Cold calling becomes warm calling

A study by Which? has found that British consumers receive an average of six cold calls a month, with three-quarters of people wanting cold calling to be banned for good.

B2B sales is a little different but while we’re advocates of picking up the phone and being proactive, why call 200 people a week who have no interest in your company or services when you can call 200 who are interested in what you offer?

Targeted marketing programs and increased understanding of customer motivations and requirements hold the key. This is where marketing automation comes into its own, enabling an organisation to optimise every visitor to its website, establishing who the visitor is, when they return to the website, where their interests lie and, crucially, when they are ready to buy.

The result gives sales people the knowledge to target their calls far more effectively, builds a complete picture of the customer journey and develops the relationship – resulting in higher conversions and improved ROI. What company wouldn’t want that?

The Next Generation

With A level results due this week, thousands of young people across the UK will be deciding on their next steps and future careers. For many, sales and marketing will be a popular choice - offering career progression and good earning potential.

Key to success in this field is the ability to co-ordinate sales and marketing activity, working with the latest on- and offline channels to maximise business potential. Increasingly influential is the marketing automation technology available, providing a far greater insight into customer behaviour, sales patterns and communication than ever before.

The next generation of sales professionals will benefit from the new approach of ‘nurturing’ customers – something that we are already seeing deliver results. The future will see customer contact, relationships and understanding develop even more, giving sales people a far greater influence in business operations and growth.

Big Brother Watching?

It may seem a bit Orwellian, but the new era of web forensics can give you an incredible insight and understanding of your customers - and in the current market that knowledge may be just the edge you need to win business.

Web forensics is all about getting to grips with the ‘journey’ your customer makes through your website – how they are interacting and using the site to meet their requirements. It now goes way beyond the basics and instead allows you to tag individual visitors, tracking them through their activity and the sales process. This information is invaluable to sales people and marketeers, helping them understand individual motivations, target communication and increase conversion rates.

The key to success is to make sure your forensics solution gives the control and analysis your team needs to improve customer communication and sales – not just the basic analytics, but something much more powerful. You may feel like Big Brother watching visitors to your site, but the truth is that you will be able to deliver a better, more tailored service to each and every visitor.