To the casual observer, telemarketing might seem like a failed market strategy that’s best years stopped with the introduction of the personal computer. Telemarketers themselves are reviled, the subject of unpleasant jokes, and those who actually have jobs in this field see more turnover than a pastry shop with way too many apples. There are even laws against telemarketing in some cases—the federal Do Not Call list jumps immediately to mind—so how can anyone still be using this hated marketing tool effectively? Turns out there are still great reasons to use telemarketing, the first of which is that it does still work.
There are other reasons to love telemarketing, starting with its sheer flexibility. Callers can reach customers immediately by a preferred method of contact—people still love using the phone to connect to a business, even though other methods are growing in preference—and telemarketing allows for ready contact with a human being. Human contact is still valuable, and often results in the best engagement levels.
What's more, telemarketing's direct connection capability can allow bypassing of gatekeepers to go straight to decision makers, saving time and effort. It can produce face-to-face meetings, which may have the best engagement of all with a real person in the room, and is collaborative in nature for improving engagement and overall outcomes.
Telemarketing improves data gathering which makes for better databases, and allows for instant, on-the-spot feedback, provides a means to connect to a customer personally, especially when telemarketing software like customer relationship manager (CRM) tools are used.
Perhaps the biggest reason to continue using telemarketing, however, is that it works. It not only makes opportunities, but it makes sales. When something works, it's not a surprise to see that it's still used, and telemarketing is still used to this very second.
Naturally, there are important points to practice when telemarketing. Keep those do not call lists updated to the minute, and practice these thoroughly. If a customer doesn't want to be called, don't call that person; you'll just waste time that could be better spent calling someone who does. Take advantage of the benefits of telemarketing, like its engagement and its collaborative capability, to make the caller feel important and you'll be rewarded with ample customer data which, when used with analytics tools, can make a huge difference.
Telemarketing isn't the disaster some might think it is. It just needs to be used properly to get the most out of it.
Edited by Alicia Young