With the dawn of Web 2.0 and all the latest and greatest demand generation technologies that go along with it, there have been reports B2B telemarketing is dead and buried. But I am going on record to say it isn’t so.
I am happy to report telemarketing has not left the building. It’s just had a makeover and may be unrecognizable. And I will be the first to say the outdated, cold-calling approach, which is all too often associated with telemarketing, has been replaced with a new, relationship-building coif.
And it looks good.
The New World of B2B Marketing
To understand the new nature of B2B marketing, we must first accept that the basics of marketing haven’t changed. In fact, with the newly-empowered B2B buyer, the basics are more important than ever, as Lisa Barone, Chief Branding Officer of Outspoken Media, describes in her blog, Old School vs. New School Marketing. Marketing is now and has always been about building relationships. The new tools used in marketing aren’t about out with the old, in with the new; they are about incorporating new tools with old techniques.
The most obvious change in the new world of B2B marketing is the ever present buyer’s voice. Before social media platforms and the Internet, with its online review sites, the buyer’s voice was limited to a small, inner circle of colleagues and peers. But in today’s world, everyone has a voice – from the Fortune 500 CEO to the mom and pop shop.
It’s more important than ever to treat people well and to build a solid foundation – it’s about the interaction, not the transaction. And while online marketing and inbound techniques do their part in the interaction, nothing beats a one-to-one connection.
This is where telemarketing still plays a role.
Telemarketing vs. Telesales
Before I go into more detail about how telemarketing can be used as an integral part of your company’s B2B marketing strategy, I think it’s key to understand what telemarketing really is. According to one freelance writer in his blog, telemarketing is the process of delivering your message to prospects and creating an opportunity to build a business relationship.
Telemarketing should not be confused with telesales, though it often is. Telesales is the conversion process wherein opportunities are converted into a sale. Telemarketing is a marketing tool – activities designed to generate interest, provide information, and ensure customer service satisfaction. Telesales is a sales tool – activities designed to sell your product or service.
Using Telemarketing as Part of Your B2B Nurturing Campaigns
Now that everyone understands telemarketing is not about using sales reps to convince a prospect to buy a product – it’s about using marketing resources to build relationships and share information – we can talk about how to use telemarketing as part of your overall marketing strategy. As I stated in my introduction, and has been agreed upon by other contributors to this blog, including Carlos Hidalgo, marketing is about building relationships and then using these relationships and trust to convert prospects into customers.
As B2B marketers, this is nothing new. In fact, you probably (hopefully) already have campaigns in place designed to do just that.
As a marketing activity, telemarketing cannot stand alone. It should be used in conjunction with a holistic nurturing campaign – and in this Web 2.0 world, preferably an email nurturing campaign. (If you haven’t yet, check out my last post on this blog about B2B email nurturing to ensure your online nurturing programs make the best ‘first impression.’) Telemarketing should be another piece of your marketing puzzle used to connect and nurture your prospects. And to that end, no one marketing tool should be used in a vacuum by itself – they should all play a specific role in your overall strategy.
When you consider using telemarketing in your campaign, there is no perfect answer to the ‘when to call’ question. But you can be sure there is no question when it comes to ‘should you call’ as Craig Rosenberg, The Funnelholic notes in several posts on his blog. The phone is still your best chance at conversion. Nurturing programs complete with automation and scoring make marketers more efficient and give us a better understanding of who our prospects are and what they need. But there comes a time when the online relationship isn’t going to cut it. That is the point, wherever it may be, when you should pick up the phone. After all, a relationship alone is not going to turn that lead into a deal.
When you make these calls, who has the conversation is just as important as the conversation itself. As we already learned, telemarketing and telesales are not interchangeable. Sales reps should not be making your marketing calls. (Sales calls are an entirely different topic.) Remember these telemarketing calls are calls to further solidify the relationship the prospect has with your company and to share information – this is not a product pitch. Use qualified marketing resources knowledgeable about your product/service but who aren’t trying to sell it. And make sure these callers understand your overall goals and marketing strategy – don’t let them go in blind or run off on their own tangents.
So remember – to call or not to call; there is no question. Call. The phone is alive and well and in use. So pick it up and make telemarketing an integral component of your overall B2B demand generation program.
Amen Kristin!
The phone certainly is alive and well, without a doubt. I agree with you when you say that “Sales reps should not be making your marketing calls.” Sales needs to focus on what they do best, closing opportunities. Marketing makes a prospect aware, telemarketing (though I still cringe at that word) warms up the relationship, and sales closes.
I will say this, though, that there is still a place for “cold calling;” for picking up a phone (or a Skyped in headset or whatever you use) and reaching out to a prospect who’s never heard of you before.
Great post!
Good post and thanks for the distinction between telesales and telemarketing.
Great Post Kristin. I also agree that telemarketing and telesales are very different but necessary roles. Even in this online world…a phone call makes a big difference and gives a personal touch that is appreciated.
I have rarely read a post so well articulated on the role of telemarketing. I heartfully agree that “The phone is still your best chance at conversion” and our most successful clients are the ones that integrate telemarketing into their lead nurturing programs. The biggest mistakes – from what we’ve seen – are to either do telemarketing alone (and that is often when telesales is confused with telemarketing, just like you said) or when try to nurture leads without calling.
Thanks again for this great post!
