The ultimate question is not whether to market your services or not. The ultimate question is whether to do it internally or outsource that function. And that decision will depend on your company’s internal capacity, resources, skill sets and priorities.
Most companies today do not have the internal capacity to develop an inside sales team – management of that team, workstations, phones and phone lines, computers, software, technology, etc. Most companies today do not have the resources to maintain an inside sales team – employee payroll, management payroll, taxes, overhead, etc. Most companies today do not have the skill set on staff to successfully market their product or service – script development, database development, knowing how to get through the gatekeeper or overcome objections, etc. And most companies today are focused on other priorities – maintaining current customers, customer service, developing new sources of revenue, etc.
This is why many companies today choose to outsource the function of creating new customers. New customers generate revenue and are supported by the organizations current infrastructure – maintaining current customers, customer service, etc. It is less expensive and requires less manpower to nurture and retain current customers than to generate a new customer.
“The purpose of business is to create customers.” Peter Drucker.
What is the most competitive advantage that companies can gain today? Business intelligence – customer data and knowledge. It is a company’s most valued asset. Because, with that information, a pipeline of opportunities can be established.
Independent research firm Forrester Research has found that 94% of marketers outsource technology services including database management and 86% outsource marketing technology and support. What do these numbers mean? It means that many companies are finding value in moving their marketing solutions to an outside provider.
The ultimate goal of marketing is to communicate a company’s brand value and initiate customer interaction through conversation and the development of a relationship – the ultimate goal being to drive revenue and increase profits. However, most companies today are so busy maintaining their current client base that they neglect to develop a pipeline of future opportunities. So what happens in an economic downturn such as we are experiencing today? Businesses lose customers and have no pipeline to turn to – they are starting far behind their competition who can turn to the pipeline of opportunities they’ve developed over the years.
A comprehensive marketing solution is critical to a company’s success. Now, more than ever, this truism is demonstrated to companies during our current economic downturn. The time to market is today and every day – not only during slow times. Continuous marketing ensures that a company does not experience the drastic decrease in revenue that an economic downturn can produce.
Outsourcing the marketing process, specifically inside sales, allows companies to focus on their core business while, at the same time, benefitting from an outsourced partner who provides specialized expertise, faster time to ROI, reduced risk as well as many other advantages.
Companies can not survive without customers. This means both new customers as well as current customers. That is the ultimate goal of inside sales and marketing… to develop, nurture and retain the greatest of all our assets – our customers.
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Business exists to supply goods and services to customers, rather than to supply jobs to workers and managers, or even dividends to stockholders. There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. The customer is a foundation of a business and keeps it in existence. Business is all about ‘Adding Value to the Stakeholders. These stakeholders encompass customers, shareholders and employees for a given company/organization. We can’t neglect one of them.