VoiceBroadcasting and SMS/Text Marketing - The new marketing mantras

Falling TV viewer ratings and Folding Newspaper firms is a reality we are living in and this has nothing to do with the recession. Broadly, these channels are having reduced impact and marketers are looking for more effective delivery channels like Interactive Voice Broadcasting (IVB) and Personalized SMS(Text Messaging).

Companies are now using SMS often to contact both existing clients and prospects, indeed some reports state that it is now one of the preferred methods of communication for call centre’s – it is cost effective and fast and can hit large numbers very quickly.

Recently, we deployed a Project Delivery Application which sends SMS to appropriate Business Development Managers and Project delivery managers about  project delivery milestones/alerts. We also deployed a Personalized Text Campaign solution to mobiles targeting voters by constituency for a Political party wanting to reach out one on one to all the voters in the region. Both projects had absolutely great acceptance and I can relate to numerous applications to this SMS/Text messaging channel going ahead given that it is inexpensive and delivery rates are exceptional always in the 90+% range.

IV avoids the need for lengthy conversation and can get “straight to the point” within 1 minute however, the option for a prospective customer (depending upon the criteria set) to request a call-back, thereby offering the person to have the human interaction, but allowing the company to know that the call is now both expected and welcomed. Obama Campaign used all the traits of new age marketing but missed out on this superior channel which is already adopted by politicians in countries world over.

Linking Business data to SMS and Voice systems is a very effective method of managing a direct campaign: for example. If your data contains information that a Equipment Service contract expires on a certain date then a simple SMS message to the equipment owner advising and offering a service appointment may be seen as a godsend by the recipient AND has generated business for the sender when done at the right time.

Email has seen a reducing delivery graph for the last couple of years to the point where delivery rates world over are under 70%. Yet,Personalized email marketing, correctly conducted, is still a very powerful tool, which helps to build strong one-to-one relationships with customers, and for many successful companies it is now regarded as an essential marketing tool forming a fundamental part of the overall strategy.

I guess the silver bullets for the new marketing era ahead will be in IVB, SMS and EMAIL.. If you aren’t using some or all these channels -it’s time to shake up and wake up to the new age communication channels

An injection of positive energy is just what's needed

Everyone is getting tired of the whining about the meltdown. An injection of positive energy is just what's needed now. Having worked through two recessions, I see that a full-blown recession is yet to happen. But is it really coming? The last one after September 11th was really nasty with too many bankruptcies and lawsuits.
Things are going to get a hell of a lot worse or a hell of a lot better and it will all be down in the end to our mood and the steps we all take now. No government can push us out of recession and it may be that we are in it for the long haul. Anyway, Why should Governments bail out ill managed Financial and Auto firms. It is preposterous that these big fat companies which don’t share their profits are ready for government bailout at the first glimpse of trouble. I think it will only make sense for these big but not so energetic companies to fail and give opportunities for smaller firms to rise up the charts. It is of course, a free economy and the toughest should survive.
Any turnaround will only come from lots of people making small decisions. From a marketing perspective these small decisions could be pushing out a new direct mail or email campaign. But each decision needs a result and the better the results the faster things will start to change and confidence grows. But we’ll all be demanding better. Marketers need to produce better ROI so as to encourage clients to invest more into this facet and revive their organizations.
Isn’t the time right now to get hungrier, work on getting the basics right and get great at what we’re good at? So if it’s true that recession and hard times can be the mother of invention, and much of the greatest companies have grown from tough times, it’s going to be interesting what’s going come out of B2B sales and marketing in 2009.

6 Ways you can use this Economy as an opportunity to Grow

6 Things Sales Champions and Leaders Must Do to Grow in this period of Global economic recession.

Everyone in your firm is probably wondering "How has this economy affected our business?". "What is the company doing and what's the action plan for 2009?". Here are six ways you can use this Opportunity and Economy to Grow.

1) Reassure Top Champions that their jobs are safe and their bonus potential is even higher with the new plans for 2009 (even if their results may be lower). Wear your thinking hat and come up with a adrenaline charging Bonus plan for your sales champions.Praise the Sales Champions even for maintaining Status Quo. Just maintaining the previous levels of sales it self is a challenge. Overcommunicate that you have confidence in the team and world is not coming to an end.

2) Focus on existing customers :

• Selling existing products to existing clients takes 1:2 effort
• Selling new products to existing customers takes 1:4 effort

compared to

• Selling new products to new clients which takes 1:24 effort.

It is 6 times easier to sell to existing clients -even the ones who might not have been freaking tickled or happy with your previous delivery, might still want to deal with you if you proved to be a company that will address customer issues instead of running away at the first sign of trouble. "A known Devil is better than an unknown Angel". Keep uncovering new requirements, new opportunities from existing clients and Keep your existing clients happy.

