Businesses throughout the marketing industry often face the same issues – they’re great at what they do, but often do not have the time or resources to replicate their client’s success within their own business. Given this, as a marketing agency, how do you focus on generating high-quality leads whilst simultaneously producing high-quality work for your clients?
In this blog, we’re looking at how telemarketing works for the marketing industry allowing you to build a prospecting engine that not only keeps you ahead of the competition but wins you new clients that may not have found you in the first place. Telemarketing has stood the test of time, and marketing agencies are seeing the benefit of this tried and tested method of lead generation.
Executing telemarketing campaigns in-house can be demanding, time-consuming, and resource intensive. So how do you leverage telemarketing as a marketing agency, and the all-important question to ask is; Does telemarketing work in the marketing industry?
Spoiler alert: It does!
What is Telemarketing?
If your business falls within the creative industry, there’s no doubt that you will already have an idea of what telemarketing is, so we won’t spend pages and pages going in-depth with an explanation. Although, if you’re new to the industry or just starting out, Investopedia defines telemarketing as the direct marketing of goods or services to potential customers over the telephone.
Telemarketing is an excellent outbound method of lead generation that really has stood the test of time. However, much like all areas of marketing, telemarketing has evolved significantly since the first call. It’s no longer a numbers game. It is all about producing high-quality leads that have a genuine interest in your service. This is achieved by extensive research of the market, preparation, and utilising modern techniques like email marketing platforms and CRM systems.
Why Your Marketing Agency Should Utilise Telemarketing
91% of marketers cite lead generation as their most important marketing objective. However, only 50% of marketers use the telephone as a conversion tool.
Is it because the focus has shifted to digital methods of lead generation, or is it because people think cold calling is dead?
You cannot blame people for the shift in attitudes. The question we need to answer is not whether telemarketing is dead, but rather, how has telemarketing evolved to continue to be an effective lead generation method in the modern world?
To answer this question, we need to have a mini history lesson on the origins of telemarketing to demonstrate how it has modernised throughout the decades.
A Brief Insight Into the History of Telemarketing
- DialAmerica was the first telemarketing firm as we know it, making the first call back in 1957.
- In the 1980s, businesses spent more of their budgets on telemarketing as opposed to direct mail for the first time.
- It was during this time that the quantity of leads was promoted over the quality.
- Telemarketers would used automatic diallers to call as many prospects as possible, regardless of their need or interest in investing.
How Has Telemarketing Changed?
Fast forward to the modern day, telemarketing is still an incredibly effective B2B lead generation tool, with 57% of C-Suite executives valuing information from phone calls with sales reps.
Attitudes have now shifted to focus on the quality of the lead as opposed to the quantity. A lot of this is attributed to the rise of digital marketing, in particular the analytics tools available and skills such as social listening. Marketing agencies can understand more about their customers than ever before.
How You Can Harness The Power of Telemarketing
For many marketing agencies, you’re so focused on generating leads for your clients, you tend to move your own lead generation strategy to the backseat. Despite this, you still need to prioritise your marketing efforts and lead generation. After all, lead generation is the key to driving sales and setting yourself apart from your competitors.
Intelligent telemarketing services enable you to build a more comprehensive database of prospective customers who you know will be interested in your services. Intelligent telemarketers can utilise this data and engage with Senior Decision Makers at just the right time. Harnessing the power of telemarketing in combination with your inbound marketing efforts provides the opportunity to build an extensive pipeline of prospective clients that your team may have otherwise missed, simply due to timing.
Telemarketing brings a wealth of benefits to the table, allowing your marketing agency to tap into a dedicated team of professionals well-versed in the art of conversation and conversion. By utilising these expertise, your agency can unlock a steady stream of outbound leads.
Telemarketers are equipped with an in-depth understanding of sales psychology, lead qualification, and objection handling. These experts are specialists at nurturing leads throughout the sales funnel, resulting in higher conversion rates and increased return on investment.
How B2B Telemarketing Can be Used So Much More than Lead Generation
Build Instant Connections with Prospects
In a world full of consumerism, the modern buyer values customer service and how they’re respected, regardless of whether they are B2B or B2C. Aside from lead generation, telemarketing offers the opportunity for your marketing agency to connect with your prospects on a deeper level as opposed to your competitors. Telemarketers are well-versed in the art of phraseology and therefore, your agency will build an immediate rapport with your customers. Regardless of your prospect’s purchasing situation, they will value you taking the time to connect with them. Chances are, if the prospect is nurtured, when it’s time for them to review their solution your marketing agency will be at the forefront of their mind.
Deeper Insight into Campaign Performance
Telemarketing provides access to cutting-edge technology and advanced analytics tools that can boost your lead generation efforts.
Telemarketing agencies have access to a diverse pool of highly-qualified data containing vital details about senior decision makers. If your marketing agency already has an existing database, telemarketers have the ability to build upon, cleanse and enhance your data by leveraging a mixture of telephone and desk-based research. Culminating a ready-to-use database for your marketing agency to proactively prospect to.
These tools not only streamline the process but also offer valuable insights into campaign performance, allowing you to fine-tune your marketing strategies for top results. Whilst telemarketers are connecting with prospects, they possess the ability to obtain important information about the customer such as:
- Location
- Occupation
- Company turnover
- Company size
- Contract situation
- Who is their current provider
- Renewal dates
With access to this insight, your marketing agency can gauge what is working well on your service, what your competitors are offering that your service might not be, and overall insight into whether prospects are receptive to your business. Not only that, but it also enables you to understand what makes your prospects tick and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.
Flexibility and Scalability
Beyond the immediate advantages, telemarketing allows your agency to achieve scalability and flexibility. You can reach prospects from a great distance. If your marketing agency is wanting to broaden your horizons but doesn’t want the cost implications of doing so, telemarketing enables you to conduct market research into new territories at just a fraction of the cost.
Telemarketing also provides you with flexibility dependent on which direction you’re taking the agency at any given time. Say your marketing agency is launching a new service, such as SEO-driven content or social listening. You can launch a new campaign, run multiple campaigns to different audiences at any given time, or only run campaigns as and when needed.
As your client base expands or contracts, you can easily adjust the scale of your telemarketing efforts, ensuring a seamless and cost-effective lead generation process that aligns with your marketing agency’s goals.
You may be reading this article thinking ‘How on earth will I have the time to train or employ an in-house team of telemarketers when my staff are already at capacity?’
This is where outsourcing comes in. We know, outsourcing services as a marketing agency that provides outsourced services. Talk about outsourcing inception!
Ultimately, as a marketing agency, nothing will replace your core activity, and that is because you are experts in your field! Although, telemarketing can add value to your existing efforts due to the nature of the service and the flexibility that outsourcing telemarketing can provide you.
In conclusion, outsourced telemarketing presents an exciting opportunity for marketing agencies to generate a consistent stream of outbound leads while maximising their resources. By partnering with a professional telemarketing firm, you can tap into specialised expertise, leverage advanced technology, and achieve scalability, all of which contribute to a more efficient and effective lead generation process. So, why limit your marketing agency’s growth potential? Embrace the power of outsourcing and elevate your lead generation game to new heights.
If you would like to find out more about how The Lead Gen Specialists can revolutionise your lead generation strategy, get in touch today by calling 03332 400 054 or emailing enquiries@leadgenspecialists.co.uk
