In an age where technology is becoming increasingly competitive and sophisticated, it is imperative to utilize effective telemarketing techniques to gain new customers and maintain current customers. You may be asking yourself, how can this be done? Well, it may not be as difficult as one may think. One attribute that’s necessary for any business owner or someone who’s offering products or services to the public is to have some amount of creativity to ensure you stay on top of constant changes. Let’s look at a couple of smart techniques to improve your telemarketing efforts and to increase your chances of being a successful telemarketer.
Pinpoint the right target
Research is key to the success of any business project. There is nothing that can replace effective, consistent and persistent research before you start dialing. Make sure you are calling the right market to target. This may sound like basic knowledge, but many fail to put the necessary time and effort into making sure they are contacting the right market. Your product or service may be geared to a specific audience, but oftentimes there’s an even more specific target audience within that specific audience. In other words, make sure you pinpoint an exact target group.
For example, maybe your product is a specialized bathtub for senior citizen or disabled people. Many telemarketing projects will focus on this group and stop right there when deciding on the target group. However, a smart technique is to dig a little deeper within this target group. Every senior citizen or disabled person may not meet the requirements. Some simply don’t need the product. They’re perfectly able to get in and out of the tub without any assistance. But what’s even more important is focusing on the psychological aspects.
If you contact a senior citizen who doesn’t need the product and who is proud of the fact that they don’t need such a product, you may offend that person when you call inquiring or suggesting that they would benefit from one. Your product could benefit them physically but psychologically it could be a red light. Here’s another example, if you’re offering an automated software system for accountants and it does everything for them, all they have to do is input numbers. That sounds good, doesn’t it? You’re sure the prospect would enjoy this benefit of saving time, so you should target accountants.
Then again, some accountants may be offended by the fact that a software will and can do what they’ve been trained to do, what they’ve spent years learning, and what may, to some degree, make them feel important about themselves and their skills. So the solution is to make sure you do enough research within your target group to contact and attract that special target within that target group. This will greatly enhance your telemarketing efforts and reduce time and costs.
2. Checking out the competition
When deciding if your product or service has potential, you need to focus on competition. How many others are offering a similar product? What advantages do you have over them? Is the field oversaturated? With our bathtub example, you should look at the other specialized bathtub products available and check out what they offer, the price, and the reviews of the product. What are customers saying about their overall experience using this product. If customers are unhappy with something in particular, how can you capitalize on this disadvantage?
Instead of focusing on the same product and just being competitive in the sense of general competition. Focus on what customers aren’t happy with or would like to have that the competitor’s product doesn’t have, and make this your main selling point. Perhaps, you can realign the price in a way that will make it more appealing to a certain group of prospective customers. If the specialized bathtub is fairly expensive, you can focus on different payment methods that may appeal or attract those who would love to own the bathtub but simply can’t afford one.
3. Follow up
Lastly, make sure you follow up without offering your product or service or an additional product or service. Make an effort to truly build up a relationship with your customers just because you’re interested in how they are enjoying the product or service. Now, unfortunately, there may be some telemarketers that don’t have the extra funds to address this expense, but in this advanced age of technology you can engage in an aggressive email follow-up campaign that can address this issue.
4. Invest in Internet Marketing
Although telemarketing efforts should always be your first point of contact, and your most often form of contact, business owners need to include social media marketing in their campaigns. It really is the wave of the future. Of course, you should have a website designed first and foremost. Websites and search engine optimization are almost as essential to any business as making sure your product or service reaches the right target audience, making sure you know your competition, and following up with customers that have made a purchase. Once you have your website up, then it’s time to focus on the best internet marketing strategies.
One form of internet marketing is social media. The millennial generation, which at one point, will be your biggest audience once they reach their 30s and 40s, are social media gurus. Many are on social media more than they are on their phones. And when they are on their phones, it’s either because they are texting, on social media, or are downloading apps designed by companies that are vying for their business. One of the best ways to turn a prospect into a customer is to offer a way for them to contact you immediately. This is one of the advantages of having an inbound call center or a brick and mortar store.
However, companies that have a telephone marketing campaign have advantages that can bring quick sales too, and that’s with an aggressive online or social media campaign. You can also create an app advertising your product or service, they don’t cost that much, and people can download your app and have information regarding your service or product with them all the time. Once they’re ready to purchase, they can do it automatically or contact you directly via email, text or phone.
Stay tuned for more marketing strategies. If you’re a business owner and interested in incorporating the most effective marketing strategies for your business, please contact Direct Allied Agency to apply for one of our cutting edge phone marketing campaigns.
