Maximizing ROI can be more of an art form than an exact science. There are two simple ways to increase the ROI of a direct marketing campaign: decrease the cost per order (CPO) or increase the revenue per order. Marketers can decrease CPO by either lowering the cost per lead (CPL) or increasing the conversion rates. With that in mind, here are four ways to maximize ROI for phone-based campaigns:?
- Generate phone leads from performance-based lead generation channels. Most offline advertising mediums are the primary source for phone leads, but still operate on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis, creating a risk factor for marketers. When buying media, marketers often assume the risk of generating adequate response. With performance-based campaigns more common in online advertising, the phone lead generation market is beginning to embrace pay-per-call services. ?
- Make sure that phone-based sales agents are closers. There are volumes written about best practices for closing sales in the call center, as well as trade-offs between sales assassins (most expensive), order takers (medium cost point), and IVR-based sales (least expensive). Each marketer has to figure out how to handle sales leads for good conversion rates, while maintaining the lowest telemarketing CPO.?
- Sell more products. Marketers must increase revenue per order by selling additional products to customers. Make sure that the cross-sell or up-sell products are complementary to the original sale, and be sure to turn all customer-facing agents into sellers. You can also deploy warm transfer programs in which your agents transfer the consumer to the expert sales agents to complete sales.?
- Look beyond the sale. If customers don’t feel like they have received value for their dollar, retention rates suffer, creating charge-backs, brand dilution, and ultimately compromise customer lifetime value. Make sure that the buy experience is top-notch.
