Current Practices In Telemarketing Marketing Essay

INTRODUCTION

Telemarketing is a form of direct marketing whereby a sales executive solicits for prospective clients for their products and services over a phone, subsequent meeting or web conference which is scheduled for in the call. This form of marketing also includes sales pitches which are recorded and which play when a client calls a business. It is believed that a company called Dial America was the first firm to utilize telephone calls as a form of marketing in 1950 (McHatton, 1998, p 25). This company provided telephone services and sales to publishing companies for magazines. However the use of the term ‘telemarketing’ became extensive in the 1970s.

This form of marketing can be done from the office, from home, or even from a call centre. An advantage of telemarketing is that the marketing act can be conducted by live operator and also by a recorded message. The use of the latter helps in reducing the human resource costs needed for this form of marketing. It should be however noted that the use of automated and pre-recorded voices makes this form of marketing become impersonal. In the case where a recorded message is used, this form of marketing is known as automated telemarketing. It may sometimes be referred to as robo-calling though the term is mainly associated with message containing a political connotation (Linchitz, 2000, p 14). For effective telemarketing more than one call is required: the first call is basically used to identify the needs of the customers while the last call is used to motivate purchase by the customer.

Prospective clients in telemarketing are identified through various means: history from past purchases, clients who had requested for information, entry forms for competition, application forms, and credit limits (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 104). Some telemarketers may purchase names from consumer databases kept by other companies (Catal, 2000, p 56). The main reason for these processes of identification is to get the clients who have a higher probability of purchasing what the telemarketer is selling. Telemarketing is not only used by companies; other non- profit based organizations also use the concept in their soliciting for donations. Companies that conduct marketing research also use this concept in their consumer survey. Public opinions are also conducted in a similar manner. Even with such versatility, many consumers have a negative attitude towards telemarketing (Sobczak, 2010, p 5). It is hence important to understand the reasons for this by analyzing the current approaches used in telemarketing, and the marketing levels in which it is conducted as a form of sustainable marketing aimed at influencing consumer behavior.

Get Help With Your Essay

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Find out more about our Essay Writing Service

CURRENT APPROACHES IN TELEMARKETING

Telemarketing is an important way of making sales for most companies. While some executives consider telemarketing as an unessential element in the marketing field, organizations looking to increase their market share are wholly endorsing it (Catal, 2002, p 23). This therefore implies that organizations will often introduce different additions to their telemarketing strategies in their quest to be successful over others. The telemarketing industry is in a state of continuous flux and aggression with new ways and best practices materializing (Sobczak, 2010, p 11). There are therefore numerous trends and practices that are cropping up in the telemarketing field.

Inbound Telemarketing

Inbound telemarketing is one of the current trends in the telemarketing fields. Prospective clients are availed a toll-free number (Catal, 2002, p 109). Typically, when customers call this number, they are able to obtain information and answers to product queries they may be exhibiting. This activity is supportive to the customer base of a given organization and goes a long way in cementing the seller-buyer relation. Loyal and prospective clients are therefore able to make informed decisions on products purchases (Hurst, 2008, p 114). Inclusive on the inbound telemarketing strategy is the use of toll-free calls in making of reservations. This is a case prominent in service producing organizations such as hotels and airlines. Clients are given the liberty to make calls and enquiries on services before making the subsequent reservations (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 89). This trend is vital in solidifying customer loyalty as well as attracting new clients. The inbound telemarketing has further been customized to fit the clients’ needs. For instance, organizations are keeping record of clients who call them. The main objective of this crucial undertaking is to create a customer-seller relation. This is achieved by clients who call often on either mere enquiries or actual purchases. Client callers are often identified and routed to the sales representatives with whom they have done business with before (Penn & Nancarrow, 1998, p 16). This vital matchmaking is crucial in incorporating a human touch and connection. Maximum convenience to customers is therefore initiated when organizations embrace this form of selling. Furthermore; the customer is thus made to be the one who initiates the sales process.

