Outbound campaigns by e-mail, text or phone calls can be a daunting experience for many employees. The majority of them associate outbound tasks with selling products or services over the phone, and the fear of rejection can frustrate the success of any activity from the beginning. In this blog, we analyse different types of outbound campaigns and why they are important for your business.
How can you integrate an outbound campaign in your organization?
Outbound campaigns can take multiple shapes and fulfil different objectives. No two campaigns are the same. Next we detail sample of outbound campaigns that your organization could develop.
The typical outbound sales call
The most common outbound campaigns are the typical sales call where a script is prepared to describe the wonders and benefits of a product or service. While many organizations will avoid them and rely on other sales techniques, depending on your target and your offering, sales calls can be a really profitable option.
The success of any sales campaign is based on having the right motivated team, a solid database and a strong script to follow. Depending on your offering, it could be beneficial to have an advanced knowledge of the sector but also of your contact and their unique pains. For any outbound sales call, now more than ever is paramount to follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
While outbound sales calls are still the most common approach for outbound campaigns, they are not your unique option.
Market Research Outbound Calls
Outbound campaigns are the bread and butter of any market research activity. Gaining insight from customers, employees, suppliers or even the general public is a cost-effective approach to test ideas, improve products / services and review your own processes. There is multiple approaches to conduct an outbound market research all depending of your objective, budget, time and human resources. Market Research outbound campaigns can be performed using e-mail surveys, computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) or even text messages.
Finance related phone call
Finance departments need to perform outbound phone calls every now and then. Usually, the objective is related to support payments from clients or to suppliers. Outbound campaigns can be designed to support invoice management, payment reminders, or even just update your payee database. Recently, we performed over 12,000 outbound phone calls and answered over 17,358 e-mails to support the financial department of a pharmaceutical company to migrate from their old invoicing system to a new one. All their suppliers had to be informed of the change and new profiles set within the designated timeframe.
Human Resources outbound campaigns
When recruiting for one or two positions, human resources managers usually prefer to talk to candidates by themselves. This gives them the opportunity to evaluate potential employees over the phone and create a first impression. However, when there are big recruitment campaigns which involve multiple phases and include an exam, for instance, recruitment in the public sector, outbound campaigns can be outsourced to third parties. This may include invitations for interviews, schedule of test, request of missing documentation…
Outbound campaigns can also be used to update existing employees of any business changes or incidents. For example in the event of requiring a change of location due to an unforeseen event (e.g. a fire in the office).
Marketing & Events Management phone calls
Event managers may require additional support when contacting their attendee list. Depending on the length of the database and the profile of the same, a dedicated support person can be hired to support the organization and event management. This could include e-mail outbound campaigns and last minute confirmation of attendance.
Product Recalls
Product recalls are performed to ensure the health and safety of the population. When one of them takes place, it is important to act quickly and update all the shops at once. Outbound campaigns performed by text messages or phone calls ensure that the message is delivered and that personnel is updated related to the unfolding situation. If your organization has multiple points of sale, it is paramount to avail of the right manpower and the technology to support the recall in a timely manner.
Key elements of an outbound campaign
A thoughtful planning of any outbound campaign will increase your chances of success. First, you should clearly define the campaign objective:
- Who is your target?
- Do you have a ready available contacts database?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What will be a successful outcome?
- How are you collecting the feedback?
- Who will be performing the campaign?
- What channels would you use to implement it?
Secondly, evaluate your internal resources and identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t have the required team or IT to perform the campaign yourself, think about outsourcing this to a telemarketing or contact centre. Third, set the campaign. Independently of doing the project in-house or through a partner organisation, you must prepare your database in line with the General Data Protection Regulation, develop a suitable script to guide the outbound team, set any IT requirements (e.g. outbound phone lines) and define a reliable backup plan to ensure that you are prepared for any fall back (e.g. large number of callbacks or voicemails, team sickness, or systems failure). Lastly, quantify your evaluation parameters. You should be realistic with your expectations but ensure that quality parameters are properly addressed.
If you would like to set an outbound campaign and need additional support, let us know!
