With anything set of traditions, there’s always one that
gets a bad rap. With Christmas, it’s
fruitcake. With marketing, it’s
telemarketing. But telemarketing, like
fruitcake, isn’t all that bad when it’s made up of good things.
What it is: Unsolicited sales calls made via the
phone
How it got started: Although DialAmerica opened its
phone lines in 1957, Roman Murray is generally given credit for popularizing the
telephone sales effort in the 1970s.
Murray’s Manhattan telemarketing agency, Campaign Communications, Inc.,
reportedly hired actors for their ability to “read scripts with feeling.”
Why it still works: Despite the negative connotations
telemarketing has suffered, many organizations still use telemarketing to gain
new customers, retain existing customers, and make new sales or acquire new
donations. Why?
Telemarketing increases coverage area, particularly for
small businesses that may not have the resources to market on a large scale. It’s also more budget-friendly than a
traveling salesperson and more flexible in delivery than a direct mail piece:
you can choose the exact date you want to make the calls, and you can call
throughout the day.
Telemarketing also provides immediate consumer feedback and
personal, one-on-one interaction. What
organization doesn’t want to build relationships?
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