The 5 Most Common Problems With Outbound Campaigns

Does your sales team make cold calls or run cold email marketing campaigns? Is your company actively running TV commercials? Will your brand have a presence at an upcoming industry-related trade show? Do you send direct mail?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're actively employing outbound campaigns and strategies to generate leads. You're taking the initiative, sparking conversations, and reaching out to broad audiences.

Undoubtedly, this proactive approach offers distinct advantages when it comes to your sales and marketing efforts. Sales teams that skip making telemarketing calls experience 42% less growth than their counterparts at companies that invest in these efforts. Contrary to common misconceptions, a significant 69% of prospects are open to and even responsive to cold calls.

The landscape of traditional TV advertising in Europe is also thriving, poised to reach US$30.05 billion in 2024. This robust figure underscores the continued significance of TV advertising as a key channel for businesses to connect with their customers.

Jumping headfirst into the positives of outbound lead generation is tempting. There's plenty to get excited about, of course! But let's keep it real - outbound campaigns do have their fair share of challenges. No biggie, though! We've got the hacks to dodge and dive through these hurdles, ensuring every outbound marketing campaign not only rocks but also smoothly slides into a killer customer journey.

This article covers the five most common glitches in outbound campaigns and shares our tried-and-true solutions.

1. The Dialling Dilemma: How Many Attempts Should You Make?

Here's the age-old question: how many attempts hit the right note? While advice shifts depending on who you speak to, the simple truth is that consistency wins the game. If your sales reps call it quits after the second ring, often the finish line for many, it feels like packing up the party too early.

In the realm of first-call attempts, it's a tightrope most businesses must walk. Stats say those persistent folks chasing targets tend to make more sales. But let's not forget that sales reps are also human, and even the most driven salesperson can become demotivated by an endless string of calls with radio silence or an elusive connection.

SOLUTION:

Successful outbound campaigns don't function independently of the overarching sales and marketing strategy. Supporting your outbound campaign with smart outbound and inbound tools and inbound marketing strategy can make your cold-calling tactics much more impactful. Set the stage by making your website a data goldmine. Imagine that a lead has been called twice – no answer. Loop that data into your CRM, and let the automation begin. 

If the lead ever engages with your business in the future, you'll be able to a) validate that this is a right-fit lead, b) if you've already done research or categorised them in a specific segment of your database, your sales rep will have access to useful background information that helps to personalise the conversation with these potential customers. 

You can also do more to warm up your audience by targeting a marketing campaign at a specific segment of your database. Seeing or hearing your marketing message before receiving a cold call from your sales team may help turn cold leads into potential customers. 

2. The Personalisation Predicament: Crafting Connections That Count

Given that outbound marketing campaigns typically target wider audiences, there's an inherent risk of falling into the generic trap. As a marketer, you're well aware of personalisation's pivotal role in boosting conversion rates – for example, 80% of customers are more likely to purchase from your business if you provide a tailored experience and customised marketing messages.

But what if you can't access all the tiny details you need to customise your outreach? What happens if your chosen channel (for example, television advertising ) doesn't allow for personal nuances like names and preferences?

SOLUTION:

Kicking off an email with a lead's first name isn't the height of personalisation. Understanding what matters to your lead and ensuring your communication with them highlights this understanding is way more important.

This is where carving out your ideal customer profile becomes critical. Conduct market research, tap into existing customer data, and even conduct interviews to ensure that the sales and marketing content driving your outbound campaign resonates authentically and helps the potential customer make informed decisions. 

Given the scale of your efforts, harnessing the synergy between automation and personalisation is paramount. Utilise segmentation tools to adjust audience groups based on behaviours dynamically, explore smart/dynamic personalisation tokens for adaptable messaging, and trigger automated responses tied to specific customer actions. A/B testing will refine your personalisation strategy, ensuring automated responses retain a human touch and remain relevant. 

Automation with a human touch brings efficiency and resonance to outbound sales campaigns, easily achievable with outstanding tools such as HubSpot's CRM.

3. The ROI Riddle: Navigating the Challenges of Tracking Returns

Outbound campaigns can present a tricky puzzle. How do we unravel the enigma of attribution? The real head-scratcher? Measuring and showcasing the return on investment (ROI). Outbound campaigns, dancing through a mix of online and offline touchpoints, pose a challenge: without the right tools and strategies, proving your campaign's impact can feel like every marketer's nightmare. The struggle intensifies when attributing conversions to specific interactions in this multifaceted journey. Of course, there are several key performance indicators (KPIs) that will reveal how successful your outbound campaign was. 

SOLUTION:

First things first: What does success look like to your business? In other words, what are you hoping to achieve with this next outbound marketing campaign? Is it more awareness? More marketing-qualified leads for your sales reps to call? Are you trying to improve your brand's reputation or get more engagement with your marketing message? Knowing what outcomes you desire will help you identify the correct tools to track and report on performance.

