Fifty years ago, a B2B company looking to generate new leads had limited options for communicating directly with potential customers. The sales rep could send them information in the mail, show up in person at their office, or call them on the telephone (likely a rotary dialer) after finding their number in a physical phonebook or directory.
Suffice it to say, reaching even a single prospect took a lot of time and effort.
A half-century later, the options for lead generation are far more efficient, and decidedly more high-tech. The cumbersome rotary phones of yesteryear have been replaced by lightning-quick power and predictive dialers, and this phone outreach is complemented by email, SMS messaging, and social networking sites.
Incorporating all of these modern communication channels is often key to a successful lead generation campaign. Having an omnichannel platform that allows your reps to connect with prospects in a variety of ways can go a long way toward increasing your conversion rate.
Developing an effective omnichannel strategy isn’t easy; there are plenty of potential pitfalls if orchestrated haphazardly (such as inconsistent messaging, inadequate technology, poorly timed cadences, or oversaturation—you don’t want to be perceived as a nuisance). But with the right planning and execution, the value of omnichannel outreach far outweighs the risk.
Here are five of the biggest benefits:
1. More ways to get someone’s attention
The telephone is still the most direct means of communicating your message to a prospect (other than a face-to-face meeting), but there will always be some people who, for whatever reason, will simply not pick up the phone under any circumstances. Sure, you can leave a voicemail, but according to Pew Research statistics, 14% of people never even listen to them (and most voicemail messages go unreturned).
But not answering the phone or returning a voicemail doesn’t automatically mean a person won’t be interested in learning about your offering. How can you assume that if you haven’t made contact yet? Even if they listened to your voicemail, were they even paying attention to it? It’s possible they still know nothing about your company or the pain points you can solve. Using alternate channels such as email, text, or LinkedIn connection request to reach a prospect gives you additional opportunities to pique their curiosity.
2. A more personalized experience
Despite the challenges listed above, there are plenty of decision-makers who prefer to communicate by phone. According to recent statistics, nearly 7 in 10 B2B buyers are open to receiving cold calls. But others no doubt prefer email or social media.
Omnichannel communication allows you to customize your outreach and tailor your message and methodology to the prospect’s preferences. It also increases the opportunity for a follow-up conversation; if you’ve initially connected with them using a particular channel, you know it’s possible to reach them that way again.
3. Communication channels working in tandem
The odds of a prospect replying to an unsolicited email (or even opening it) aren’t great. There’s a chance it gets lost in their inbox and is never even noticed. But nearly everybody reads their text messages. Sending a text that lets a prospect know you just sent them an email will at least call their attention to it and may make them more inclined to open it.
This cross-channel communication can work across a variety of touchpoints—for example a voicemail message that mentions an email you just sent, or vice versa. Using one channel to seamlessly reference another not only builds brand recognition, but it increases the likelihood of a response. Just make sure your messaging is consistent across all channels so you’re not creating any sort of confusion.
4. More meaningful data
An omnichannel approach provides insights into which communication methods are most effective for a particular industry or demographic and helps you develop an appropriate cadence. Perhaps there are certain targets where the email click-through or open rates are considerably higher than average. Maybe there are particular job titles that almost never respond to an email but are easy to reach by phone, or who frequently engage on social media.
Utilizing multiple communication channels gives you a more complete data picture and makes it easier to strategize for future lead generation campaigns.
5. Wider outreach
This is probably stating the obvious, but the more channels you use to communicate with prospects, the wider a net you’re going to cast. “X” number of phone calls is great, but “X” number of calls plus “Y” number of emails and “Z” number of LinkedIn messages is even better. Simple math tells you that more attempts equals more connections.
Of course, not everyone you reach will be interested (or even qualified), but ideally, you’ll find this out quicker using multiple channels and won’t need to spend as much time pursuing prospects that were never going to convert in the first place.
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VSA has always prioritized the telephone in developing ROI-positive lead generation campaigns for our clients, and we will continue to do so. We are firm believers in the effectiveness of cold calling as a lead generation tool.
But we also know there are other ways to make meaningful connections, and that we need to utilize the advanced technology available to us. Our new omnichannel platform allows us to call, email, and text from a single system, creating more seamless communication between our Business Development Representatives and our clients’ target audience.
If you’d like to talk about developing a lead generation or appointment-setting campaign that meets your needs, give us a call, drop us an email, or connect with us on LinkedIn. No matter what method of communication you prefer, we’re always happy to talk!