5 Reasons why telemarketing still works

As online marketing continues to develop at breakneck speed, businesses are falling over themselves to keep up with the latest trends and advancements to get ahead of the competition. But, in the rush to embrace the new, many marketers are overlooking tried and tested marketing techniques that really work: in particular, telemarketing.

Telemarketing is, of course, on the more traditional end of the marketing spectrum, and poor practices (think pushy, relentless PPI sales calls) have left a bad taste in the mouth of many business people who believe that social and digital channels are the only way forward.

The fact remains though, that - done properly - telemarketing is still one of the most effect and cost effective tools for lead generation and demand creation. Research has shown that telemarketing offers an excellent ROI, but it has many benefits beyond pure ROI. Here are our top 5:

1. The Human Touch

Ok, so digital is exciting, fresh, unintrusive, and certainly effective, but companies should not underestimate the value of a real human connection. In an age where people are accustomed to conversing across digital media, a telephone conversation can provide a welcome human touch, making your customer feel valued and so giving your company that additional edge to generate leads or close quick sales.

Ignore telemarketing and you risk losing those invaluable opportunities to engage a real person in a real conversation. When it comes to connecting with your customer on a one to one basis, there’s no better way than using the phone to deliver your message.

2. Quicker Turnarounds

Unlike many other customer contact methods, phone calls give a company immediate answers. It’s a direct approach that elicits a direct response, allowing you to communicate with your customers right away, instead of waiting for days, weeks, or even months to realise results. With the ability to actually generate immediate sales, you could see a remarkably swift return on your investment. Remember, a few phone calls to the right people could land you some big accounts.

3. Build pipeline

Whilst lead generation or appointment setting might be the primary objective of a call, telemarketing can also harvest valuable secondary outcomes and information which will enable you to nurture longer term opportunities and feed your future pipeline with a steady flow of leads, including:

• Database updates
• Decision maker names added to your database
• Email addresses captured
• Contract review dates recorded
• Product Feedback
• Organisation and market mapping

4. Discover opportunities in depth

Every telemarketing call provides your business with an opportunity to learn about your prospects - and any opportunities they have - in depth; It’s a two-way conversation, and a good telemarketer can listen as well as talk. The level of insight and information that can be gained through a “real” conversation is so much greater than through any other channel. Getting on the phone to people can be the best way to discover exactly what your prospect’s requirements are and, in turn, demonstrate how your product or service can match those requirements.

5. Enhance other marketing efforts

We’re certainly not denying that digital marketing techniques have a huge role to play in the success of today’s businesses, but utilising telemarketing alongside these methods will increase the overall effectiveness of your marketing. Telemarketing integrates beautifully with other channels, such as email marketing. Used in conjunction with a direct mail campaign, it will create a more lasting impression, develop longer-lasting relationships, and gain invaluable sales opportunities.

It’s having a good mix of multi-channel marketing techniques that will deliver the best results.

So, while telemarketing may have its detractors, or those that feel it’s had its day, there is no doubt that, done well, it’s a tool that will enable your sales team or outsourced telemarketers to uncover genuine sales opportunities and progress those opportunities through your sales pipeline. When it comes to powerful marketing channels for your business, telemarketing continues to hold its own. We may be in the digital age, but telemarketing is a tried and tested technique. And it works!