Just to put it out there, cold calling is dead and digital marketing has now taken over as the best method for lead generation. Here are just a few of the reasons why people seem to prefer digital marketing to the now ancient art of cold calling.
- ·They’re not comfortable answering calls from strangers. If they don’t recognise your phone number, they really don’t have a reason to pick up.
- ·If they do answer your call, why are they going to trust you? They have no reason to trust you.
- ·There is simply no incentive to return your call whatsoever.
- ·They expect that quality advisors will not be cold calling.
So, a question for you, why does digital marketing work better for insurance marketing campaigns?
Everyone is online – Through digital marketing, you can connect with almost every imaginable audience or group in the world. There are no limitations when it comes to geographic, demographic or even language barriers. In fact, if the numbers of users in the 55+ category has increased on social media by nearly 80% in the last few years. This makes it the fastest growing demographic for the platform. Therefore, in conclusion if you are looking to reach your target market, you WILL find them online.
You have added trust – When it comes to cold calling, you’re asking people to trust you without first giving them a reason. This approach has always been challenging, but never more so than now. If they can find social proof of your skill online, then they’re more likely to come to you. Because people have gotten used to finding what they need online, it’s a lot easier to lead them to you. You can make a trust deposit by creating helpful content on your blogs and sharing it via social media.
Its more cost effective – There is a common misconception that cold calling is the cheaper option of the two because all it takes is time. Yet, your time is the most valuable resource you have. Many, fail to give adequate value to their time. Producing positive ROI is about spending time doing what you do best and streamlining the rest. Sometimes, that could mean outsourcing your marketing department.
It broadens your reach – Cold calling is strictly one to one outreach. This severely limits the number of people you can contact at a time. Even the best cold callers can only make a few hundred calls a day, maximum. Digital marketing gives you the chance to grow your reach exponentially. When one person reads, and shares your content, their entire network can see it. If a few people share it your reach will grow and grow and grow. This is the basis for viral marketing – the holy grail of content marketing.
Prospects are in their comfort zone – Your prospects will be more likely to trust you if they’re able to verify your ability and credibility. Through digital marketing, you can provide social proof via testimonials and case studies. These types of content are hugely effective at turning visitors into leads and leads into prospects.
So, what do you think, is cold calling dead? Does it still have a place in marketing? Or has digital marketing taken over entirely? Let me know.
