Let’s face it, telemarketing is the black sheep of the world of marketing.
Currently, it is estimated that 21 percent of all calls to landlines are robocalls. According to Travis LeBlanc, chief of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Enforcement Bureau, the FCC gets more complaints about robocalls than any other telemarketing practice. And, some of the worst offenders are those companies who are exempt from the TCPA, including candidates for political office.
The TCPA, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, was the topic of a panel discussion at The Dynamic State of Data briefing in Washington, D.C., co-hosted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Venable LLP. This panel discussion focused on the TCPA, robocalling and other telemarketing issues.
According to LeBlanc, the TCPA boiled down to two things:
- Don’t harass consumers
- Get their permission for the call.
Many water dealerships looking for new business are still finding that telemarketing works for them. If done correctly and according to the law, telemarketing can still be a profitable source of lead generation and appointment setting.
In the world of B2B, there is no better one-on-one direct marketing approach than telemarketing to reach decision makers. Not only can telemarketing deliver sales, but it is also flexible enough to help with lead generation and data gathering.
Every call needs to be viewed as an opportunity — whether it helps provide valuable information about a prospect for future follow-up calls or for feedback to help tweak the next call for success.
When the marketing pundits talk about how easy it is to use electronic media to cope with quick change, it is actually telemarketing which offers the most flexible response times of all mediums.
Want to get some feedback on a new pricing structure? A couple of well-placed phone calls will provide some important answers.
Need a final push on an end of a fundraising campaign to maximize a matching grant? Telemarketing is the quickest, most effective way to close those last few gifts.
Don’t dismiss telemarketing. Just do it right.