The telecommunication marketing strategy has been loathed and viewed by many would be clients as annoying and discomforting. This notion has been proven through recent research and population feedback. In United States, the National Do Not Call Registry has been created and implemented widely. This initiative gives U.S. consumers the mandate to choose whether or not they should receive telemarketing calls. Since announcement and inception in December 13, 2004 the numbers in the list has grown substantially (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 17). Therefore, with the inbound telemarketing strategy, the consumers and would be clients have the liberty to call and claim goods or services. This draws off the negative perception of the nagging telecommunication calls.

Outbound Telemarketing

Outbound telemarketing strategy is a practice endorsed by many organizations. Its wide use dates back in the early 1970’s (Sciffman, 2003, p 48). This marketing strategy relies on telephone calls to prospective clients and customers on certain available sales or services. These calls may be between two organizations doing business or simply between a business and potential customer or client. It is an economic way of conducting marketing as it substantially cuts on costs that would be involved in physical movement of sale representatives to individual’s homes. The use of current technologies such as predictive, autodialing and random-digit dialing further maximize the ability of marketers in reaching out to clients at home. Predictive dialer is a computerized system that automatically dials batches of telephone numbers for connection to agents working on sales (Sciffman, 2003, p 81). The predictive dialers often remove the engaged signal and answering machines. This technology hence acts as a catalyst to the number of calls and can nearly go up by twice the number (Sobczak, 2010, p 34). Technological advancement has availed the ability to autodial calls to clients. Autodialing gives the telemarketers ability to call random numbers continually. Answered calls by clients are often automatically routed to a sales representative.

Random digital dialing (RDD) is a widely used pattern of choosing individuals for engagement in telephone statistical surveys by producing telephone numbers at random. This process is effective in numerous ways including the fact that it allows for the inclusion of numbers otherwise not stated or available in phone books (Sobczak, 2010, p 93). RDD is largely used for statistical surveys by marketers and organizations. Most importantly, is the fact that use of Random Digital Dialing allows telemarketers to reach unlisted numbers and also hide the caller identity.

Voice logging is a practice that has currently been adopted by numerous organizations engaged in telemarketing. Voice logging is the practice of customarily recording telephone conversations. Business radio channels are also actively involved in this practice. The main objective of this undertaking is usually to allow businesses to keep records of concerns and acknowledgments. The recorded information is critically analyzed and effectively used to ameliorate customer relations and services (Sobczak, 2010 p 96). Collected and recorded information can also go a long way in helping the organization in question reduce errors and also increase security.

The use of Automatic Call Distributors (ACD) is also an emerging trend in telemarketing (Catal, 2002, p 117). Use of ACD facilitates the automatic routing of calls to the next best available agent. It further allows calls to be routed as per priority and skill. This important match making ensures the crucial and needed customer and would be customer relations. The use of ACD is usually integrated with the customer relationship management for screen-pop information of the client who is connected.

The use of Short Messaging Service (SMS) has been diversified and integrated by the telemarketers as an important mode of advertisement and selling. The SMS has evolved to become a major successful mode of communication and a gateway of providing value added services. SMS matrix broadcasting is one of the most practical modes of delivering information directly to customers and prospects. Moreover, the use of SMS allows sending of similar information to a large number of people in an instantaneous time frame. The economical viability of the bulk SMS has enabled its use by marketers. SMS telemarketing is not only effective but also fast. Its cost effective nature makes its endorsement wide by marketers. Bulk SMS are able to reach a large prospective market pool in seconds. The likely results of this are increased sales turnover and profits consequently. This form of marketing is also bound to increase the seller customer relations tremendously. Use of this telemarketing strategy eliminates the use of unnecessary paperwork and helps save on effort at that (Sciffman, 2003, p 52). This marketing strategy also helps organizations to save on time and money.

Individuals who make calls for organizations which are involved in telemarketing are often trained personnel on the respective fields. Training of individual agents could be done by the organizations’ themselves or a background school education and training of the individual agents (Wilson & Smith, 1998, p 67). The emerging trend is that organizations are increasingly monitoring the calls within their networks. The main objective of this is to ensure that quality standards are met. It also ensures that customer satisfaction is achieved. Monitoring and supervision of interactions on call is majorly meant to ensure that the agents dealing with customers and prospective clients are working within the interests and requirements of the organizations’ they work for (Worman, 1999, p 13). This practice also goes well in use with voice logging. The end result is that agents will be able to give their best to would be clients and clients and therefore create a long list of loyal and satisfied customers.

