Telemarketing – How To Make It a Success Again?
Telemarketing has been heavily criticized lately, leading to the idea that telemarketing calls are ineffective. However, the reality is that telemarketing calls do work, but only if they are considered and structured sensibly. The success of any marketing campaign depends solely on the value offered to a buyer. This should be the objective of telemarketing calls too.
Today’s customers are inundated with advertisements and marketing materials since an early age. They are shrewd and smart enough to not be taken in by baseless promises. They want genuine value in offers and this is where superior telemarketing services distinguish themselves. Each call they make has a specific idea behind it and is planned to support the offer through various means.
Improving telemarketing quality is a must to its longevity
Telemarketing has been criticized as an intrusive and unprincipled means of marketing. Recent industry statistics from US and Canada are an obvious indicator that telemarketing is going downhill. The number of people registering on Do-Not-Call registries is indicative of the growing cynicism towards telemarketing calls. As of April 2010, more than 2 million people registered in the Do-Not-Call state list of Wisconsin alone, and almost half of it are cellular phone numbers. The national Do-Not-Call list has an astounding 180 million registered numbers.
In recent news, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has closed down a telemarketing call center operation working for an East Pittsburgh firm and penalized it for more than $4.7 million as restitution to consumers. Talbots Inc. and its California marketing partner will have to shell out a compensation of $161,000 to settle allegations that they infringed federal telemarketing rules related to 3.4 million robocalls (automated sale pitches) made to consumers in the past year. The steep rise in telemarketing calls aimed at people hurt by the recession and robocalls violating federal telemarketing laws in 2009 has forced the FTC to tighten restrictions on the practice.
Outline the objectives of telemarketing
The reason why a lot of telemarketing services have gone downhill is because of the focus on statistics. Numbers have become such a critical component of performance assessment that the consumer’s interests are often ignored. Calls are started without a planned objective in mind; a sale pitch is made way too early; there is no documentation to substantiate the offer; and there is shockingly little follow up.
If telemarketing companies are to survive in the advertising industry, key modifications are needed. Telemarketing conversion rates can get better by:
- Considering the objective of a call: Service providers should develop a framework for their telemarketers by defining an objective for each call – scheduling an appointment with decision makers, evaluating the customer’s expectations, requesting permission to send a quote, etc.
- Not pitching a sale in the first contact: The initial telemarketing call is meant to acquaint the customer with your brand and build a relationship by giving attention to their needs and not your products. First call is not the time to make a sale as this restricts further communication.
- Keeping online and printed information ready: If the customer asks for further information, you should take that as a positive sign. Provide the address of the business website or send a brochure through email or post.
- Always following up promptly: Timely follow up shows your commitment to the customer, and gives you the opportunity to engage the customer better.
If the telemarketing calls picked up by clients are in sync with their requirements, they won’t have to join Do-Not-Call lists. Telemarketing lead generation services can regain trust by directing staff towards being customer centric rather than reaching targets at any cost.