With the growing number of ways to reach prospects through digital marketing and other online techniques, the use of cold emails or cold calls doesn’t seem as popular anymore. On the contrary, cold calls and their online counterparts are still very much alive only the way in which we implement them has changed. Gone are those “cold” calls that literally left us both feeling awkward with few conversions.
Whether you go for cold email or cold call, use accurate business data to optimize your outreach.
If you’re serious about truly utilizing either cold calls or emails to reach potential buyers, either in a B2B or B2C environment, which one will actually work better for your brand? The real answer to this question isn’t simple and depends on how your brand is situated, how you already communicate with your customers and your own preferences.
The Benefits and Pitfalls of Cold Emails
It’s typically a lot easier to create and send off cold emails – more so even than cold calls. It’s rather simple to create a template and have the names and other personal touches added automatically from the platform you’re using. You can send out hundreds of emails in the amount of time it takes to make one phone call, so the opportunity mathematically is larger when sending out emails.
Another benefit is that there really isn’t a way for people to ignore a cold email once it arrives in their email inbox. They will have to read your subject line at the very least to find out who you are, so if you have something genuine and intriguing, they may just read what you have to say.
One issue with cold emails is that although you can send out hundreds or thousands of emails, you’re not likely to get a response from everyone. The average response rate for cold emails is 1%, which means that 1 out of every 100 people will respond – if you’re creating something of real value. The rest will click that “delete” button. The ability to connect with someone on a personal level is much more difficult than if you’re able to speak to someone face to face – or voice to voice. So, it’s going to take a little extra work to develop those relationships – but it’s not impossible. If there’s one tip we can give you, don’t use a recycled email template. Instead, use your own. You’re going to be much more likely to get responses from people you personally email. If you can tell the difference, so can they.
The Benefits and Pitfalls of Cold Calls
Cold calls tend to have a bad rep, but if you can get someone on the phone, you’re actually more likely to create that personal connection as mentioned above and gain direct responses far more quickly than if you were to wait for an email back. If your company or brand’s message is more than what you can convey in an email, pick up the phone.
A pitfall of cold calling is the fact that you’re kind of putting someone on the spot to respond.
Whereas an email response proves that you have piqued their interest, someone on the phone may feel pressured into making a decision, not have time to even speak at the moment, or even get annoyed that you called and didn’t email in the first place. Also, we’re much more used to getting emails from people we don’t know or don’t know well. Phone calls are a bit more invasive and unless you go about them the right way, you could be destroying potential relationships before they even have a chance to flourish.
So which type of cold messaging should you use to reach new prospects? You decide. An email may be a great starting point while offering times available to talk via phone when the receiver is ready. If you already have some form of an established connection, a phone call might be good – especially if you’re only seeking an answer to one or two questions and don’t necessarily need to start vocalizing your entire sales pitch.
Before you go…
Try looking into cold outreach techniques that may be newer to the table such as social messaging. Find a person or business on Facebook, LinkedIn or another social media platform and send your messages that way. It’s much more casual and promotes conversation when the person is ready instead of a “right here, right now” phone call or an email that might get lost in their inbox.
Interested in learning more about how OutlastedData can help you scale your business and increase your brand awareness before the end of the year? Reach out for a conversation with a member of our team today.