Organizations engaged in telemarketing are constantly engaged in trying to woo clients to their goods and services. The core imputations of an organizations quest for loyal clientele base are the subsequent attraction and retention. Recently, organizations are involving themselves in campaigns of encouraging customers to contact them without being solicited. This vital step is crucial in ensuring goodwill and freewill from customers. The notion and belief by many that telemarketing strategies are nagging and unprofessional is therefore widely reduced.

The Use of the Internet

The internet has been incorporated by telemarketers on their quest to reach wider audience for their advertisements and subsequent selling. Live web chat by agents and prospective customers and/or loyal customers is increasingly gaining popularity. For instance, when a prospective client visits the telemarketer websites, their presence is consequently noticed. The activities of the potential client are also analyzed. In case of any queries on purchases and directions, the client can chat directly with the next available agent (Sciffman, 2003, p 88). This face to face encounter with sales representative therefore enhances and solidifies seller-customer relations. In other cases, chats are initiated by the next available agents. This occurs when one has visited their website. This mode of marketing helps a lot in reducing time wastage by clients on the websites. It also ensures that clients are served best specifically in line with their requirements and expectations. Some telemarketers wait for action on visited websites. Live web chats are then initiated when a potential client does not take any action. This is perceived as a sign of difficulty in accessing information or understanding their websites. A pop-up message will then automatically show on the client’s screen. The client is then given the liberty to engage with the organizations’ agents on matters of their own interest.

Telemarketers’ main objective is to reach a high and effective audience for their products. As a result of this, telemarketers have in the recent past joined social networks (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 181). Social networks are online services or a platform that has its main objective in building and reflecting social relations among people. Almost every individual worldwide is a member of a certain social network. With this premise, telemarketers have gone into including the advertisement and sales of their products in these networks. Pop ups associated with certain organizations are common a feature on pages of social networks. Organizations try to persuade buyers and their friends as well on these networks in a move to try and better competitors on marketing strategies.

The Use of Well-Trained Personnel

The number of organizations that apply telemarketing strategy for their advertisements and sales are constantly on the rise. A current trend in the carrying out of this vital step has been to engage thoroughly trained personnel to work as their agents. The organizations have also continued training of these individuals to keep them in line with the continuous flux of the telemarketing trends. Organizations have put emphasis on the importance of proper and effective communication between their agents and the customers. This step acts as the backbone of the given organization. The telemarketing strategy employs strictness in the handling of customers. The use of improper language or insult to customers is hardly an experience in this industry. Of great importance too is the fact that telemarketing can be expensive. All calls automated or not are billed to the organizations. Therefore, adopting a proper and effective way that would be able to cut on costs is of high priority. Organizations have trained their live agents on the importance of getting straight to the point during calls to prospective clients or customers (Schneider, 1985, p 29). The mode of communication between the two, customer and live agent determines the total cost incurred. In the long-run, small effects may add up to large outcomes. Agents are trained to handle customers in gentle but on point ways. In the long-run, firms that train and insist on fast and on point approach in dealing with clients are likely to gain.

Negative Approaches in Telemarketing

Despite many positive current trends and practices in telemarketing, the marketing strategy has also been affected negatively. The industry has been infiltrated with criminals and fraudsters who have realized the power and effect of telemarketing (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 199). Fraudulent schemes including pyramid schemes have increasingly been carried out using telemarketing strategies. Interestingly enough, this fraud schemes are mostly targeting members of the elderly population. Lottery scams and phone-based frauds are on the rise (Rotfel, 2004, p 243). This immense negativity is a subject of importance to many individuals. It has continued to create a negative perception and understanding of the telemarketing selling strategies. In a larger perspective, the genuine factor of some organizations may be put to question. This trend has only tainted the industry and reduced the trust of many would be clients.

