I have often considered marketing as a combination of;

• What you say
• Who you say it to
• When you say it

The “what you say” element is quite literally the telemarketing script or postal mailing /email broadcast text content. And the “who you say it to” is a direct link to the b2b data file you source from a list broker. It is essential to get both elements right when initiating a marketing campaign.

But how important is the “when you say it” element, which relates to timing? And what effect does the campaign timing have on results?

It is impossible to determine the ever changing moods of prospects, and whether or not they will receive your marketing piece more warmly one day in comparison to the next. But there are some elements to business which genuinely are seasonal.

Imagine commercial contract solicitors, or even insolvency practitioners. Most businesses only want their services when they have a contractual litigation issue or (for the latter) their company is in severe financial difficulty. It isn’t practical to market your services to companies asking “do you have a problem we can help with?” because so many prospects would be immediately disqualified from having any need or desire of these services. Quite possibly they never will have a need too, but if ever they did it would be very much a question of timing.

Airt conditioning consultants work all year round; servicing maintenance contracts on a regular basis throughout the year. They don’t only want commercial customers when it’s hot, and offices are in need of an air conditioning fix. However, it is during the heat-wave times that the employees are at their most uncomfortable, stuck in a hot office environment. Here is where telemarketing can be particularly potent, as opposed to direct mail. The telemarketing list can be segmented by region and allocated the day’s weather forecast first thing in the morning. The regions expecting a swelteringly hot day can be targeted by phone; would your office benefit from a free review of its air conditioning systems? With the calls made during the hottest times of the day (say 11am to 3pm) they have the strongest possible chance of hitting at the right time. The beauty of telemarketing companies is that they are able to switch between client campaigns to suit the best timing of the calls.

Meanwhile, a telemarketing campaign to public houses, restaurants and hotels is probably best avoiding precisely these times of day (11am – 3pm) because they are traditionally busy times, during the lunch period. So a call during these hours is more likely to go unanswered or be met with an abrupt response.

Another particularly potent campaign for the summer months are the suppliers of water coolers and other office refreshment service companies. Again, the hotter the day the greater the probability that any prospect with a potential need will have a stronger desire to meet with the supplier of these services.

Neither of these approaches could be considered preying on the vulnerable, as it cannot be known from the telemarketing data which companies are in need of these services before the calls are made. As a telemarketing service provider you would simply be maximising your opportunity around the time of year, and hopefully generating your client a higher volume of quality appointments.