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Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

Developing Telemarketing Skills

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Telemarketing is a comprehensive concept which addresses call centre activities and every phone call between employees and customers. In other words, telemarketing is a marketing concept that encompasses customer service and customer relationships in order to build a market responsive company. Telemarketing concepts applied properly can lead to increased sales, increased customer retention, a steady influx of new customers, and more profits.

Companies that approach telemarketing as strictly cold calling sales are missing an opportunity to use the contacts as a foundation for building a strong marketing program.

Yes, it’s true that anyone can get on a phone and read a sales script. But if the employee has no commitment to the company vision, the call will be simply a telephone call and not a marketing call. This is an important distinction and it takes call centre training and sales coaching that begin with a foundation composed of the mission of the company.

Marketing Working Harder

A marketing program has many components and telemarketing can be one of the most important because it is an opportunity for direct and personalised contact with an existing or potential customer. It’s an opportunity the company needs to take full advantage of so that the most marketing force is exerted.

It’s easy to see that simply having someone reading from a script and not prepared to really promote the company can be counterproductive. In fact a poorly handled telemarketing call can result in lost business far beyond the potential customer on the other end of the line. People network with friends and families and can just as easily badmouth a business as they can promote it.

Telemarketing should be viewed as a chance to make the company marketing program work harder and longer but also in a more personal manner. So it’s critical that telemarketing skills be developed and honed so that the most benefit is achieved by the personal contact made with consumers or other businesses.

For example, a telemarketing call can try to promote a single product or service. But what if the contact indicates they are interested in a different type of product? Does the salesperson just say, “Sorry, we don’t sell that particular item.” or does he or she say, “It just so happens our company can offer you a different product that meets your needs.”? After the first response the call ends. After the alternative response the call may continue and lead to the sale of a company product even if not the one originally promoted.

These are just a few of the telemarketing skills which can build a solid and successful sales program that supports a comprehensive marketing program. The skills learned for application in a call centre are the same skills which should be used whenever a customer contact is made on the telephone.

The call does not have to originate in a telemarketing department to be a marketing tool. Throughout the company there are managers and staff on the phone with potential and existing customers all day long. They just need to recognize the amazing opportunities.

A New Trend of Advertisement With Promotional Gifts

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Promotional gifts is said that it can perform exactly the same role as advertising or marketing, namely to promote a product, business or organisation. So, many businesses use promotional gifts to help them enhance their brand awareness, improve customer loyalty and increase sales.

The role of promotional products is instrumental in the business fraternity to achieve the acme of success. Be it a small, medium or large business organization; advertisement of its products and services is inevitable to create awareness among consumers and increase sale. Now all businesses want to reach people promptly and convey messages directly to the targeted group. As a result, promotional gifts have been gaining popularity by bridging the gap between businesses and existing and prospective consumers. In fact, promotional gifts play exactly the same role as advertising or marketing, which is to promote a product or service of an organization. But in this case, the investment is minimal and the return on investment is quite high.

Generally, every businessman wants to earn huge profit in this customer-centric environment and looks for a method to reach the targeted consumers promptly. In such a situation, the traditional mode of advertisements i.e. print and electronic media is in vain to leave lasting impression in the minds of existing and budding consumers. Since such forms of advertisements provide momentary information to consumers that can easily fade away from their minds after certain intervals. Consequently, the demand for promotional gifts is felt, allowing businessmen and entrepreneurs to disseminate text messages and logos in the entire market. However, as promotional gifts are generated in synchronize with the daily requirement of human life; the conveyed messages printed on the external surface of products remind the targeted audience about your brand, product or service every time they use. Indeed, the promotional gift you distribute to the targeted audience acts as a mediator to establish a long-term relationship with your clients.

It is necessary to make a plan so that manufacturers have developed promotional gifts which suit the requirement of every occasion. Some of special occasion which you can use promotional gifts such as Christmas, conferences, Easter, events, exhibitions, incentives, roadshows, tradeshows, weddings, to name a few. It is recommended to choose the occasion first and thereafter distribute promotional gifts in order to entice new and existing customers. With promotional gifts, you can also increase the effectiveness of other advertising media.