Marketing isn’t an easy job, but it’s a task that has high returns when done properly. It’s a rapidly changing industry, which gives the people involved a lot of room to grow but also a lot of room to make mistakes. Whether you’re in-house or an outsourcing operation, it’s something that everyone has to deal with.
Telemarketing is just one way to go about it. Overall, it’s a great way to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time and get word out of the products quickly and efficiently. It’s a tried and tested method, and a lot of businesses are probably thinking of starting a marketing campaign revolving around phone marketing.
If you’re one of them and doing research to figure out how to do it in the best way possible, read on to learn the pros and cons of telemarketing:
What is Telemarketing
Before we get into the real nitty-gritty of the advantages and disadvantages of telemarketing, it’s important to establish what it is first. Basically, it involves selling products and services over the phone.
Sounds simple, right? But there is a lot of depth to it once you get into the specifics. For one thing, a simple phone system usually isn’t enough for the amount of calls you’re going to be dealing with. If you really want to get into telemarketing, you’re going to need VoIP services to really expand your target demographic.
It would also really help if you have an autodialer or predictive dialer. It’ll make your operations a lot faster and more efficient. Agents won’t have to manually dial the numbers on the phone, which also significantly reduces the errors being made.
There are a lot of different types of telemarketing out there, depending on the people you’re calling and how you go about contacting them. But before you dig into all that, here’s a list of the overall pros and cons of phone marketing.
Pro: Sell From a Distance
We don’t always get to control where we set up our business, but thanks to VoIP technology, we can dictate who we sell our products to. When you have a softphone for you and your agents, you can reach any potential customer in the world through the magic of the Internet.
This gives you a lot more flexibility without sacrificing safety. You don’t have to risk a big investment by building different local offices in other countries. Instead, you can expand your target market without much additional money or effort.
Con: Annoyance From Customers
It’s no secret that some people find unsolicited calls annoying. Not everyone likes surprises, and talking with strangers on the phone isn’t always the most appealing thing to do, either.
However, this is a problem that’s easy to solve with proper training. Make sure your agents are prepared to engage and capture their audience’s attention from the moment the call connects. They should sound friendly and conversational. Establish an emotional connection with the people they’re calling as quickly as possible. Start the conversation off on the right foot and you increase the chances of having the chance to pitch the products you’re marketing.
Pro: Immediate Feedback
This is one of the biggest advantages of calling over any other form of marketing. It’s more casual and easier to tailor your offers to suit their needs. It also gives you a better avenue to address their concerns.
Your agents will have an easier time explaining their products to the client without becoming overwhelming. Your potential customers won’t be overwhelmed by the reading, and having a real person on the other end of the line gives it a lot more weight. People will be more inclined to listen and really think about the things being said to them.
Con: Legislation and Regulation
In a lot of countries across the world, there’s legislation regulating how businesses can call people. There are do-not-call lists in different countries and regulations that can prevent someone from making unsolicited calls.
Before you start your telemarketing campaign, do your research and find out which laws are applicable to the area you want to target. Not doing so might make things difficult. It can end with a lot of dropped calls or even legal trouble, so do your due diligence.
Pro: Low Overhead Cost
Another great benefit you’ll get from telemarketing is the immense savings it’ll give you. Phone calls cost a lot less than travel accommodations, after all. More than that, you can go through more customers than by going door to door or having a physical marketing campaign.
VoIP rates aren’t as high as you’d expect, either. Not compared to how much marketing you get done. As long as you pick a trustworthy and reliable softphone provider, then you’re sure to save money on this investment in the long run.
You also have more control and flexibility on how you spend your money. It’s easy to adjust your spending targets with a more dynamic telemarketing setup. There’s no limit to customizing your digital calls to fit your needs. If business isn’t as strong as it used to be, you can easily adjust your telemarketing and save money.
Con: Low Answer Rates
There are a lot of reasons this can happen; it’s simply an occupational hazard of telemarketing. Not all calls get picked up. Sometimes people just don’t want to answer, they may have been doing something else, or the number might not be active anymore.
However, there are a lot of simple, easy steps you can take to avoid wasting your agent’s effort and time. You can talk to your VoIP and autodialer service provider and ask if they can add a LookUp feature to your telemarketing setup. This can help filter out bad contacts from your list of leads.
You can also look for something like CommPeak’s powerful predictive dialer that can detect if the lead isn’t receptive to calls and may be set to automatically stop calling that number temporarily or permanently, depending on your preferences.
Pro: Easy to Track Metrics
Telemarketing gives you hard, objective data on how well your campaign is doing. When your calls are hosted through a CloudPBX, you can track every call made, how long it happened, and what was said. Your agents can also make notes on their call, and there’s even an option to sync it up with your CRM of choice to ensure that all your data is updated and accurate.
This makes everything easier to monitor. Remember that marketing is ultimately a numbers game. Knowing how your current strategy is performing, how many new customers you’re bringing in, and what products they’re interested in is essential to figuring out what you have to do moving forward.
In Conclusion
There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to telemarketing, and it’s important to consider both sides before you make a decision. If you do want to start a marketing campaign based on it, the first thing you’re going to need is a VoIP service provider and an autodialer setup.
Talk with one of our experts today to help you get started on that.