Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Telemarketing -- Is it Still a Relevant Marketing Tactic?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by Michelle Hartley
As each year passes, the world of marketing changes and advances
even further. With these changes come new ways for small businesses
to reach their target market. As our world becomes largely
digital and companies large and small rely on social media and new
digital marketing tactics to increase their client base, are the
old trustworthy techniques like telemarketing fading out?
Research shows this simply isn't the case. At Switchfast, we
continue to utilize and find success in telemarketing, but the fact
is we are not the only ones. According to MarketingSherpa.com, a 2011 study revealed that
86% of B2B marketers are either increasing or keep their
telemarketing investments consistent. On the contrary, 39% of B2B
marketers are decreasing one of the most traditional and trusted
forms of advertising, print ads.
When you give it some thought, it actually makes sense why the
use of telemarketing is continuing to increase and the use of print
ads is decreasing. One of the main reasons is the direct contact
difference. Given time and the right pitch, telemarketing can reach
decision makers directly. Whereas with print advertising there is
no guarantee that the business's decision maker will actually read
or even see the ad.
While cold-calling generally does not lead to immediate sales,
it does present an opportunity to nurture contacts. The contact
starts out as a prospect that is nurtured into a lead and is
progessively made into a sales appointment. Telemarketing also
presents a unique opportunity for you to measure your exact ROI.
For every number you call, you can track how many prospects turn
into leads and from there, how many leads turn into sales.
There are several components to make telemarketing a successful
part of your marketing plan. It is necessary to not only evaluate
what you are saying to the potential clients, but it is important
to determine how often you should contact them, whether it is
by email or phone, who you are reaching out to, and more. Finding
the right mix of components will help maximize your potential for
telemarketing related sales.
MarketingSherpa.com also notes that the businesses who
encountered the most success with telemarketing integrated other
forms of marketing. The best-in-class-marketers reported high
satisfaction rates with telemarketing when they integrated email,
direct mail, and online content with their cold-calling. It is
important to do more than simply cold call thousands and thousands
of businesses. Like any other lead, the cold call prospect needs to
go through its own sales cycle that can often include additional
phone conversations or emails.
At Switchfast we not only have success with our own
telemarketing, we have experience with script writing,
outbound calling, and lead cultivation for other small businesses.
If you are interested in generating more leads for your business,
contact us at 773.241.3007 or TheFutureOfIT@switchfast.com.
Until next time -
Michelle Hartley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
DC IT Support &
Consulting
Outsourced Marketing Services
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