Bulk emails are being used in advertising for goods and services offered by organizations e-mail spam, also known as unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE), is a subset of junk mail or spam that involves sending nearly identical or fully identical e-mails to numerous recipients. This e-mail can be categorized as unsolicited commercial e-mail UCE. The legality of spam messages differs with jurisdiction. In the United States, junk mail was declared to be legal by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 with a provision that the messages adhered to certain specifications (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 200). This legal stand has given telemarketers a chance of marketing commodities and services online via spam. Marketers collect e-mail addresses from chat rooms, customer lists, websites, and newsgroups and in extreme cases use viruses which harvest users’ address books (McKee & Walkup, 2010, p 201). Telemarketing of goods and services using bulk e-mails has largely gained momentum in the recent past due to its cost effective nature.

MARKETING LEVELS INVOLVED IN TELEMARKETING

Marketing is the process of performing market research, selling commodities and/or goods to clients and consequently promoting through advertisements to further increase sales. Marketing is used to identify the clients, satisfy them accordingly and retain them in the long-run (Porter, 2004, p 3). Marketing concept is a vital tool in determining achievement or failure of organizations. Telemarketing is a one major source of marketing of organizations’ goods and services. There are various marketing levels in the field of telemarketing. These levels are based on communications relations mostly and target individuals or cooperate.

Business to Consumer

Telemarketing requires organizations to be able to understand their potential market well. Organizations that use the telemarketing strategy are on toes in trying to establish their potential customers (Sciffman, 2003, p 23). The fact that telemarketing has in the recent past been seen as a nagging way of selling commodities means that organizations should be able to target the client population with highest probability of purchasing their products. Moreover, organizations are increasingly planning and drafting their advertisement and selling strategies. It is crucial that calls to potential clients are carefully analyzed to ensure they are rightly carried out. This involves, for instance, contacting the decision maker directly. Individuals who make the final decisions on whether or not to purchase goods or services from the organization are the most suitable people to contact (Catal, 2002, p 16). This task serves the purpose of ensuring that the nagging notion of telemarketers has been kept at bay. Of greater value through to the organization involved is that they tend to cut down on advertisement and/or selling costs. Establishing important decision makers can be a useful tool in the organizations marketing. Moreover organizations not only need to create a large number of these crucial decision makers but also remain in frequent contact with them. The end result is a possible large list of warm and productive contacts. This trend maximizes success of organizations and effectively applies the important telemarketing strategy.

Clients and sales statistics are important tools in the carrying out of businesses (Wilkie, 2005, p 161). Often organizations are engaged in drilling information from prospective clients and storing their responses. Telemarketing has seen this strategic act to the next level. Organizations are now involved in statistics hunting from would be clients using telemarketing. Firms are making cold calls that are strictly meant for research and analysis of the products and services they offer. Cold calls to individuals are often bundled with incentives to ensure commitment and deep rooted truthfulness (Kleiner & Licata, 2005, p 17).

Business to Business

Businesses involved in production and sales of certain goods and services are also involved in initial purchasing of raw materials. Like the final consumer, firms do buy goods to satisfy their production needs. This may however not be the main aim of running the respective businesses. Though the main objective of many organizations would be to meet the demand of its own client base, they still outsource products from other business. Business to business level of marketing is therefore an important aspect of marketing. Telemarketing can therefore be used in not only advertising certain companies’ commodities but also actively engaging in their subsequent sales. This may be a mutual telemarketing strategy use, where both organizations actively engage in the purchases and consumptions of the other company (Catal, 2002, p 20). The marketing level could also be done by one company relying on the other for goods and services for its subsequent production needs. Organizations could also buy services from other firms. For instance, legal services from a given organization could be used by a given firm. Another service oriented product from an organization would be accounting services. Service rendering organizations are often actively involved in advertising their services, for example through telemarketing, to other firms (Morris, Pitt & Honeycutt, 2001, p 118). Telemarketing is also used between firms with certain common interests in engaging themselves in activities such as opportunity hunting. Cooperate events are also actively being advertised by businesses to businesses using telemarketing strategies. Environmental, organizational, and interpersonal factors are the main influencing factors in the business to business telemarketing level. Budget considerations and costs involved coupled with profit expectations and considerations all play key parts in the telemarketing level of business to business.

Inter businesses communication has also increased in recent times (Catal, 2002, p 20). Organizations are finding it crucial and awarding to not only contact but also contract other related businesses. For instance, firms are using telemarketing in setting up appointments with other businesses. Organizations are also increasingly offering corporate services to other firms. Telemarketing is being used as a major source of creating and establishing contacts between businesses. Telemarketing has become a major tool for firms relating with each other. Market research for organization firms is essential in determining the success or failure of businesses.

