Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

Generating high-quality leads in great volume

Business owners and sales managers in the channel tell me that their biggest challenge right now is generating new business. To do this effectively, they need a constant flow of high-quality leads they can convert. In-house marketing teams have found lead generation tough during the pandemic, as so much has changed. As some markets have closed down completely, new opportunities have opened up elsewhere. Similarly, some traditional lead generation channels were cancelled and postponed, and new ways of engaging prospects emerged.

Successful lead generation comes from effective strategies, which are consistently delivered, measured and improved. Marketing is not something you can dip in and out of or continually change to deliver the next new idea. Rather, it is a constant flow of the right messaging to the right people at the right time, with a strong call to action that is swiftly followed up.

Delivering effective account-based marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is about sales and marketing collaborating to identify and convert key prospects into key accounts. A lot is being written about the subject, but in practice, much of what is being delivered is trial and error. One of the key challenges is activity. It takes a long time to cultivate online relationships, with a lot of engaging material and conversations at multiple layers of an organisation; it also needs a catalyst, an immediate need, which only you can deliver to tip the scales in your favour.

ABM lead generation comes from an effective multilayered strategy, engaging content and influencing the right people in their time of need. It needs to come from a desire to really understand a prospect from every department’s perspective, obtaining a deep understanding of how they operate, how they buy, their key challenges and who you would need to influence to become part of their new supplier onboarding process. It takes time and a lot of effort to get to know the right people and processes. There is not a lot of software available to help you manage and monitor this, making the job extremely manual and in some cases very disjointed.

Securing enough budget

Without a dedicated department head fighting for budget annually with a strong plan, KPIs and ROI predictions, securing a marketing budget can be difficult. Many companies have no dedicated marketing budget, and as opportunities for marketing come up, they are considered on merit. It is challenging to plan a strategy for a constant flow of high-quality leads without a plan and associated budget.

Retailers want fast, reliable, cost-effective internet connectivity in stores for EPOS till systems, kiosks, advertising screens, WiFi etc. They often use 4G as a back-up to a fixed line primary circuit, to ensure business continuity. Retailers are not always sure which network is best in each location, when the 4G back-up will be needed and how much data they will use. Sending engineers to site to establish the strongest signal costs time and money. In addition, they regularly receive high data overage bills, which can be tens of thousands of pounds a month. When a service fails, they often won’t know if it’s the network or the device and are forced to send an engineer to site.

Managed Service Providers are experienced at designing, rolling out and managing solutions however have struggled with the 4G element, managing multiple in-country suppliers, with multiple manual ordering processes and a lack of visibility across the SIM estate. They have had no direct control over SIM assets and no way to aggregate data usage across countries. They want full control over every element of the roll out.

Jola offers a wide range of multi-network roaming SIMs, with aggregated pools, offering multiple terabytes of data across thousands of sites globally. Our multi-network SIMs are un-steered, connect to the strongest available signal and retain connectivity when multiple carrier networks fail.

Mobile Manager is our online management portal for ordering and managing estates of mobile data SIMs. Our white label portal communicates in real-time with multiple 4G networks and can be used by both MSPs and their retailers. Mobile Manager handles SIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons.

Webinars are a great way to deliver key messages to a large group of prospects in one meeting. In the current climate, webinars are popular, as many of us are still working from home. Done well, webinars can help you generate leads, but how do you ensure success?

Plan engaging content

Sales pitches and product demonstrations appeal to a much smaller audience than you might think. To appeal to a wider target audience, you need to plan engaging content. What keeps your prospects up at night? What would they give up an hour of their working day to learn? Information that is expensive to buy or gather by oneself may be of interest to business owners looking for information to back up potential growth strategies. Listening to the personal testimonies of those who have already gone down this road, made the mistakes and come out the other side, may also be of interest.

Target your audience

To get the right people to attend your webinar, you need to think about how you are going to invite them. Planning a month in advance is advisable. Weekly e-mails, social posts, adverts, videos, and PR can all help promote your event and keep track of who has and has not yet registered. If there are key people you want to attend, it may also be worth giving them a call to see if they have seen the e-mail, especially if they already have a relationship with you and will take your call!

Use the right software

It probably goes without saying that you need a good Internet connection and quiet conditions for a webinar, so it may be worth running the webinar from a meeting room in the office, especially if you choose to switch on your video. Using the right software is key. There are plenty of options available to suit most budgets. I would go for one with the ability to see audience engagement, run poll questions and record and post to social sites for additional reach.

Follow up

After a successful webinar, it is important to follow up. Start with those who have asked questions, ensuring they were satisfied with the answers given, and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. After Jola webinars, we send a survey to every delegate so they can rate our performance and suggest improvements for the next one. Check out the delegates who have registered and couldn’t attend. It may be worth sending them the recording and following up to see if they have any additional questions. Measuring the quality of the software, quality of the content, satisfaction of the delegates as well as their engagement gives you a good idea of how you have done. Tracking delegates followed up into the sales pipeline will tell you how successful the webinar was in terms of lead generation, and running a return on investment (RoI) calculation will let you know if it was money and time well spent.

