Lead generation success establishes new channel to support business expansion for breatheHR
BreatheHR is the trading name of Centurion Management Systems Ltd. The company was formed in 1996 as a specialist implementer of business software solutions for small to medium sized organisations, and is now recognised for its expertise and personal, high service approach.
Having implemented HR systems across the UK for over 20 years, Centurion decided to develop its own HR software solution to address the unmet needs of small and growing businesses wanting to escape the admin of managing their people. As a result, the company developed breatheHR – a comprehensive HR support and cutting-edge, cloud-based HR management system. BreatheHR is easy and intuitive to use, quick to set up, affordable, reliable and completely secure. Its responsive design means it’s easy to manage and employee friendly allowing companies to focus on building their business, rather than their HR admin.
Project background
Since its launch, breatheHR has grown rapidly year on year and the HR software has been supplied to over 2000 companies, either through online purchases or channel partners as part of their own service. Previous growth had been driven through inbound activity only via Pay per Click, SEO, content marketing and PR channels. The company realised that in order to expand further, and reach the 75% of small businesses still not using HR software, they needed a more direct approach. To fulfil this objective and create a new feed for the sales pipeline, the company engaged The Telemarketing Company to carry out a campaign to drive new business, via an online demo, a free trial of the software or a telephone call with a breatheHR consultant.
Project execution
BreatheHR is specifically designed to meet the needs of a typical small business so the client was very clear that they wanted to target owners and HR managers within businesses with between 20 - 99 employees. The Telemarketing Company was responsible for sourcing data to match the target profile, and contacted one of their trusted data providers to source businesses of this size within a number of key sectors. Data was suppressed against the current client list to ensure appointments generated were with new prospective clients only.
A briefing took place at the agency offices to train callers on the client proposition, objectives and pain points, features and benefits of the software including the unique selling points around ease of use, competitive pricing, and friendly service. It was important for callers to carefully qualify opportunities – for example, recognising the characteristics of a good prospect such as companies experiencing rapid growth in employee numbers, those subject to compliance regulations or those referred by existing clients. Agents would offer a phone appointment or a 30 minute online demonstration, which would be scheduled in the appropriate timeslot, directly into the breatheHR’s CRM diary management tool. The agents were also able to highlight the opportunity for a 14 day free trial and email relevant literature to nurture the pipeline.
Results
Regular onsite visits by the client to discuss progress helped refine the approach and identify areas for improvement. Different callers were also introduced to find the best style and fit for the campaign. This close collaboration, regular reviews, and call recordings shared for each outcome, ensured that the campaign steadily gained momentum.
With no prior history to draw on, a KPI of one result every ten hours had been set and this was achieved in the course of the six week calling period. Over 300 conversations with decision makers took place and 26 results were generated. Given the lack of awareness in the market, in addition to a new channel to feed sales growth, the campaign has provided good exposure for the brand, a pipeline of leads for future development, feedback on the brand proposition together with other insight such as competitor activity.
"This was the first time we had used telemarketing as a lead generation tool. I was delighted with TTMC’s approach all the way through the process. At the outset, TTMC took time to understand our business needs and also our software. My team has worked closely with TTMC throughout the campaign to tailor our approach and maximise the opportunities. TTMC and their brilliant team come highly recommended."
Customer Success Director, breatheHR