Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Marketing departments everywhere – large and small, business-to-business and business-to-consumer – are busy embracing the “omnichannel” model of combining multiple communications media into one cohesive whole. How successful they are depends on the nature of their efforts. Many companies spend a lot of time building out newer channels such as social media and mobile app. Where many companies forget to spend time and consideration is ensuring that older channels such as outbound telephone marketing are evaluated to see if they still have a place in marketing efforts. Chances are that they do.

In the business-to-consumer realm, outbound telemarketing often takes the place of robocalling. In fact, it’s estimated that about 21 percent of landline calls today are automated outbound messages, or “robocalls.” How effective those calls are is a matter to evaluate on another day. It’s live outbound marketing efforts, done in a business-to-business setting, that are still a very effective way to build leads.

In a recent blog post for the website Water Technology, Dale Filhaber of Dataman Group wrote that many water dealerships looking for new business are still finding that telemarketing works for them. If done correctly and according to the law, telemarketing can still be a profitable source of lead generation and appointment setting.

“In the world of B2B, there is no better one-on-one direct marketing approach than telemarketing to reach decision makers,” she wrote. “Not only can telemarketing deliver sales, but it is also flexible enough to help with lead generation and data gathering.”

Even if the outcome isn’t a sale, it can help b-to-b organizations keep their leads fresh and their lead management systems relevant. It can also help sales organizations better understand what their customers are looking for, and help sales personnel build relationships.

“Every call needs to be viewed as an opportunity — whether it helps provide valuable information about a prospect for future follow-up calls or for feedback to help tweak the next call for success,” wrote Filhaber.

Sales organizations engaging in outbound telemarketing must, of course, be sure they are compliant with rules and regulations, otherwise their efforts will be counter-productive (and likely costly, if the fines start racking up). It’s also critical that outbound efforts are logged, monitored and managed so sales managers can ensure that time and effort aren’t being wasted. For these reason, it’s recommended that sales organizations coordinate their outbound efforts with effective telemarketing software that can help ensure compliance and keep track of efforts to ensure that best practices are being followed.

The end results can be lucrative, even in 2015, when many people assume telemarketing is dead. While the jury’s out on the b-to-c sector, in a well-managed business-to-business sales environment, telemarketing should still have an important place of honor in an omnichannel program.