By Kathy Sisk
Last issue we discussed the key factors why telemarketing programs fail. Now we continue with the vital aspects of setting up and managing a campaign.
Expectations: Having unrealistic expectations for a campaign can cause agents to lose motivation and experience poor results, as well as cause staff to fall into “crisis management.” Having a Project Management Guide (PMG) that outlines the campaign’s expectations assigns responsibility of those tasked to carry out those expectations and details the necessary efforts to meet them. The expectations should be tested and defined so all variables are addressed.
It also needs a “what if” section, so if something does not go as planned, alternatives are provided to correct mistakes or adjust expectations. The “what ifs” should be carefully decided upon ahead of time, along with resolutions by the project management team that the client has approved. This increases communication between client, project management team, and call center.
The List for Outbound Campaigns: The calling list is key to success. Therefore, the list needs to be fresh and pre-scrubbed, with the demographics matched to the client’s ideal customer. An outdated, poorly targeted, overworked, or un-scrubbed list will hurt the campaign. A poor list will eat up calling hours, yield inferior results, and frustrate agents, along with everyone associated with the campaign.
This is where noting the disposition of calls is crucial. The agent must clearly understand the target prospect in order to identify a bad lead. If there are too many bad leads, the list may need replacing. The project manager should assist the client in assessing the profile of an ideal prospect. Once defined, the process for reporting the dispositions from the list should be clear so agents can accurately communicate results.
Reporting: A report is needed so agents can relay the disposition of each call. This helps determine the quality of the list for outbound campaigns, the quality of the marketing efforts for inbound campaigns, the quality of the assigned agents, and the quality of the overall results. In addition, individual call results enable the team to assess the campaign effectiveness and make appropriate changes as needed.
Kathy Sisk is founder and president of Kathy Sisk Enterprises Inc. and is a trainer and consultant, contributing thirty-five years of expertise to the telemarketing, sales, and customer service industries.
[From Connection Magazine – Jan/Feb 2015]