The B2B Telemarketing Database. The database sits at the heart of any successful B2B telemarketing campaign, not to mention the general mission-critical role the company database plays in generating new business and developing existing relationships. A well-managed and maintained database can deliver impressive growth outcomes and a community of happy, satisfied clients and advocates.
In order to get the most from the B2B telemarketing database, organisations need a carefully managed set of disciplines to ensure the unique potential of each database or record is fully exploited. The team at Blue Donkey has clocked up an impressive 24 year experience of working with databases.
From identifying the best target decision makers to understanding what messages resonate with whom, we’re able to use our skills to refine a database and ensure we get the most out of it. Keep reading to find out more.
What’s a B2B Telemarketing Database?
According to tech specialists Lifewire “on the surface, a database might seem much like a spreadsheet; it has data arranged in columns and rows. But that is where the similarity ends because a database is far more powerful.”
In B2B telemarketing, the database is the comprehensive store of information you hold about potential and existing clients. Usually this will contain basic details such as company names, job titles, address details and telephone numbers for each business – as well as the name of a relevant contact.
Ideally, the database should also include information on industry and any relevant areas each business is involved with. If companies have purchased products or services from the business in the past, this information should also be contained in the database.
Data should be gathered, added and appended as part of the normal cycle of marketing activities. Therefore, when a particular company contact is spoken with, pertinent details of that dialog should be gleaned and added to the database record to form a growing body of reliable insight about the decision maker, the business and their needs and preferences.
Some database providers can offer you a ready-made list, or like most companies you can put your own database together by compiling information on prospects, and mining insight that’s specifically relevant to your sales operation.
Categorisation and targeting
A key part of using a database effectively is knowing how to categorise its contents and what headings should be managed. So an insurance broker, for example, may want to gather information on risk profile, or the number of sites, as well as existing insurer and policies held by a potential client.
Headings and fields can be built into a database to contain this information, and provide a method of quickly searching and selecting the records for targeting. Where companies know there are key sectors that can benefit from their products or services, the database offers the opportunity to group and select based on these factors.
This allows for certain messaging to be targeted at the clients and prospective clients that will find them the most attractive and who will be more interested in what they 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 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.
Names, data, insight
Adding a little more information to your database can reap big rewards. Where records don’t already hold a contact name, taking the time to find out the name of a key decision maker, any other relevant stakeholders or key influencers, or simply checking the information held is still relevant and correct can make the difference between getting past the gatekeeper and getting knocked back at the first hurdle.
Use the phonetic alphabet to ensure accuracy especially with the spelling of people’s names and avoid assumptions about the spelling of names like Steven and Stephen or Iain and Ian.
Make every dial count
In telemarketing, we spend a lot of wasted dials trying to get through to the right people, this time can be effectively used to check address and postcode information. Get the company’s website up as you’re dialing, check if there is an item of information that can be qualified with the person answering the call, and added to the database.
This could include important details that might not otherwise have emerged in your discussions, such as the number of sites. Making the best of every dial will help build your database into a powerful body of information that can support company growth for years to come.
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.
