Lack of growth can be frustrating in running a business. This is especially true in telemarketing – after making dozens of calls on a daily basis, a lack of forward momentum in your KPIs can be extremely disheartening.
Before you can harvest great results, you need to first ensure that your telemarketing strategy is on point. Now, if you think telemarketing is merely about picking up the phone and following a call script – you’ve got it all wrong.
5 WAYS YOUR TELEMARKETING STRATEGY MIGHT NOT BE EFFECTIVE
1. YOU HAVEN’T IDENTIFIED THE BEST POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Here’s the harsh reality – even if you have the best product in the world, it will be irrelevant to someone who simply isn’t looking for it. Marketing isn’t about persuading people who don’t need your product to suddenly fall in love with it. It’s all about finding people who are looking for a product similar to yours and convincing them that yours is the best for them.
You can start with identifying all the key characteristics that define your target audience to avoid calling the wrong group of people. Take some time to consider the demographics and psychographics of potential buyers who will most likely stay on the line when you call.
Demographics:
- Age
- Socioeconomic status
- Location
- Gender
- Race
- Education
- Marital status
Psychographics:
- Buying habits
- Hobbies
- Values
- Interests
- Lifestyles
2. YOU AREN’T TAKING CUSTOMER FEEDBACK INTO CONSIDERATION
If you’re not listening to customer feedback, the process of identifying your target audience is rendered useless. Feedback allows you to improve your retail management strategies according to your customer’s preferences for better results.
If feedback is not given or unclear, you can ask questions to collect feedback from your customers. During this time, take note of what language or tone the customer is conveying when you communicate with them.
Possible questions to ask when collecting customer feedback:
- Where did you look before coming to our store/website?
- What are your main concerns or questions about this product/service?
- What problems are you hoping to solve with this product/service?
- How was your last experience with us?
- Why haven’t previous products/services worked for you?
3. YOUR STAFF HAS TOO MUCH ON THEIR PLATE
You may have given your telemarketers too many tasks to complete in a day. Telemarketing is a tricky road to navigate, so it’s crucial that your telemarketing team are motivated and not overwhelmed.
Remember that telemarketing requires time and effort to build rapport with your customer base, so check in with your team to make sure they feel valued and are given a reasonable workload.
4. YOUR TEAM FINDS IT DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE OVER THE PHONE
You can definitely speak well about your products/services over the phone – the challenge is determining if the person on the other end of the line is actually taking an interest in what you’re saying.
You must ensure that either your in-house telemarketing team or the telemarketing company you’ve outsourced is competent and knowledgeable in executing your retail management strategies.
Key traits in excellent communicators include:
- Speaks at the right pace
- Fluent in the language they are speaking in
- Speaks with conviction and confidence
- Does not sound robotic
- Engages with the customers well
- Ability to improvise
5. YOUR TEAM LACKS PROPER TRAINING
Lack of quality training (or no training at all!) could be the root of all your telemarketing issues.
Even if your team is highly skilled and experienced in telemarketing, they might not be able to advocate for your products/services without knowing the product/service inside and out.
Training should involve:
- An insight to your product/service’s Unique Selling Points (USPs)
- An insight to your brand’s voice, values and mission
- Common issues that customers face
- The lingos and terminologies used in a particular field
- Telemarketing script
- Mock call sessions
Telemarketing is not a quick fix, nor is it an easy process. When done correctly however? Expect to reap a variety of benefits that will boost your business’s name in the market.
If you’re still ironing out the structure in your telemarketing strategy, SHRA can help get you and your team equipped for the job! Discover our Telemarketing 2.0 Corporate Program today!
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