn from a market research telemarketing call is whether the contact is from your selected demographic. If the business you’re talking to falls outside your target criteria, any information you garner during the call will be largely irrelevant and won’t help to inform your campaign. It also puts your product development cycles at risk of responding to the wrong demands. The list used for b2b telephone market research needs, therefore, to be carefully profiled and homogeneous – this means buyers will typically have a similar type of requirement and will fit your target group closely. Of course, it’s still important to ask the right qualifying questions to ensure the person you reach is the best person to gather views from if you want to ensure your outcomes are reliable and robust enough to shape your future marketing investments.

Demand

In some cases, the main purpose behind a telemarketing market research campaign is to understand whether there is demand for a new product or service, and the price that would make it useful or attractive to potential buyers. Your telemarketers will need to be able to explain the concept behind your product or service succinctly and clearly. They’ll also need to be able to interpret various responses in order to distinguish between polite interest and genuine enthusiasm. As all business leaders know, conducting market research during the development of a new product or service is essential, especially if you want the finished product to appeal to the right target audience.

Needs

B2b telephone market research offers telemarketers an opportunity to learn more about the people they’re speaking to. By asking insightful questions, listening to the answers and getting a conversation going, your telemarketers can get under the skin of the people they’re speaking to and get a real feel for their needs and requirements. Have your telemarketers tailor a mix of open and closed questions to find out how the products and services you offer fit in with the specific needs of the prospect. The more they can learn about the requirements of the business, that can be supported with a mix of numerical and anecdotal feedback, the more it will enrich and inform your marketing progress.

Appeal

As well as ensuring your business is meeting the current needs of your target audience, you need to know how you can improve the service you offer in the coming years. Even if you’re not planning to expand your operations in the near future, understanding where you can improve and diversify the products and services you offer will stand your business in good stead for the future.

To learn more about b2b telephone market research, or market research and telemarketing techniques, take a look around our site or get in touch with a member of our expert team.