The reporting facet of a professional B2B telemarketing campaign is one of the most critical components of a campaign. Useful reports can intelligently provide valuable internal and external data metrics, which can be employed to assist in a variety of decision making activities. Additionally, reporting is a key element that is continuously monitored and analyzed throughout the course of each campaign. From an IT perspective, report development essentially consists of four key phases: requirements, development, testing, and delivery – when these phases are executed well, a meaningful story is illustrated by the reports.
Gathering Requirements
While it possible for similar data elements to exist amongst various telemarketing campaigns, each campaign reporting needs can be different – even for multiple campaigns for the same client. Therefore, it critical for the client reporting needs to be identified and communicated to the IT team so that the finished reports illustrate the desired functionality in a professional and practical manner. What types of client reports are desired? Which data elements will need to be presented on the reports? In which format should the data elements be displayed? At what frequency should the reports be generated? These are a few of the central questions that arise when gathering reporting requirements; however, once the requirements have been verified, the actual report development process commences.
Report Development
During the development process, engineers utilize a variety of tools to design and build reports based on documented reporting requirements. From database queries to intuitive UI elements, the magic happens in this segment. After reports have been created, it important for them to be verified.
Report Testing
Not only is it tremendously vital to capture the data associated with each conversation, it also extremely important to definitively and accurately ensure that the data integrity of the information associated with those conversations is reflected correctly within the reports. After the numbers have been confirmed, the reports are ready to be delivered.
Report Delivery
Program Directors and Sales Executives are the primary individuals with whom the client interacts. Once IT sends the reports to the Program Directors, the content within the reports is sent to the client for strategic analysis and collaborative discussions.
Overall Thoughts
Data is the heart of any telemarketing campaign – the reporting output of that data is imperative for decision making activities on internal and external levels. Due to the high importance of reporting within a B2B telemarketing campaign, it crucial for reports to be clear, accurate, professional, and informative. Data is the foundation – reports are the glue that pull it all together.