Every organization wants to deepen their company’s relationship with customers. They want to understand their clients’ needs and better cater to their target market. They also want to succeed in selling their product or service. For some companies, telemarketing is the perfect way to learn how to do all this and more.
In some circles, telemarketing gets a bad name. And it’s true that telemarketing won’t necessarily help all companies all of the time.
Telemarketing 101
Telemarketing is exactly what it sounds like—marketing done over the phone. Inbound telemarketing involves accepting calls from customers and processing their orders. Outbound telemarketing means placing a call to a potential customer, often with the intent to sell a product.
Outbound telemarketing phone calls are known as “cold calls,” meaning the phone call’s recipient did not request the call and was not expecting it. This has made telemarketing a controversial practice. For instance, phone call recipients can be upset or feel that the phone call wastes their time. In response, Congress established certain telemarketing regulations in the early 1990s, including prohibiting telemarketing calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Few companies place telemarketing calls themselves. Instead, they rely on a telemarketing service that hires trustworthy telemarketers and places calls on its own. Most people see telemarketing as a sales service, but most telemarketing companies offer several services, including telephone surveys, appointment scheduling, event registration, and more.
Benefits of Telemarketing
Whatever type of telemarketing service you choose, it comes with several benefits you can’t get anywhere else. As you try to decide if telemarketing will work for you, consider the following pros:
- Telemarketing provides direct, immediate customer feedback.
- Telemarketing enables you to reach more customers than you can with in-person house calls.
- Since telemarketing consolidates your costs and puts them towards paying the telemarketing service, it is simpler and more cost-effective than other forms of advertising.
- Unlike a newspaper or Internet advertisement, customers can’t just ignore or click past your ad. Instead, as soon as they answer the phone, they become a captive audience.
- Telemarketing lets you create a more personal, intimate sales experience. It’s also more interactive—the customer can ask individual questions and get a direct, personalized response.
- You can measure your telemarketing results immediately. You don’t need to wait to find out how customers respond to your product or service.
Effective Telemarketing
Not all telemarketers are created equal. A good telemarketer will give your company more of telemarketing’s benefits while downsizing its drawbacks.
A good combination of effective communication skills, call center etiquette, and sales skills can help telemarketing work for your company. To ensure that you get the most out of your telemarketing experience, work with a trusted telemarketing company; this company should be able to answer any of your remaining questions about how telemarketing can help your business.
