NEWS
ON TARGET MARKETING
A target market
is a specific group within an overall market
ANDY GRANT, DIRECTOR, BOWAN ARROW
Everyone in any organisation that I have worked for over the years has an opinion about marketing. These opinions can range from the functions that marketing should actually perform, to where a marketing budget should (or should not) be focused, to reasons why marketing doesn’t generate leads that are about to drop as a deal. Generally, opinions come from a position of perceived ‘knowledge’, but if you asked the same people to actually define ‘on target marketing’, blank looks are likely to be the order of the day.
A target market is a specific group within an overall market that is usually defined by age, gender, geography, or a more specific factor (for example, interest or function). By breaking markets into segments it is easier to concentrate the communication of relevant messages and offers to that part of the market where you think your business has a compelling offer or distinct advantage over the competition. This should also increase the percentage of responses and leads. If we apply this methodology to the telecoms industry, a campaign should be based upon some simple selection criteria like vertical segments, number of employees or sites, or even preferred or incumbent vendors. What do you want to say to these people? By making these selections during the planning stage, businesses significantly improve the chances of success with the added benefit of an increased return on investment.
As we are in the age of a digital economy, small businesses must realise the potential in some of the free, and also low cost tools and platforms, that are available to address target markets. Linked In, Facebook and Twitter are all free social networks that can help convey your messages to the markets of your choice. Other tools like ‘pay as you go’ email marketing platforms should be considered as they give instant real-time reports from the target market and reactions to the message.
By using this targeted approach in their marketing efforts, any business should see an improvement in RoI from their marketing campaigns. Targeted marketing in general should also provide a solid focus and simple methodology for all future marketing campaigns. Finally, if resellers apply to their vendors for business development funds using a simple ‘on targeted’ programs approach, they are more likely to approve given the RoI.
Voicenet in DMSL distie agreement
VOICE and broadband services provider, DMSL, has signed a dis- tribution agreement with hosted VoIP specialist Voicenet Solutions. The partners are sharply focused
on recruiting resellers to take the hosted VoIP solution to the SME market throughout the UK. John Carter, MD of DMSL,
stated: “The time is right for hosted VoIP. SMEs understand the ben- efits and are waiting for the right proposition to come along. “The Voicenet Solutions’ host-
ed VoIP service is suitable for the smaller business that wants all the benefits that VoIP can bring and keep their costs under control.” Gary Pryor, Voicenet’s CEO,
added: “With its strong presence among SME resellers in the IT and telecoms sectors, DMSL will help us raise awareness of the benefits the hosted VoIP service can offer for both the end user and the reseller partner.”
Trade book
ROCOM has launched its 2010 telecoms Portfolio trade catalogue, the first since its acquisition by Nimans. Dealer Sales Director, Tom Maxwell, says that for many the printed catalogue remains a preferred choice for product info’ and technical specifications.
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Outbreak of phone fraud
A SHOCK report has ranked the UK as a top five global hot spot for communication fraud, including telephone hacking, which is run- ning at up to $80bn worldwide. According to the latest research
from The Communication Fraud Control Association (www.cfca. org) the UK has joined Cuba, the Philippines, Lichtenstein and India where the biggest outbreaks are concentrated, with problems con- tinuing to escalate. As exclusive UK suppliers of
Control Phreak – a fully automatic PBX firewall that prevents tele- phone hackers from making expen- sive international calls – Nimans and Rocom claim to be at the fore- front of efforts to contain outbreaks of phone hacking in the UK. Chief Architect, Roger Ansin, who is MD of The Callista Group, teamed-up with Nimans and Rocom last year to launch the latest version of Control Phreak, which took five years to develop. It now comes complete with an integrated Proxy Server which only allows authorised access to PBX programming. According to Ansin, ‘phreaking’
is now masterminded by organised criminals and terrorist groups to raise illicit funds. He cites links to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks
Roger Ansin & Julian Niman
in India where it is thought that a gang, over a three year period, made $55m from unauthorised calls to fund their activities. Ansin commented: “A phone system is a vital business asset but it’s also one of the most vulnerable. Phone hackers can breach security in milliseconds. Control Phreak provides total around-the-clock protection, automatically detecting and killing any illegal activity.” Control Phreak works by mak- ing a phone system invisible to hackers. The technology currently works with several leading tele- phone systems such as Panasonic, Samsung and Siemen, with other solutions available from Nimans for all telephone systems. Nimans says a free demonstra- tion licence is available for resellers along with two videos to show their customers.
Watchdog targets rogue comms fi rms with threat of heavy fi nes
OFCOM has turned the screw on rogue comms firms that engage in the mis-selling and slamming of landline services. Under strict new Ofcom rules, telcos found guilty of slamming could face fines of up to 10% of their turnover. The regulations, which came
into force on March 18th, are designed to better protect consum- ers and enable Ofcom to take more effective action against telecoms providers that break the rules. According to Ofcom, some com-
n
panies use a variety of sales and mar- keting activities to gain customers, the majority of which are carried out responsibly. However, some
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businesses attempt to gain cus- tomers through dishonest activities such as mis-selling, or slamming, where customers are switched from one company to another without their knowledge and consent. To ensure compliance with the
new rules, the watchdog is open- ing a monitoring and enforcement programme. Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed
Richards, said: “It is not acceptable for consumers to suffer from com- panies engaging in dishonest sales and marketing activity. Ofcom will not hesitate to take enforcement action against firms that don’t com- ply with the new rules.”
Slamming and mis-selling are the most complained about issues to Ofcom in the fixed line market, averaging about 750 complaints per month over the last year. Examples of mis-selling issues
reported to Ofcom include receiv- ing calls from telecoms providers pretending to be another com- pany; telecoms providers incor- rectly advising consumers of pack- age costs; and telcos not prop- erly informing consumers of any Minimum Contract Periods and Early Termination Charges.
sgilroy@bpl-business.com
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