3) Focus on Qualified Prospects/Industries and introduce targeted strategies to lower the risk of buying. Industries like Food, Alcholic Beverages, Healthcare are Growing even in this economy... Can your Business services these industries?. Can your business service Globally? With advent of Voice Over IP and high speed internet, you can have a UK line at your desk tommorrow -Go conquer Europe or Asia or any other continent left!!

4) Improve People, Processes and Technology/Software. Sales will improve with better training and improved processes along with superior software/technology. It's time to improve, Trim the fat or the bottom 10% of your workforce, but don't cut the muscle!! Actually, Grow the muscle through Training the rest of the folks in this economy. It is time for the rest of the champions that survived the cut to improve. I was speaking at a Conference on Sales & Marketing and one of the attendees asked "If we train our Sales folks and what if they leave", I retorted back asking "What if you don't train and your sales folks remain duds for life?". Good times or Bad times, Training always pays. Invest in it now more than ever to get the best ROI.

5) Sure the Newspaper headlines screaming negative news of the economy is a cause for concern, fear and anxiety. This not the time to crawl under the desk and pray. Sales leaders have to convert this anxiety into energy for their troops. Last Monday, I had one of our top Sales Business Development Managers walk up to me and say "Have you read the news ?" .. I said Yes, and went on to say "The economic outlook looks a little gloomy". He stopped me and reflected the fact that the recession if any has started in November 2007 last year and we really haven't felt the pinch of it till date, now is not the time to overly get concerned. Stop Talking about the Recession!! Look at the turnaround and growth happening next year 2009.

6) Get Agressive with your Advertising and Marketing offers and Get on the offensive. It's time to give your competitors a true run for their money while your conservative competitors are on the defensive. The Economy might take the wind of the sales a tad bit and empty our pockets, but it cannot empty our spirits. Sales Leaders need to improve their mindset, become charged up more than ever and keep the spirit of selling in your organization alive!!

Why Champions Love Recessions!!

Here’s Why Champions Love Recessions!!

Champions Love Recessions. Champions that outmarket and outsell their competition during slow times emerge from the recession with increased marketshare and better long term profitability.

Studies in September 2008 by the Marketing Planning Institute, McGrawhill and Nielsen show that Marketing and Lead Generation Investments are more critical in gaining market share during the downturn rather than when business is good. A Mercer company study shows 802 of the top 1000 companies that cut cost on marketing during a downturn couldn’t turn profitable for 5 consecutive years after the recession. It is time for Companies and Champions to Double their Marketing efforts.

Here are the 3 things Champions do while others are losing and giving up

1) Marketing Champions attack the market place in a downturn. They Carefully spend more time telemarketing or online or email marketing for customer acquisition. During tough times, Marketing Champions deploy counter intutive strategies to Gain new customers and expand to global markets and expand market share. They Kick off new campaigns – They know Reducing Lead Generation is a sure shot way to ride your sales to the bottom of the totem pole..

2) This is the time to make the investment in Lead Generation and Growth while others are cutting effort. Multi channel marketing solutions including email and online promotions help bring superior ROI at reduced marketing expense. Invest in targeted industry specific projects to take products and services to market faster with the referrals from the same industry.

3) Customers have more time now than ever to talk to Sales Executives and Discuss long term propositions. Some of them might be planning initiatives to develop and launch new products and you could get through to them at the right starting point. Target customers of competitors. You can have your Top Sales Managers and Executive team involved in calling up your strategic clients.

Play Hardball, Be Relentless, Lot of Business is up for Grabs, Grab It!.
The Playing field is less crowded now. Many of the competitors take a Survival approach in a Recession. Champions should take the Thrival approach instead of succumbing to Recessionary Pressures..
Champions, Welcome the Recession & Get to work on Grabbing Market share now!!

Subhakar Rao Surapaneni - Sales and Marketing Pioneer, Subhakar Rao as the Philanthropist

Subhakar Rao Surapaneni Biography

Sales and Marketing Pioneer,Investor,Technology Champion, Philanthropist and Leadership Mentor

Subhakar Rao's career has mirrored his five main professional passions: Leadership mentoring, Sales & Marketing Education, Philanthropy, Technology and Entrepreneurial investments. In each, he has been uniquely successful in creating value whether measured in champions and leaders created(Sales &Marketing magazine called him "The Man Who pioneered Marketing Outsourcing industry using Technology"), inspired students and jobs created. From 1993, he supported numerous companies that created thousands of jobs. His philanthropy began in the 1990s and paralleled his business career. In 1995, he co-founded the Surapaneni Foundation centered around charitable activities and setting up Educational Institutions. He also heads SMEI, a Sales & Marketing -based think tank in India that works to improving global sales and marketing initiatives; and Champions Trust & Charitable Foundation along with the Surapaneni Educational Academy & Champions Lifelong Learning Society . He also heads up the Champions Capital Group, an entrepreneurial capital investment organization. A Top BITS, Pilani graduate in Computer science, Surapaneni completed his M.S. at the Wayne State University, USA & has numerous honorary certifications & degrees.

