Everything you need to know about Telemarketing

In this article we will discuss everything you need to know about telemarketing. We will start with what it is and what inbound tele marketing is and the differences. We will then move onto why your business needs telemarketing and how it can help in lots of areas. Finally we will cover the costs. So, lets jump into it.

What is Telemarketing?

Telemarketing is the best form of direct marketing there is. Operators use the telephone to call prospective customers from a specified database. This is also known as outbound tele marketing. In general their are two types of telemarketing agency.

The first kind of agency is a call center. These agencies are filled with hundreds of operators, that can make thousands of calls per hour. They are perfect for companies that need to get their message out to a very large number of people quickly. Call center operators will use scripts and flow charts during calls. This is due to the large number of call needed to be completed in a short amount of time.

The second kind of agency is the boutique agency. These agencies are made up of a hand full of operators that specialise in understanding  your business, products and services. This means that they can have one to one conversations with prospective customers and find our exactly what is needed and match it to your product/service.

Examples of telemarketing:

• Lead Generation – booking valid appointments for your sales team when there is a valid need. To find our more read Get More Clients With Tele-Marketing
• Following Leads – following up on event leads, social media competitions, mail outs and more.
• Reconnecting with old customers – cleaning old databases and re-introducing your products and services.
• Cross selling – introducing other products and services to existing clients.
• New product launches – to existing clients.
• Online demos – offering online demonstrations to prospective customers.
• Research – researching what will work and what wont.
• Customer care – checking that all your customers are happy with your services. To find out more about this specifically click here.
• Data building and cleaning – Collecting data and updating records.
• Soft lead generation – aka cold calling.
• Mystery shopping – checking your customer experience.

What is Inbound Telemarketing?

Inbound telemarketing is when a agency receives telephone calls on behalf of a client. This can be for services such as virtual receptionist, booking line and much more.

Examples of inbound telemarketing:

• Switchboard and Reception service – directing calls or taking messages if unavailable.
• Overflow and Out of hours – when you’re just too busy or not there.
• Customer service – complete customer service solutions such as tracking packages and handling complaints.
• Diary management and appointment booking – Very useful for dentists and garages.
• Help desk – providing help to your customers.
• E-commerce order service – letting your e-commerce customers talk to a real person can really help strengthen your brand.
• Direct response marketing – incoming calls from advertising.
• Inquiry handling – inquiries from existing and new customers.

Why Your business needs Telemarketing?

Telemarketing has lots of uses and can be applied to your business in several ways. Here is a small case study to show you how telemarketing can help every business.

The Independent Optician Case Study

For this case study we will look at an independent optician. They have some repeat business and send all their clients a Christmas card each year. The independent optician is starting to worry because the big chains are starting to take their customers. They want to keep their business growing and hope to open a second practice.

How tele marketing can help in six ways

• Firstly, the agency can reconnect with all old customers and re-introduce them to the optician with a come back offer and book them in. At the same time gathering information about when their next eye test is due. This not only increases return customers but also gathers information.
• Secondly, the agency can set up a reminder service to call the clients before their eye test is due and ask if they want to book in. This provides a higher level of customer service than the large chains, it improve the repeat purchasing rates as well as client retention.
• Thirdly, the agency would set up a diary management inbound line. This allows customers to call and book or make changes to their appointments. This frees time up inside the Practice.
• Fourthly, the agency would recommend an advertising campaign. Both in print and online that includes a contact phone number. This number would be covered by the agency to take inquiries and bookings.
• Fifthly, the agency would recommend regular tele satisfaction surveys. This insures that the optician keeps up to the mark and keeps clients  happy with the service being provided and generates ideas about improving business approach and service.
• Finally, the agency can then call all clients to inform them of the improvements and make special offer to say thank you.

The Cost

Outbound telemarketing can start from as little as £30 per month depending upon what service you need. The real question you should be asking is what is your return on investment because this will be extremely high with telemarketing. As I mentioned at the start of this article. tele marketing is the best form of direct marketing available. Therefore, your return on investment will be high.

A good agency will explain all costs up front. Outbound telemarketing services can provide statistical benchmarking of the campaigns which allows for more accurate forecasting for future campaigns. Consequently, your company can budget and forecast your way into a better future. You may also be interested in reading our article about the 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring a Tele Marketing Agency.

Start today

If all of this makes sense and you want to start using telemarketing today you can Call BHT Marketing on 0808-172-1900 for a free consultation or click here to fill in our form and one of us will give you a call to discuss how we can help.