Business to Consumer Level

The most important group of individuals to any organization would be the clients. Therefore a solid relationship between the producers and the consumers are vital in determining the overall performance of the given organization. The level of marketing involved in this relationship is the business to consumer engagement. Telemarketing engages prospective consumers in numerous ways and levels. Organizations mostly use the telemarketing strategy to woo potential clients as well as retain their loyal clients (Sciffman, 2003, p 4). This level of marketing involves several undertakings. An important in cooperation in the business to consumer engagement is the use of cold calls. This activity involves the use of telemarketing tools in facilitating research for organizations. Often, this telemarketing strategy is bundled with incentives to increase willingness of would be customers to engage. Research findings are important in determining various actions of the organization. Business to consumer market level in telemarketing is by far the widest employed. This is so because the consumers form the basis of operation of all organizations. This form of marketing involves the numerous forms of telemarketing in which sales people feel are more effective, far reaching and rewarding in the long-run. This ways include the use of bulk SMS and e-mails/junk mail, fax advertisement to clients and even the use of calls which is widely segmented in various forms. Appointment generation of prospective customers and clients is also effected using telemarketing strategies. This form of marketing is therefore very important to the sales people. This explains the constant flux and aggression in the strategies employed by organizations in telemarketing advertisements.

Consumer to Consumer Level

The consumers of certain goods and/or services have a connection in a given way. They may either be sharing tastes and preferences or merely with the same demands for goods and commodities (Catal, 2002, p 37). The consumer to consumer (C2C) marketing is the direct promotion of certain commodities by one consumer to another consumer through peer engagements. This level of marketing is advancement and a remnant of the traditional business to consumer marketing, where the message defining a product morphs from a company-controlled campaign to a consumer-driven phenomenon. In this unique scenario, the organizations’ consumer ends up being their salesman for them. Experiences of customers with telemarketers’ goods or services, either good or bad, can often have more meaning and weight with other consumers other than the common endorsement of a respective industry expert. Modern technology has made this level of marketing easier and effective. Word of mouth, through telemarketing strategies such as use of phones, is the traditional archetype for consumer-consumer marketing. It encompasses telephone conversations between a current client and a potential customer. In this level of marketing, extent of sales is reliable on the current consumer’s ability for conviction. The current loyal customer employs their experiences and encounters with the product in question to convince someone they may know (Wilkie, 2005, p 228). These potential customers are mostly close associates of the current consumers. They include family members, friends or even a colleague at the workplace. This however does not mean that this level of marketing is only restricted to this group of people. Current consumers can engage in sales with strangers. Telemarketing, with the advancement of technology, makes this task easier. Telemarketing strategies in this level of marketing can assume various forms. These forms are for example, personal recommendations to the potential clients, endorsements, reviews and also referrals. The main aim of these methods would be to create a quest by potential customers in an organization’s goods or services. The end result is the creation of a vital enthusiasm that surrounds a given product or service (Sobczak, 2010, p 213). This excitement is bound to spread through various telemarketing avenues, for example use of phones and e-mails, through the public on a swell consumer assessment. This marketing level is a side play of the norm of company-produced market campaign. With the development of internet accessibility and its subsequent use and the extensive adoption of social networking, consumer-consumer marketing level in telemarketing has taken on advanced dimensions. Through numerous and unique social networking sites, consumers are not connected to a worldwide convention of consumers. These capabilities therefore defy ancient geographical boundaries that are often inhibitors (Sobczak, 2010, p 119). Moreover this level of telemarketing, incorporated with the use of modern and available technology is responsive instantaneously. In other cases, numerous online retailers and telemarketers at that have implemented consumer review options for the products purchased. The inclusion of this option in the marketing strategy allows customers to express their opinion and suggestions including reactions on products purchased. This action enables other potential clients to views the reactions on products they may be willing to purchase. This important form of marketing has expanded to include internet-based, consumer-created content. It means consumers are playing a role in marketing of goods and services provided for by organizations. Consumer content creation based on the internet may be through use of websites, forums, blogs, micro blogging-feeds, videos as well as reviews.