Why telemarketing alone is the least effective of all DM channels

However, what I imagine is surprising for some is that I am taking this stance -- after all telemarketing is a part of the Broadsystem service offering.

Yet, it is my firm belief that not enough telemarketers are taking a long-term, data-driven, strategic approach to managing the customer experience. Instead, the majority are opting to take the short-term route, which delivers quick results and keeps the client happy.

However, this short-sightedness in reality only serves to damage the channel. We've all heard, and know from personal experience as consumers, that the UK public are fed up of receiving untargeted telephone calls, and have been voicing their objections through the Telephone Preference Service.

Hopefully, the high number of registrations will serve as a wake-up call to marketers that firstly bombardment doesn't work and secondly, that telemarketing should be used as a part of a strategic, integrated, data-driven marketing campaign.

Customer focus is currently the holy grail of marketing, and telemarketing can play a large role in realising a truly customer-centric business. It is fundamental for companies to have an understanding of their customer experience.

Customers should always be at the heart of a business and their experience should be paramount.

To this end, permission is essential. If a customer has expressed a desire to be contacted by mail and not by phone (even if not signed up on the TPS), don't phone them. Once you have gained their trust you can develop the relationship to include phone communications.

It is up to the company to educate their customers that they might receive calls, but that they will be pertinent and not irritatingly frequent. Again, once a customer realises that the calls are relevant they will be more responsive.

Marketing is no longer about getting your message across to as many people as possible, but about building relationships with consumers and then strengthening them. Outbound telemarketing calls are an extremely effective method of reaching the customer, but when sloppily implemented they can irreparably damage a brand. 

No amount of outbound telemarketing will persuade a consumer to buy something they don't want. Any direct marketer worth his salt will tell you that such guerrilla tactics are not within DM's remit.

It is not about ringing as many people as possible in wild abandon in the hope that a small percentage might respond. Such scattergun attitudes are abhorrent, and the industry needs to be seen doing more to stamp out bad practice telemarketing.

That said, there are many companies out there doing a fantastic job of integrating telemarketing into their marketing approach -- the key, of course, is getting the right offer, at the right time, to the right person through the right channel.

It is also fundamental to ensure that the marketing database is integrated to provide a single customer view across all touch points. This enables measurement of outcomes and experiences and puts an end to customer apartheid.

Success, for everyone, will come from improved targeting, intelligent use of the right channel and a more staged approach to selling maximising all communication routes.

Not all these "cold calls" need be ineffective, in some instances the consumer may want further information but may not want to listen to the sale just at that moment. Have you ever tried to say "yes but email me, call me back or can I call you"? Sadly too often it falls into the realms of "not possible"! 

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum.