2009 - the year of the telemarketer

How can you communicate a personalised message to the key decision maker of your exact target segment and truly know if the marketing message got through all of the gatekeepers, was heard above the other marketing noise and had any impact whatsoever? A marketing channel that can achieve this is a dream come true for marketers - which is why I don’t understand why telemarketing is so underrated.

Too many businesses push their telemarketing departments to operate a spray and pray philosophy and in the current climate more and more organisations are putting pressure on telemarketing teams for higher call volumes and increased activity. This is a very reactive approach and, although higher call volumes often do contribute to increased leads, this will work only through luck rather than planning if not combined with profiling and an understanding of the business needs of your prospects.

A few tips to make B2B telemarketing more effective

Review your customer base
How well do you know your own strengths and weaknesses? Highlight which sectors you are well established in. Draw case studies, customer testimonials and even reference visits for prospects from these sectors. It is here you have a position of authority and can be seen as an expert in your field.

Learn the benefits
If prompted could each telemarketer list 5-10 business benefits of your products or services with current real life examples demonstrating each benefit? Many people list functionality – it can do this, we offer that etc. Those with the best response rates list benefits – its saves our customers an average of 5 hours admin time per day, we improved response rates by 30% in the first 2 months, Would you like to receive our case study on xyz (preferably in their sector – even better if it is one of their competitors) highlighting what they did to achieve this?

Share the bigger picture
No one should work in isolation to the wider business. Do your telemarketers understand their impact on the success or failure of the company business plan? They are often at the forefront of a company’s lead generation campaign and are the first and lasting impression to the marketplace of your organisation. Instilling a sense of responsibility will help the telemarketing department feel their true worth and that their contribution is being valued by the business.

Reward the right kind of success
Make sure your team is being rewarded for the right kind of success. Which leads are most likely to close, are of more value to the company and are likely to generate the most revenue? Surely the focus should be on chasing more of these and less of any other. Adjust your reward / commission structure to reflect the type or leads you wish to generate (i.e what is the company profile of your ideal prospect? Can you offer more incentives the closer the telemarketer can get to this?)


Telemarketing is an art form and should not be underrated. The skill of engaging with a business decision maker in a few brief moments or over the space of a few calls is a difficult one to develop. Value you telemarketers as they are the voice of your brand, your business and you. It is them that your potential customer base is listening to.

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Reasons companies should not slash marketing budgets in 2009

Reasons companies should not slash marketing budgets in 2009


1. Perception is everything. Once the market alters its perception of you, your company, your brand it can be very difficult to get back to the original state. Suddenly cut back on attending exhibitions, running regular print ads, halting all campaigns or regular marketing activities and customers and prospects will ask why, and competitors will exploit the doubt this creates.

2. It is not marketing spend it is marketing investment. You wouldn’t halt all product development and decide to stop innovating and just agree to offer the same old product or service with no further improvements until the economy is in boom again would you? This mentality would allow every other competitor to gain more and more competitive advantage over you and when the economy recovered you would be left miles behind. It should be the same with marketing. This is your chance to increase your share of voice while others are losing theirs, your chance to gain exposure while others are losing it, and when the outlook improves you will be in the strongest position of all. (Think PG tips in the last recession – they kept investing and increased market share, Tetley and Typhoo didn’t and lost out in)

3. Pipeline. Consistently feeding the B2B sales pipeline is more important than ever. As companies get nervous about any spend or investment sales will need more leads entering the sales funnel, any drop in leads generated will impact at a time when organizations require more leads not less to hit target. Don’t reduce marketing spend now or reduction in subsequent leads could rapidly impact the bottom line.

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Reasons companies should slash marketing budgets in 2009

Reasons companies should slash marketing budgets in 2009


1. Spend smarter. If you believe the 80/20 rule then a lot (not all) of companies are wasting marketing budget by not targeting the 20% of the prospect base that hold true potential. Hand on heart how many marketers can say we know who our real high value segments are and who they are likely to be over the coming 12 months? Many could spend less money but through smarter targeting generate more response.

2. Bring out the creativity. It is when people are in situations outside of their comfort zone that they often flourish (or perish). Smaller budgets demand greater creativity. Marketing a new service on a million pound budget allows lavish communication plans and multiple activities on a grand scale, but would this really generate more interest and exposure than an ingenious viral campaign that really gets people talking about you? Start thinking outside the box rather than relying on ‘it worked in 2007 and kind of worked in 2008 so we might as well do it in 2009 as well’ planning.

3. More than one way to skin a cat. There are ways to reduce spend and maintain effectiveness - move from TV to radio, from print to online. Find a way to reach the same audience in a new, cheaper way. Buy the same but spend less by bulk ordering or offering longer commitments – as many companies are in the same boat there are many discounts and long term deals to be done.

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Business Darwinism - Survival of the fittest

I read an article recently about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and why some species survive and others perish.

