Lead Generation Media Choices

Gone are the days when you depended on the telephones for lead generation. These days you have so many media choices to conduct lead generation operations. The biggie is the Internet, of course. Websites and emails have changed the face of sales lead generation. Every B2B project is now conducted over the Internet instead of telemarketing calls. In fact, in some ways or the other, phone calls have side-stepped to allow these new methods of call center services to zoom into focus. Clients are approaching BPO firms to give them something better than just phone calls for generating leads. They demand the use of other media because competition and consumers demand so.

Other than the Internet, lead generation through mobile phones is another up and coming medium. The advantages of this medium are of great significance to call center units. And the BPO units have embraced this form of telemarketing in a big way. The use of SMS for sales lead generation has caught on like wildfire. Call center services are blasting text messages on cell phones to sell and promote their products/services. Their aim is simple. They want to get their message read by the consumers who do not want calls from the outbound call center desk. Since texts on cell phones have a considerably higher rate of being read than emails, BPO service units have picked this trend rather fast.

Lead Generation through SEO and Social Media

The process of lead generation through online methods can be sharply divided into two prongs: search engine optimization and social media marketing. Call center units are trying to make the client’s websites more visible to the consumers online. Similarly they are trying to promote the client’s business through social media networking. BPO managers have divided the two on the basis of the function that they serve. SEO is more about sales lead generation through tangible methods that yield hard results. You get a list of generated leads and also have an idea of how much you have sold. SEO is also backed up by the telemarketing team. Consumers prefer calling the inbound call center desk for more information and clarifications.

Social media marketing, on the other hand, is for branding and PR. The BPO firms need to understand that you cannot have much of lead generation here in the conventional sense. Social media interactions by the call center agents change the perceptions that people have about the client’s brand or company. They will feel privileged to have a direct contact with the brand that they buy products from. This helps the call centers retain customers. In this age of competition, customers can be tempted to leave the client’s fold and move over to a rival. The social media interactions and other activities, including personal interactions, stop this erosion of the customer base.

BPO Use Social Media for CRM

Social media networks are fulfilling the needs of the BPO in more ways than one. Firms are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter for lead generation. Call center agents have used these platforms to promote products and services. Now, there is another function that social media is being used for: Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Answering service agents are not exactly passé, but BPO service agents are creating profiles to interact and maintain proper relationships with their customers through social media, blogs and websites. It’s a conscious effort on the part of the call center services to reach out and make some personal connections with the consumer base.

This is an age of abrupt change of loyalties. Consumers may change over to subscribe with a rival firm any point in time. The call center firm has to prevent that or their lead generation efforts would amount to nothing. Eroding databases can be fixed through effective CRM. On the social media networks, BPO agents engage in a one on one tête-à-tête with the consumers. It’s a wonderful trend to touch base with people who are the building blocks of a business. The consumers can also get their queries sorted out and they like interacting with an insider. This BPO service effort builds up user loyalty and also builds a formidable brand image.