For example, with cold emails, you'll care about things like open rate, conversion, bounce rates and click-through rates. But without careful consideration and some effort behind the scenes when it comes to CRM hygiene, you'll struggle to keep your sales teams busy with quality leads. This is because many businesses unwittingly waste time and money on outdated contact lists. 

CRMs like HubSpot report on hard bounces with each email sent. It's essential that you immediately look into email addresses that hard bounce and remove them from your contact list and database to preserve the quality of your sending domain and enhance deliverability. 

High click-through rates show that you're sending relevant content to your target audience and your lead is keen to find out more about your product or service. If you're spamming people, however, i.e. sending a significant amount of poorly crafted sales and marketing content that's failing to generate interest, the response rate will be low, and you'll end up with negative indicators, such as email unsubscribes.

While we're on the topic of CRMs, it's crucial to select a robust technology that can effectively consolidate offline and online data for quality reporting and a comprehensive overview of your customer journey. If you choose other advanced analytics tools, be sure that they can integrate with your CRM to allow for seamless revenue attribution.

4.  A Floppy Follow-up Strategy

Many businesses will pump large chunks of their budget into an outbound campaign, generate a tonne of engagement, and then... crickets. Nothing happens with the influx of leads that start hitting up their website. This can be hugely disappointing for the business and potential clients who were expecting a follow-up call or more information. They may have been a perfect fit for your product or service, but they just didn't get further along in the sales funnel because no one reached out to them, and there was no obvious next step outlined in your content marketing strategy.

SOLUTION:

The key to a successful follow-up strategy is communication and alignment between sales and marketing so that everyone knows what a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) looks like and what a sales-qualified lead (SQL) looks like. Furthermore, the handover process from MQL to SQL needs to be clearly mapped so that everyone is held accountable and can act proactively when closing deals.

Your follow-up strategy should utilise a blend of automated and personalised steps to ensure your team can filter through a large number of potential leads, ensuring only the most ready-to-buy are contacted. This helps to avoid friction and increases the success of your outbound campaigns.

Dedicate time to regularly update your sales and marketing content so that it speaks to the key challenges your target audience faces in real-time. This shows your company is interested in offering meaningful solutions. If you're running an outbound sales campaign based on a current topic or challenge for your customer base, it's vital that your website and messaging align and don't display conflicting or outdated information. 

Schedule follow-up calls to check in, ensuring a non-aggressive yet impactful reconnection with leads that were responsive to elements of your outbound campaign but weren't ready to buy. Timing is crucial; plan follow-ups according to previously discussed timelines. Evaluate lead fit and adjust strategies based on responses. A well-tuned follow-up ensures older leads become valuable customers.

5. Battling Ad Aversion: The Attention Deficit in Outbound Campaigns

In an era inundated with information, having a captivated audience is a prized possession. Researchers estimate that consumers encounter an average of 98.5 ads daily, coupled with a barrage of content for entertainment, work, and learning. Navigating through this data deluge while making crucial decisions has become the norm. In this scenario, marketers grapple with the formidable task of not only seizing a lead's attention but also compelling them to take decisive conversion actions. In this landscape of perpetual distractions, standing out and securing engagement demands innovative strategies and laser-focused messaging. 

SOLUTION:

Break through the noise by implementing innovative content strategies, interactive campaigns, and experiences that set your message apart from competitors. When investing in advertising, enlist experienced content creators and advertisers to ensure your message is delivered meaningfully and that your value proposition is understood. Even in traditional channels, infuse digital elements for heightened engagement. Leverage social media channels and other online marketing platforms as complementary tools, seamlessly integrating them to enhance your brand presence and improve the buyer's journey.

Prioritise an audience-centric approach by conducting thorough buyer persona research, aligning your content with the specific pain points and preferences of your ideal customer profile. While your outbound marketing message may reach a broad audience, it should resonate on a personal level, effectively breaking through the ad-induced apathy.

How Can BEE Digital Empower Your Growth Journey?

Outbound campaigns are intricate, and a balanced marriage between your inbound sales and marketing strategy has to occur in order to make any outbound campaign successful. The path to qualified sales calls with decision-makers is dynamic, and at BEE, we don't just acknowledge the challenges – we thrive on turning them into opportunities.

Our customer-centric approach ensures every action and tool is meticulously tailored to your industry and ideal customer profile. Here's a glimpse of the value we bring at every crucial stage:

1. Lead Lists:

Let us help you utilise B2B data, intent data and sales triggers for more targeted results. This happens in the form of automated lead nurturing and prefiltering of hot leads, all done on the basis of a defined ideal customer profile and buyer persona. 

2. SQLs:

Launch strategic outbound campaigns that integrate with your CRM for enhanced sales-qualified leads. We'll help you run successful outreach campaigns along with effective retargeting to ensure optimal campaign performance. 

3. Nurturing:

Automate lead nurturing with AI-based campaigns for sustainable relationships and effective communication with leads generated from your outbound sales and marketing campaigns. 

Embark on a journey of comprehensive solutions with BEE, where success isn't a destination; it's a continuous evolution. Connect with BEE today, and let's launch powerful, measurable outbound campaigns that deliver results.