[...] It’s Aliiiiive! B2B Telemarketing Lives | Kristin McKenna | 20 July 2010 [...]
Thanks for making the distinction between the 2, not many people even realise there is one. Also great article, well written, well said. Thanks.
I believe that if you are providing a quality service they may or may not know they need yet. It is not a cold call! It’s just a simple friendly introduction.
When I make these calls, (and I have made many) I know at the end of the day my services are needed.
The reason cold calling gets a bad rap is many people do it with out their heart in it. To be an effective cold caller you must be friendly, outgoing, assertive, and most importantly helpful.
Great article – I believe that the key to a successful outbound marketing campaign that incorporates telemarketing is to have the right mix of old school techniques, original thinking and market intelligence.
Jonathan
IT Telemarketing from Fluent
B2B Telmarketing is a simple tool.However it is not inexpensive. The margins of what a company sells must be high enough to afford the labor cost of hiring an outside temarketing firm or developing an inside telemarkeing unit. The 1% of potential customers called that respond positively requires alot of data and an efficient CRM system. If your company is first in the market for a product you may see an initital positive rate of conversations with decision makers. However, As your data gets stale, your sales reps and their conversations do to.
One of the questions to efficiency of data is how can a company increase its initial contact rate. I suggest they consider what a combination of calling and emailing can do for them. Initial calling is costly and time consuming. By effectively combining the two, a company can increase their contact probability.
David R. Siller
President
Bizdnc.com
Without the proper tools the odds are against you. we not triple results and start talking to more people and dialing less #’s. Its all about the effeciency and of course it’sa numbers game!
http://gpsinsurancemarketing.com/
I’ve just looked up things about business-to-business telemarketing, or what we all call as B2B telemarketing recently. I’m looking into its advantages and disadvantages. I’ve read in another blog that some, if not all, businesses can’t survive without the help of another. This form of telemarketing sounds a lot of a lighter load for call center agents because they’re sure that the person on the other line is in a company, so it’s certain that they won’t be angry unlike those customers you call at home.
Hey thanks for this lovely post, it is very informative and interesting to read, great tips and info… Telemarketing
Great article, well written, concise and in relatively plain English. Almost got distracted by the photo put professionalism won through in the end.
Ps. I also liked the links to other relevant material, nicely done and very useful.
Founder & Sales Director
IntelliFlo Ltd
These types of guidelines are wonderful. I continually appreciate brainstorming about appealing subject lines. Sometimes it can be tough, but we have to do what we have to do – please our audience!
Because of reading your blog, I undisputed to correspond with my own. I had not in any degree been interested in keeping a blog until I saw how helpful yours was, then I was inspired!
Thanks for sharing information about B2B telemarketing, it is surely a needed services for businesses, great post… B2B Telemarketing
it is really amazing to heard about telemarketing, thanks for sharing the information it is very interesting to read… Telemarketing Center
Good article Kristen,
We have seen that telemarketing is becoming more and more popular; possibly because of the pressures that are being put on the UK people are looking for more pro-active marketing.
Have you noticed an upturn in any specific industries?
I agree with Ms. Kristen. The rumors that telemarketing is dead is downright ridiculous. Although it has its own faults, no one cannot deny that it remains the most interactive, fastest and most accurate direct response hitherto. Also, there are reliable telemarketing call centers that are now offering guaranteed qualified appointments, which make it more possible to close business deals.
Telemarketing is indeed alive before and it is still very much so today. Additionally, outsourcing to expert telemarketers is a great way to achieve great marketing results.
I agree that Telemarketing is very much alive!.Telemarketing is especially useful when the customers for a small business’s products or services are located in hard-to-reach places, or when many prospects must be contacted in order to find one interested in making a purchase. Although some small businesses operate exclusively by telephone, telemarketing is most often used as part of an overall marketing program to tie together advertising and personal selling efforts
Very informative post. Telemarkiting never died. A good telemarketing company should have skilled agents in communication with a high level of expertise in good communication so that it can give the client the best solutions for their business, providing a outstanding quality service.
Higher chances for making a sale.
The services of B2B telemarketing are really very helpful and needed almost every business, thanks for the post and the information you shared….
Telemarketing Center
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[...] and What You Can do About Them." Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5867518 The way buyers buy and the way sellers sell is changing. The need for face-to-face interaction is no…-150×150.jpg" title="caller" width="150" /> The Top 10 B2B Tele-Sales Predictions For 2011 By Jim [...]
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Very clear and well written post. Telemarketing has been around for many years as part of a toolkit of lead generation initiatives. And yes, there is certainly more value when telemarketing is integrated with other tactics as part of a more holistic approach to campaigning. My experience validates yours, in that the best sales people are not necessarily the best telephone callers. The skills are actually quite different and organisations derive most value when they understand that telemarketing can deliver significant returns when given dedicated focus as part of a wider sales and marketing plan.
Cheers to this. Telemarketing is indeed alive! It remains effective in generating qualified sales leads, e.g. insurance leads and sales-generating appointments.
Great article Nadia. Telemarketing has helped a lot of businesses increase ROI. It is surely here to stay.
Really useful post. We have found that the latest marketing automation tools are great to segment, nurture and score leads before they become ‘sales ready’ but best performance happpens when both digital campaigns and telemarketing work in a united fashion to better converse with potential prospects as they go through their buying journey