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How to automate email campaigns, generate hot leads for telesales departments and keep an up to date record of which customers have received each campaign / Liam Ryan, CallPro

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Separate business systems which are unable to work in unison leads to inefficient and unproductive sales and marketing departments. With this in mind theMarketingblog talked with Liam Ryan – Head of Sales (EMEA), CallPro.

Read our latest six questions feature which is full of pointers on how to avoid your operation falling into the trap having ‘separate business systems which are unable to work in unison’

With CallPro CRM these issues can be solved by having your dialer, email marketing software and CRM system all in one place. This provides the ability to automate email campaigns, generate hot leads for telesales departments and keep an up to date record of which customers have received each campaign.

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Please give the readers the main points of difference, the extra benefits CallPro provides

Unlike many other CRM systems, which primarily function as account management tools, we aim to fully integrate sales with digital marketing.  It’s a reflection of how these two functions, from an operational point of view, also now need to work closely together.

This means that organisations can get both sales and marketing data into the sales pipeline; they can track metrics on how campaigns are working, measure the attributes of the best leads and then automatically add these into the sales person’s pipeline so that no leads are dropped.

What’s key is that organisations now need to engage with customers across different platforms, be it Twitter, LinkedIn or Google +, so we aim to deliver this functionality in one integrated system.  For example, rather than simply collecting data on click-throughs from a link in an email campaign, you can take the lead to the next stage with a message sent on LinkedIn with information that’s relevant to them.  Or you can set up an automatic call back so a lead is never missed. It’s all about closing the circle of contact.  It links into Google +, and to customer’s websites so that all these different imprints from a prospect or customer can be managed as part of a Global Marketing Strategy.

The aim is to enable sales and marketing teams to really harness Social Selling techniques to find the right prospects, build leads and nurture relationships. In fact, we’ve seen one study* which states that sales reps who have leveraged social selling in their sales process are 79% more likely to attain their quota than ones who don’t (15%), which points to the fact that this can have a real and measurable impact on business.

You stated ‘Out Bound Calling’ was one of your main areas. Please elaborate

We know from customer feedback that one of the most important aspects of outbound calling, whether it be qualifying a lead or a customer care call, is to make that interaction as personal as possible.

The difference is that we’re moving away from cold calls to a landscape where phone contact is far more effective as a “warm call”; that is, really understanding more about what an individual contact is interested in, or looking for.   This also links into Social Selling in the sense of having all the information at your fingertips, from different platforms, to make a decision on what to provide and when that call is most appropriate.  If someone has shown interest in a certain subject matter then you have something to talk about and they know who you are. So before you make a call, you can see updates from a personal Twitter feed or Google news so that you have a better understanding of their business.

Where many CRMs simply offer dialler add-ons what we’re aiming to do is take CRM forward so that, no matter what avenue the lead comes, a link from a web page or an e-mail, the user can progress this and automatically schedule in a call back.  What’s more, the call can be more effective as we know something about that lead that is relevant, timely and can add value.

How could I use CallPro for prospecting?

Social media is, in so many ways, changing how we can identify and engage with prospects.  Again, it’s about having a blended approach so that you can use different platforms to find the right prospects and make the sales and marketing teams’ efforts more effective.   Something that we introduced to help with this is integrating real-time, up-to-date information from LinkedIn, all accessed through the same system. This means you can search for prospects and create accounts in one place.

I am interested in hearing more about your ‘Built In Email Marketing’

Email marketing is most effective when organisations can engage with customers with the most relevant information.  We’ve designed our solution to help marketers create campaigns with unlimited next actions steps so that the next, most appropriate email can be sent on a specific date. For example, marketers can automatically send a different follow-on message depending on whether the previous email was unopened, opened or if a specific link was clicked. Having email marketing ‘in built’ is the only way to truly blend your email marketing with other marketing platforms and perhaps, most importantly, your CRM. This way, follow up actions and consistent content are ensured.

What’s your growth year on year and how is 2015 stacking up?

We now have customer deployments in 35 countries and we’re continuing to grow rapidly.  In particular, over the past four to five years, more organisations need marketing functionality as part of their CRM – rather than just a sales automation tool – which is where CallPro CRM fits in.  It’s indicative of the shift we’re seeing towards more in-bound marketing, that is, engaging with contacts and creating a dialogue with them. This is where social media plays an increasingly pivotal role. 2015 looks to be an exciting year for CallPro CRM with significant automation functionality due for release.

Have I missed something. Your opportunity to give a final overview

Marketing is evolving at a pace and Marketers need to be ready to interact with customers and prospects on whichever platform they choose – from LinkedIn to Google+, from email mailshots to the company website.  However not all organisations are able to get this 360o view of the contact.

Our main objective is to provide customers with the tools they need to engage with customers on a global scale and not be forced to pick certain avenues.

Gone are the days when you need to deploy multiple systems, or to bolt on new solutions, to get real insights into activity across different communication channels.  We’re pioneering an approach offering all the functionality to integrate both sales and digital marketing activities without investing huge sums of money in customised systems.

*The Aberdeen Group

CallPro Europe (Head office)

Quality System Solutions Ltd
Unit 8 Lansdowne Court
Bumpers Way
Chippenham, Wiltshire
SN14 6RZ
United Kingdom
Sales: 01249 566010