According to Darwin 'fittest' does not always mean strongest or biggest. In the business world it doesn't mean richest, oldest or most established either. In recent years business has boomed and although sales and profits have been at record highs so many companies failed to acknowledge it was could never continue indefinitely and the slowdown was always going to come - it was just a matter of how soon and the speed that has taken many of us by surprise.

As changing environmental factors threaten many industries today, how can looking back to the natural world help us to ensure we survive the economic natural selection and maintain our market share, our service levels and our even our jobs?

Natures natural selection occurs when;

- Living things produce more offspring than the finite resources available to them can support.
Thus living things face a constant struggle for existence.

Before the crunch when everyone was spending and borrowing there were enough resources (customers and their budgets) to go around and keep us all fed. The current downturn has bought to the attention of many that, with diminishing resources (consumer credit), the food chain has been hit and the casualties have started. The struggle facing those who remain is to battle for the remaining resources (budgets, contracts, goodwill etc) in order to survive and eventually flourish.

- The individuals in a population vary in their phenotypes. Those variants best adapted to the conditions of their life are most likely to survive and reproduce themselves

Differentiation and adaptability become key. The ability to understand what has changed in your environment and what the real implications are for your business will help you move your organisation towards making the changes necessary for survival. If, more importantly, you can understand the real implications for your customers business you will be able to adapt your working practices to meet their changing needs and stand out from the competition.

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Recession proof marketing ???

Everybody would like to be in a recession proof job at the moment and unfortunately marketing is not one of them. In the current climate the marketing budget is on shaky ground and looking around I’ve seen more than one marketing department offered up as a credit crunch sacrifice.
So if retraining as a plumber or nurse isn’t for you (although with over 30,000 unfilled plumbing vacancies in the UK and many advertised with salaries in excess of £40,000 plumbing may be looking quite appealing to some) what can marketers learn from supposed ‘recession proof’ jobs to help make our own position more secure?

Make marketing indispensible
Just like in the real world where we will always need firemen, ambulance drivers and vets, in the B2B world businesses will always need more leads and opportunities. Unfortunately people often don’t realise how much they rely on a service until it is gone – obviously most marketers would like the organisation to have this realisation before cutting back on marketing budgets or headcount but how? Although us marketing types all believe we are an indispensible function getting other departments and senior management to share this view is key. Being seen to be flexible is being seen to be helpful.

Blow your own trumpet
What makes a successful plumber? The leaks they fix don’t start leaking again and people talk about how well the job was done. No-one likes a show off but likewise no-one can give you credit for your work if they don’t know its’ due. Marketing successes often aren’t as tangible as saving the ground floor of the building from flooding but are often still worth celebrating. Start sharing your marketing successes, tell people when something works and why you’re proud of it and start celebrating achievements.

Be half full
Most people would agree that today isn’t the easiest of times to be doing business. Ignoring the world economic condition isn’t going to make it go away and stop bothering you, disliking the sometimes necessary changes that may be taking place closer to home won’t stop them from happening and being negative and reactive as a department won’t help make marketing recession proof - it will only serve to damage the perception of you and your team.

Being positive, having a great attitude and being proactive in looking for solutions rather than problems will impact elsewhere. To market well when the world and his wife are looking to purchase your products or services is one thing but to find a way to market equally as well and with as many positive results in a downturn sets you apart from the marketing masses. Treat your current glass as being half full and see the current climate as your opportunity to shine.

Plan B
In boom times and in downturns it is never a bad thing to have a plan B. Start networking, keep an eye on the opportunities and changes occurring in your space and be prepared. Keeping your skills and qualifications up to date makes you’re a valuable employee but in a worst case scenario it also makes you more employable. Volunteering for new projects and initiatives will not only put marketing in a positive light but it will also help develop the skills and experiences of your team.

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Marketing in a credit crunch

After a long time of being told that, as a B2B marketer my role is lead generation, lead generation, lead generation and if I have any time left a bit of branding, it was interesting to hear about a new push for educational marketing.

In a time of all marketing camapigns being focussed around the credit crunch, surviving the downturn and how to get through the economic doom and gloom it is refreshing to hear that some companies are still looking at value adds for the customer rather than trying to undercut / discount / offer BOGOF deals.

So how can a B2B company start up a programme of educational marketing?
And how will this benefit the bottom line?

• Become the expert you say you are

Do you really know as much as you think you do? Proclaiming yourself or your company as an expert in a particular field is all well and good but make sure you know your stuff. For example, as a professional services marketing expert you will be red faced if you can't answer questions on the recent Legal Services Bill.

• Offer you knowledge and expertise FOC

Obviously not unconditionally, but offering small tasters of help, advice and expertise to your potential marketplace is an incredibly strong way to build reputation. This can be done through events, speaker opportunities at industry events, industry or company newsletters or via your website or blog. This builds reputation, goodwill (when the advice is useful) and keeps your name in the mind of your key decision makers.

In summary this is a realtively low cost way to build reputation and increase your share of voice in the market place. And in the current market being remembered for your expertise rather than for short term give aways and promotional campaigns can only be a good thing.

Any way to differentiate from the crowd = competitive advantage

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