Telemarketing—The Rules Have Changed

Telemarketing as part of a traditional lead generation campaign isn’t what it used to be. The standard process was to purchase an opt-in list (you still can) from a broker that included phone numbers for a targeted cold-call campaign. A percentage of qualified leads were always forecasted.

Today, most large corporations now actively prohibit inbound telemarketers by implementing robust security programs, thereby rendering this type of campaign not only ineffective but potentially detrimental to your brand. 

Additionally, with the ever increasing use of smartphones as a primary working number, the likelihood of an unknown call being accepted, or an unsolicited voice mail being listened to, is becoming more and more remote.

Where Telemarketing Still Works

Telemarketing programs remain effective as a means of establishing a two-way conversation in some important areas.

Time is of the essence. Immediate contact when an individual has filled out an online form for downloads or other materials can provide substantive results.

When information is fresh in someone’s mind they are more likely to take a call or respond to a voice mail.  A relevant example is the successful program in effect at Salesforce.com. Fill out an inquiry and you’ll get a phone call almost immediately after clicking the send key to see if further questions can be answered or to set an appointment with sales.

Service Oriented Calls

Service follow-up calls to existing customers also falls into the same category of general acceptability and high response rates. Positioned to follow up on services, these campaigns can be strongly positive for your business and brand. They help your company gather important feedback on quality, thanking the customer for their business and generating interest in new products or services. 

Listening to the client is the important element in this case. They will appreciate the opportunity to give you timely feedback.

Telemarketing methods of the past are no longer viable. In today’s marketing environment, the softer conversion action is the one that triggers the better result.