ABIS Infor - 2012-06
Why do we call you?
Summary
It is often said 'To measure is to know'. For a training centre such as ABIS it is important to know our target market, and measuring in one way or another is essential to become familiar with this specific group of people. Today, this can be done in a myriad of different ways, but here at ABIS we usually do it via telephone or electronic "personal" contact. The question to ask is: which one the two approaches is the best?
Calling
An advantage of making contact by telephone is that the person can give an immediate response which gives us, as a company, the opportunity to react instantly. During the telephone conversation you quickly realize the needs and wishes, existing considerations and interests for the current offer. In addition to the personal connection by given information, there is also the opportunity to make an appointment.
However, besides the advantages of calling, there are also a few disadvantages. The most important downside is, that the timing of the phone call is somewhat inconvenient which can result in a missed opportunity to make new connections. Additionally, it is not always easy to remember what has been said during such call.
Mailing
An e-mail or newsletter are becoming an effective marketing tool for business and other organisations, because of the fact that they can contain text, pictures, links to particular pages, promotions of products... Also, the recipient can forward the message, print the message or even save the message. The timing of sending the e-mail or newsletter is of less importance and causes a reduction in cost.
On the downside however, is the absence of a direct response and the lack of awareness whether the recipients of the e-mail or newsletter may or may not have read the message yet. Another potential disadvantage are the spam filters since these filters are not always able to make a distinction between genuine "spam" mail and an informative e-mail and so as a company you need to be aware of this flaw when sending mails to other businesses.
Why is it important for you and for ABIS to call or send an e-mail to its customers?
It is a commercial process where a differentiation must be made between contacting existing customers and prospecting for new customers.
- ABIS finds it for existing customers important
- to maintain and to extend the current relationship;
- to identify his customers current interests, preferences and priorities so that we can adapt our offerings to the needs of our customers;
- to explore their reactions on courses that have been followed;
- to inform his customers about the training for which interest has been expressed, the scheduling of the courses and more;
- to seek new opportunities and ideas or to fulfil the customers' needs by using the expertise and experience of ABIS;
- to keep our clients informed of all our services and courses. Our aim is to not simply fill a job but to help our clients in strengthen their position (to meet their goals) by providing high-quality, no-nonsense training to their employees.
- Prospecting is a process where ABIS gets the chance by means of e-mailing or calling:
- to emphasize on the core business of ABIS;
- to specify his target group, namely the appropriate person(s) to contact within the company;
- to explain how ABIS differentiates compared to other training centres by illustrating our strategic vision, our business mission and our company values;
- to promote its products, and secondly to explain the advantages for new customers and existing customers;
- to provoke reactions via 'lead generation' (asking questions, subscribe to a newsletter,...).
Conclusion
The importance of calling or sending e-mail to find new customers or to retain current customers can not be neglected. An element sometimes underestimated is the 'personal' aspect of both. On-line advertising, a company website, blogs allowing readers to react, creating company profile on social networks,... are important tools without attention for the "personal" aspect. However, for ABIS in particular, it is important that a customer is not a number, but a partner.