Are Telemarketing Companies Still Useful?
Telemarketing companies have a mixed reputation, often due to a confusion between B2C and B2B telemarketing. However, given that lead generation is still seen by most as the biggest barrier to growth, telemarketing remains a popular approach to finiding new customers.
So, as we approach a new year in which you hope to continue growing your business, you will want to know whether telemarketing companies will still be relevant in 2023. We will go over everything you need to know before commiting your valuable 2023 marketing budget:
- What is B2B Telemarketing?
- What Do Telemarketing Companies Do?
- Do I Need To Outsource My Telemarketing?
- How Do I Choose Between Different Telemarketing Companies?
- What Does the Future Hold For Telemarketing Companies?
Will Telemarketing Still Be Relevant in 2023?
What is B2B Telemarketing?
B2B Telemarketing simply describes any calling campaign where businesses are targeted to identify and develop an interest in a product or service offered by another business. This is not to be confused with B2B Telesales, which specifically covers the entire sales journey from the first call to closure. Telemarketing can refer to telesales, but just as often is used to generate leads that a separate sales team then closes. All telesales is telemarketing, but not all telemarketing is telesales – got it? Good!
This is only scratching the surface of the various ways telemarketing can be put to use to help businesses grow. It may sound like something you are already doing, or it may seem like another fancy marketing term for what is just picking up a phone and dialing.
To get a better understanding of B2B telemarketing, we should look at…
What Do Telemarketing Companies Actually Do?
Telemarketing companies come in all shapes and sizes, from the behemoths cranking out impersonal call after impersonal call, to the small operations that place a high price on quality. But what connects them all is that they have devoted the majority (if not all) of their resources to a single channel – phone calls.
This is where the difference between a standard business call and telemarketing comes into play. You probably have a lot more to do in your day than simply calling number after number, even if you wanted to it can be a challenge to stay motivated. Telemarketing companies on the other hand have set up their entire business from recruitment to IT around making every call as effective as possible.
Still the skeptic (or that rare person that does have time in their day to do nothing but make calls) may ask whether telemarketing companies are necessary.
Do I Need To Outsource My Telemarketing?
Short answer? No – there is no secret formula that any telemarketing company has that will make someone that doesn’t want to buy part with their money. It is quite possible for businesses to run their own telemarketing campaigns and even set up internal divisions devoted to this.
But just because you can doesn’t always mean you should. Outsourcing your lead generation to telemarketing companies has been found to be 43% more effective than in-house teams. It isn’t hard to see why. While you spend months building your team, developing a script, finding a reputable data source, brushing up on GDPR regulations, and buying the necessary software for mass calling, telemarketing companies have been making calls.
So, to expand on my first answer: you don’t need to outsource telemarketing, but you still might want to save yourself the headache and do it anyway.
How Do I Choose Between Different Telemarketing Companies?
We have already established that telemarketing companies are a very effective way to solve one of the biggest problems for any business – so it is no surprise that there are a lot of them out there. How to choose between them when there are only so many ways to pick up a phone?
There are a few factors you should consider:
Pricing
This is the obvious one. There are plenty of telemarketing companies charging an arm and a leg, and others whose prices seem too good to be true. You should go into any discussions with a budget in mind, and an understanding that you need to spend money to get money back.
Just be careful about anyone who promises results, because results are never guaranteed in marketing
Approach
When you speak to them, are they nice? Would you trust them to represent your brand? This is incredibly important, and it is often a good idea to trust your gut.
Are they willing to work with you?
Your business is unique, and it’s not unreasonable to expect your telemarketing solution would need to be tailored to fit your needs. If a telemarketing company is overly rigid, it’s a good sign that working with them will be their way or the highway.
Consider whether this is the way you want your partnership to work.
What Does the Future Hold for Telemarketing Companies?
It seems highly unlikely, no matter what the future may hold, that b2b telemarketing companies are going to stop being relevant in the near future. But, as we have seen, telemarketing can be a very broad term, and not every telemarketing company would be right to help you grow. It is worth taking your time to consider different options to find the right fit.
Start growing your business with Metric Central
If you’re looking to grow your business, contact Metric Central. We engage your ideal customers via phone, email, and paid ads to identify interest and book appointments to increase your revenue.
And our data research will help you target the right audience – no matter what industry you’re in. So don’t wait – contact Metric Central today and start growing your business!