Read Full Biography

Named one of the “100 Most Influential Global Sales & Marketing Technology Leaders” by Marketing Times, Subhakar Rao is inching towards celebrating two decades of driving global business change. It was in 1993, two years after Surapaneni began his Masters in Wayne State University that the entrepreneurial bug caught him. That was when he began a search for Technology and IT solutions that played a large a role in his life as his better-known innovations in sales & marketing outsourcing. Nearly 12 years after he began parallel careers in philanthropy and IT, Surapaneni started Champions Trust & Charitable Foundation, a think tank - or as some call it, an "action tank" - dedicated to accelerating funding for poor and their education. Based in Bangalore,India, evaluating the entire education process, engaging people, teachers and organizations, and proposing economic incentives and regulatory efficiencies to accelerate scientific discovery. Through broad range of charitable activities the focus is centered on kids, housing for the poor and senior citizens.

A decade earlier, Surapaneni founded the Surapaneni Educational Foundation that made investments and grants to create QIS College of Engineering and later expanded to other business college and schools. In 1998, Surapaneni formalized his previous education oriented philanthropy by co-founding the Surapaneni Educational Academy and in the next decade the Champions Lifelong Learning Society which has contributed to improving education. These institutions are also involved with and donating several hundred computers and helping numerous educational institutions including School, Engineering College & Bachelors Colleges. Now in its 10th year, the Foundation has worked closely with giving out to more than 100 schools and educational institutions. Over the past decade, he has supported extensive programs in such areas as physically challenged job creations, assistance to families of children in low income groups, youth programs and worldwide research on online communication techniques enabling a greener world. He established an acclaimed program, the Educator Awards, in 1999 and is now a serious recognition program after a decade operating in partnership with various schools. Dubbed the "Oscars of Teaching", it has awarded approximately to honor hundreds of teachers and principals.

Surapaneni is also founder of the widely respected SMEI, a non - profit, sales & marketing think tank in India that seeks to create a more educated responsible sales & marketing force, more thoughtful deal making, and improved job creation. SMEI research areas include global capital markets, regional and demographic studies, human capital and job creation, access to capital, intellectual property studies, and enhanced understanding of economic issues. Institute scholars have held dozens of major conferences and published hundreds of influential books, monographs and research reports. More than 10,000 thought leaders and decision makers from nearly 30 nations are now members of this global forum and the summit’s are attended by delegates from across the world.

He has been instrumental in bringing Numerous top trainers like Barry Trailer, Willis Turner, Lesley Everett, Harry Beckwith etc who have addressed sessions and supported initiatives involving bringing Stephen Covey, Michalengelo Celli, Neil Rackham, Brian Tracy etc attended by others.

As a Investor and Incubation champion, Surapaneni’s skills are in making organizations more efficient, dynamic and democratic by innovating a wide range of organic growth techniques previously unused by most companies. This financed much of the early growth of IT outsourcing and Marketing outsourcing industries. "Subhakar Rao is a formidable innovator and we'll all from the Outsourcing Industry will be in his debt for a long time following his footsteps regards setting up Global Business cost effectively."

"Mr. Surapaneni's contribution to the explosive economic growth experienced by the Marketing and Technology Outsourcing Industry in the past 18 years is one of the greatest achievements of modern global entrepreneurs."

His most important work was training and creating numerous Marketing and IT entrepreneurs who launched these ideas for building companies that became engines of marketing outsourcing industry. Based on his initiatives, Surapaneni was determined to focus, first, on cash flow rather than reported earnings; and second, to consider human capital part from India and across the world a part of the balance sheet. This was in a decade when Outsourcing was in its nascence stage and it was assumed by those who are biased that Indians are replacing American jobs.

In 1997, the US immigration/customs department charged him with visa paperwork/ reporting violations in a case that continues to engender controversy. He admitted conduct that resulted - during a brief period in his 18+ years in Outsourcing world – to plea on a single count of violation. Although such conduct had never before (or since) been prosecuted - a fact rarely mentioned in sensationalized web reports - he resolved the case without a trial to prevent further impact on his family. After paying $450,000, he resumed his philanthropic and entrepreneurial work and moved base to India as he no longer wanted to be part of unproductive litigation.

Surapaneni and his partners created what is today a major part of the structure of Marketing Technology Outsourcing firms based on their innovations in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. These innovations - now taken for granted and followed by numerous marketing outsourcing outfits - powered job growth in India and are now helping grow firms around the world.

Surapaneni graduated from St. Johns High School as topper in the CBSE Exams and a gold medal winner, A summa cum laude graduate of the Loyola College where again he topped the charts, He went on to pursue a B.E in Computer Science at the prestigious BITS, Pilani rated among the Top 5 Engineering institutes in India. He graduated ahead of the rest of his class and was the one chosen by BITS to send to USA for a Internship program. He also has a Masters Degree from Wayne State University, USA. He has received honorary certificates and degrees from business and marketing schools; he teaches frequently about leadership and marketing management issues; and is a widely sought after speaker.

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