When companies invest in new product development or market expansion, it’s essential to get it right. That means including the right features, targeting the right buyers, identifying the right price and telling the right story in the market.
Firsthand market research is vital. However, timeframes (and budgets) don’t always allow for multiple rounds of traditional research. Focus groups are time-consuming to set up and expensive to produce. Digital surveys provide only limited, quantitative data. Too often, companies find themselves in the dark when it comes to development and launch because they lack adequate market insights.
Outbound calling can help you excel at your next go-to-market opportunity. It’s fast, in-depth and easy to tailor to the specific needs of your solution. Our “sales lab” approach is perfect for scrappy startups and established companies who need to validate market ideas, test hypotheses and gather voice of customer insights.
Common reasons why product launches fail
There are a number of avoidable reasons why go-to-market initiatives fall flat. Lack of insight into the wants, needs and buying behaviors of the target audience is one of the biggest. Poor positioning without meaningful differentiation is another. Insufficient time for market analysis, testing and training is a third.
Moving forward without truly understanding your target market, your competitors and your potential buyers can spell disaster. It can result in missed opportunities, lost revenue, poor brand reputation and wasted expense.
Often, major go-to-market issues don’t reveal themselves until it’s time for the marketing and sales teams to start generating leads and filling the sales pipeline. However, finding problems at this point is usually too late for a positive outcome.
How go-to-market call campaigns work
An outbound calling campaign can put you in control and steer your next product launch or market expansion in the right direction—without breaking the bank or derailing your timeline.
Here’s how a go-to-market campaign works:
- You provide the criteria for your target audience
- Together, we craft a series of market research questions to ask and data points you want to gather
- We make outbound calls and gather detailed information, using one-on-one conversations with key customers or prospects
- You receive summary reporting and digital call recordings to hear audience insights in their own words
In just weeks, you’re armed with comprehensive market intelligence to make smart and informed decisions.
Outbound calling produces rich market insights
Unlike digital surveys, outbound calling produces rich, conversational insights. There’s ample opportunity to probe for additional information and use decision trees to go in-depth with specific customer segments.
Outbound calling for research and go-to-market is also flexible:
- Need to evolve your questions or approach midway through the project? Done.
- Need to compare responses across multiple market segments? Done.
- Need to test different scenarios for pricing, features or your value proposition? Done.
Using external resources lets you increase or decrease the velocity of calls as needed, without having to hire, train and manage additional callers. Plus, you benefit from the proven processes and best practices honed from numerous research-gathering engagements through the years.
Six ways to calling to expand your market knowledge
Before your next new product launch or market expansion, consider a go-to-market insight gathering campaign. It’s a great way to test your hypotheses and fill in the gaps in your knowledge before an expensive (and public) debut.
Here are six ways an outbound calling campaign can support your next opportunity:
1. Explore market needs. Find the most pressing pain points and challenges that your product or service can solve.
2. Validate product ideas. Get firsthand input on the capabilities your buyers want, and features that will differentiate you from the competition.
3. Test pricing scenarios. Ensure you hit the market with the competitive packages and pricing.
4. Hone your message. Make sure your positioning and value proposition resonate with potential buyers.
5. Identify market segments. Determine which verticals and types of buyers are the best fit for your solution.
6. Learn from potential customers. Discover untapped needs, pressing issues, market trends and other important details that can give you a competitive advantage.
Professional callers make a difference
Volkart May works exclusively with B2B and medtech companies, with call campaigns across the country. Contact us to learn more about our insight gathering capabilities and discuss your opportunity.