Demand for Machine to Machine (M2M) and (IoT) SIMs is growing, as well as multi-network and Low Power SIMs (LP-WAN). Channel partners are building a pipeline of big deals in key vertical markets, generating high-margin recurring revenue from 4G data.

Transport

There are many experienced providers offering end-to-end solutions to the transport industry, involving 4G routers and cameras. Trams, buses and trains are tracked, and arrival times accurately estimated and advertised, factoring in potential delays. These devices need 4G data SIMs, often with a fixed IP or delivered via a secure Private APN. On average there are seven SIMs per bus, for logging into the cameras to download relevant footage, Wi-Fi, secure card payments, passenger trackers, applications tracking hours worked, engine telemetry and miles travelled.

Utilities

Businesses are managing their energy flows through smart energy grids and smart meters, allowing for more accurate bills. There is a focus on improving energy efficiency and resolving outages more effectively, with remote site monitoring. These devices often require LP-WAN SIMs for longevity and don’t use much data.

Health

Smart devices offer important patient benefits, like connected ambulances. Ambulance crews have access to high-bandwidth internet capabilities, and tablets holding patient records. This means that information can be sent to hospitals in real-time. Tablets require data-only SIMs with data packages to meet requirements.

Security

Commercial security is getting smarter. CCTV and alarms can be monitored securely and footage can be stored remotely. Security devices typically require M2M data SIMs or Fixed IP SIMs.

Retail

Stores are using technology to differentiate themselves by enhancing their in-store experience. They are allowing customers to beat the queues with connected handheld smart devices. From personalised billboards to tailored signage, retailers are evolving to meet changing market conditions. For digital signage, Intelligent 4G routers and multi-network M2M SIMs allow retailers to plug signs in anywhere in the UK and not worry about signal strengths, blackspots or hackers trying to edit their content.

eSIM is a standard set by the GSMA, the association representing mobile network operators worldwide. It can hold multiple mobile profiles simultaneously and can be re-configured ‘over the air’ (OTA) with profile selection rules. 

What are the key features of eSIM?

• Network providers can be changed without swapping out the SIMs.
• You can pick the tariff required based on the amount of data the customer needs and the country (or countries) that the SIM will operate in to reduce roaming costs.
• There is no faster way to gain access to 5G, LTE-M and NB-IoT across multiple networks, than by using eSIM due to its inherent ability to be reprogrammed to support new networks and new technologies.

Fixed IP eSIMs

GSMA-compliant fixed IP eSIMs offer un-steered roaming coverage across multiple networks and negate the need for static private IP or NAT. Network-agnostic fixed IP eSIMs are a cheaper alternative to most single-network static IP SIMs, whilst also providing an insurance policy against switching-cost lock-in.

L2TP eSIMs

ISPs have used wholesale L2TP tunnels since the launch of ADSL broadband in the UK. Wholesale mobile access from eSIMs is available via L2TP. You can cross-connect at layer 2 directly into a resilient eSIM MVNO platform.

Jola

Jola is a global IoT MVNO, providing the UK’s first multi-network eSIM built for the channel. e-SIMs give partners ultimate choice and control, whilst solving the biggest mobile data problem facing their end users – how to automatically connect any device to any network, anywhere in the world.

GSMA-compliant eSIMs give Jola partners a truly un-steered, multi-network roaming connection. Network-agnostic eSIMs offer an alternative to MNO contract lock-ins and save customers the pain and expense of swapping out SIMs.

Jola has deployed a UK-based, resilient MVNO mobile core network, with global connectivity to over 450 networks in nearly 200 countries, and local connectivity with all four UK mobile networks. UK-based interconnects and breakout ensure the traffic stays in the UK.

Mobile Manager

Mobile Manager is our online management portal for ordering and managing estates of eSIMs. This white label portal communicates in real-time with 4G and 5G networks and can be used by both resellers and their end users. Mobile Manager handles eSIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons.

What are the main differences between social selling and social marketing? What strategies can we adopt to win more business?

Social marketing

There are various definitions, but in my mind, social marketing is part of the marketing strategy. Its purpose is to help us, as a company, build up brand awareness online and to let our partners and prospects know who we are and what problems we can uniquely solve. The objective of social marketing is to build up connections with prospects and educate them, so when they have a need, they know who to come to for a solution. It is about building up trust and putting out regular and accurate content that your partners and prospects value. It goes hand in hand with PR, helping you to drip-feed information to build your company’s reputation as a thought leader and a ‘go-to’ company for specific expertise.

The problem that most marketers have with social marketing is that it is difficult to measure success as the endgame is not direct leads and orders but a well-known and trusted brand name. This also takes years to build and can be destroyed in seconds online.

Social selling

Social selling focusses on prospecting online. You need to maintain visibility of your brand, but the endgame is leads and orders. The challenge that most people have with this is that it is a slow game that takes months of identifying the next ideal prospect, researching the company and all major contacts, connecting with them, and sending them relevant and useful information that will result in a successful sale.

It is not advisable to go straight in with who you work for and what you are selling. You need to think about what you can send them that will make them think of you as an expert in your field and someone they can go to with a problem that you can uniquely solve.

It takes lots of activity and time, which most salespeople do not have when there are much more direct routes to hitting their targets. Many people invest in software to help shortcut the process and identify key posts to comment on or like and set up alerts to respond to; others are fed by their marketing departments.

Each approach needs to be targeted; for example, when you are trying to sell something to me, you need to understand what my challenges may be right now. To do this, you may start with our website, blogs, and social posts and then look at what my colleagues and peers are posting and sharing. You need to put yourself in my position and send me something that I would find interesting and relevant, which may provoke a question, leading to a conversation, a demo, and maybe even a sale. You also need to time your approach right.

The endgame is always to get the right messaging to the right person at the right time.

With the current COVID restrictions still in place, many organisations have turned to online recruitment with varied results. What can employers do to ensure successful recruitment processes online?

Defining a strategy is a good place to start. What are your objectives? What is your strategy to achieve them, and how can this be measured? Preparation is key, and adapting your strategy to the new technology is essential.

Initial contact with candidates is often done over the phone, so this first step is easy to conduct over Teams. Second interviews are often more in-depth and so may be more challenging but not impossible if you adapt your tasks to work in a Team’s environment. Using case studies and role plays can help both behavioural and capability testing. Consistent and clear scoring is key to reduce the risk of unconscious bias influencing your decision.

Clear communication plan

Having a clearly defined candidate communication plan helps all parties gain a more consistent experience of the employer brand, encouraging more people to accept roles plus building a positive employer brand. Designing and shaping assessment messages not only offers reassurance and clarity but also mitigates business risks. 

Consistent measurement

Having the right measurements in place is key to ensure accurate assessment of candidates. It’s wise to trial and validate, just as in a traditional face-to-face assessment process.

Recording the process

The great benefit of online recruitment is the ability to easily record interviews to help compare candidates and involve additional parties for an independent view or second opinion.

Feedback

Sending feedback to candidates is an important part of the recruitment process. Successful candidates know exactly where they are in the process, and unsuccessful candidates can gain valuable feedback.

According to the United Nations, 55% of the world’s population live in cities and they predict this will grow to 68% by 2050. County councils are investing in technology to help reduce pollution, reduce the cost of street lighting and increase traffic throughput. 5G is an enabling technology for IoT.

5G

5G is designed to be high data-rate and low-latency, which allows for the fast real-time transfer of data between two or more points.

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to smart, web-enabled devices that have more of a fixed functionality, than general purpose smartphones, tablets or computers. Examples of IoT devices include ANPR cameras, IP-CCTV cameras.

Connectivity will enable maintenance of the infrastructure and manufacturing systems, as well as flow control. Adjustment and fine tuning of operating parameters will respond to real time fluctuations in the environment and processes.

MSPs are turning to Jola for their 5G requirements when rolling out solutions for smart cities. Jola provides a wide range of cost-effective 5G and 4G data SIM packages which are managed and monitored in Mobile Manager to avoid bill shock from monthly data overage charges.

Smart transport networks offer significant benefits to passengers, operators and local authorities, enabling urban services to become more efficient, effective and safe. Cities from London to Singapore are already building them. Madrid is leading the way, with a central control room that receives and integrates data from 40 urban control rooms. They cover over 100 bus routes, 300 railway lines and 200,000 cameras, delivering end-to-end surveillance and security solutions.

There are many experienced providers offering end-to-end solutions to the transport industry, involving 4G routers and cameras. Trams, buses and trains are tracked, and arrival times accurately estimated and advertised, factoring in potential delays. These devices need 4G data SIMs, often with a fixed IP or delivered via a secure Private APN. On average there are seven SIMs per bus, for logging into the cameras to download relevant footage, Wi-Fi, secure card payments, passenger trackers, applications tracking hours worked, engine telemetry and miles travelled.

Challenges

Service providers face a few challenges with 4G. Some networks are stronger than others in specific locations requiring relationships with multiple network providers. Secondly, they have no way of tracking data usage and if devices use more than their allocated monthly allowance, they get high data overage charges. Thirdly, they need a secure channel for transmitting financial data.

Unlimited data SIM cards have been available for a while. They are great for users who don’t want to worry about how much data they are consuming each month. MSPs prefer to buy wholesale packages fit for purpose, they can control.

Jola supplies unlimited data packages, fit for purpose on 30-day, 12-month and 24-month contracts that will work on 5G, where available. They are keenly priced and designed to work in routers and M2M devices.

Jola also offers a range of intelligent 4G routers which provide high speed connectivity for M2M and IoT applications. They are all IoT gateways, with built-in intelligence. Our models are competitively priced and available to order via Mobile Manager. They are delivered to site pre-configured with a Jola SIM and are suitable for mobile broadband and large scale IoT roll outs.

In Demand

Demand for unlimited data SIMs is high, as is demand for intelligent 4G routers. MSPs partnering with Jola and selling unlimited data packages enjoy an uplift in revenue and margin.