Heard about telemarketing advantages and disadvantages? Let’s dive into the world of telemarketing, where a simple phone call can make all the difference for your business.
Did you know? The telephone has proved to be extremely beneficial equipment for personal use but it wasn’t used for business until the 1960’s when some housewives started calling people to find out the buyers for their cookies.
It was then that telemarketing was born. Little did those housewives know that their tactic will someday become a very important part of marketing. It has led to the creation of multiple other marketing methods, like digital marketing. People use the benefits of telemarketing to proactively promote and sell products. For example, TopVPNservice uses a form of evolved marketing to promote and sell VPNs.
What is Telemarketing?
Telemarketing is selling of goods or services over the phone, using the Internet, or fax. It can be done by real people (telemarketers) or automated calls. To reach clients, businesses employ telemarketing as a component of their marketing strategy. However, some people find it bothersome, and some people are aware of the possibility of scams.
As you would have figured by now, telemarketing is the process of indulging in inbound or outbound calls with the customers to promote or sell your products.
Imagine speaking with prospective clients personally and having in-depth discussions with them about your goods or services.
With the benefits of telemarketing, you can:
- Create personal connections
- Generate leads
- Raise your chances of closing deals
It’s a proactive strategy that can provide your company with an advantage over the competition.
How to Improve Your Company’s Telemarketing Results?
Improving your company’s telemarketing results involves a strategic approach that focuses on enhancing communication, targeting the right audience, and refining the overall telemarketing process.
As a direct marketing strategy, telemarketing has merits and demerits. Gaining an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages can help you maximize your telemarketing efforts for better results.
However, telemarketing does have certain difficulties. Prospective clients’ rejections and mistrust can be demoralising, and abiding to the law is essential to upholding moral behaviour.
However, you may get over these challenges and effectively use telemarketing if you have the correct methods, the right training, and a customer-centric mindset.
Understanding both the advantages and disadvantages can help you maximise the benefits of telemarketing while minimising any hazards.
Before going ahead with the pros and cons of telemarketing, it is important to know about the types of telemarketing to give a brush up to your knowledge of telemarketing.
Types Of Telemarketing & The Importance Of Telemarketing
An effective approach for businesses to interact with potential clients is telemarketing. Businesses can target particular demographics and make personal connections with them, which can lead to enduring loyalty. Telemarketing is a useful tool for any marketing plan since it allows businesses to quickly identify the demands of their customers and modify their services accordingly.
Outbound Telemarketing
In this, the company or its trained agents reach out to potential customers and existing customers. Outbound telemarketing, an effective telemarketing is used to promote products or services and let the customers know about ‘what’s new’ or give them relevant updates of the same.
Outbound telemarketing incorporates actual selling, and because of that, only a highly trained employee is fit for the same.
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Inbound Telemarketing
In Inbound telemarketing is effective, here you or your agent reaches out to a customer who has shown interest in your product or has some query regarding the same. The queries or leads are generated primarily because of advertising.
Lead Generation
In this, you approach a client only after knowing their preferences and collecting relevant data about them.
Lead generation plays a crucial role in business growth, and telemarketing stands as a prominent method in this domain. Understanding the merits and demerits of telemarketing is crucial for an effective lead generation strategy. The advantages of telesales lie in its ability to establish direct connections with potential customers, allowing for personalised interactions and immediate feedback.
- The importance of telemarketing in lead generation lies in its effectiveness as a bridge between businesses and their target audience.
- Benefits of telemarketing is dependent upon its organised implementation, adherence to regulations, and continuous improvement.
- Telemarketing remains a valuable tool for companies aiming to generate leads and build meaningful customer connections.
Importance of Telemarketing in Sales
This branch of telemarketing is undoubtedly the trickiest. For this, the employee needs not only the right skill set and product knowledge but also over-the-top persuasion skills.
- Vital for sales by establishing direct connections with potential customers.
- Allows businesses to convey personalized messages, addressing individual needs.
- Plays a key role in building relationships and fostering customer loyalty.
- Provides immediate feedback, helping in adapting sales strategies with real-time interaction
Pro tip: The importance of telemarketing in sales lies in its ability to reach and engage a targeted audience effectively.
Telemarketing is an easy yet strategic way of selling your product and building a loyal customer base. It is very well known that telemarketing has several advantages, but it has several disadvantages as well. Given below are the advantages and disadvantages of telemarketing.
Advantages/Benefits Of Telemarketing
1. Personal Touch and Two Way Communication
The first and foremost advantage of telemarketing is that it lets you have a one-to-one interaction with the customer. It is a more personal and interactive way of selling and promoting your product.
This telemarketing advantage is especially beneficial when integrated with WhatsApp API beneficial for B2C enterprises as it is an effective way of knowing a customer and their needs. Moreover, telemarketing helps in getting the response of the customer on the spot and enhancing communication channels like WhatsApp for employee communication.
Communicating through mailers, SMS, and text messages, might or might not get a response but through telemarketing using the WhatsApp API a reply is definite. Telemarketing is beneficial as you get to know the customer’s interests and needs instantly, and you can cater to them accordingly.
- As per an Invoca study, 92% of customers prefer live phone conversations over other communication methods as they provide a personal touch and allow for immediate connection.
- According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), telemarketing enables personalised communication and has a response rate that is 5-20% higher than that of other marketing methods.
- According to a study by Salesforce, 80% of customers believe that receiving individualised attention from a sales representative boosts their brand loyalty. Not just that the advantages of telesales offer direct and personalised connections.
2. Importance of Telemarketing: Easy Way to Explain & Sell
Telemarketing is easy because it allows you to explain the product in a much easier and intriguing way than a mailer or a text message. The use of voice modulation and persuasive skills increases the probability of selling your service.
This factor is, however, missing in a written pitch therefore, telemarketing has an edge over email marketing and also increases the possibility of landing a customer.
- According to a Brevet Group study, telemarketing is excellent at increasing sales because 78% of salespeople who use the phone in their process do better than their quota.
- The DMA claims that telemarketing discussions convert at a higher rate (about 30%) than email (2-3%) or social media (1-2%), demonstrating their effectiveness in describing and selling goods and services.
- Based on InsideSales.com research, companies that employ inside sales and telemarketing strategies see an average 18% increase in revenue growth over those that don’t.
3. Telemarketing Offers Cost Effective Solution
The biggest advantage of telemarketing is that it is cost-effective. Telemarketing yields quality results with fewer resources. You can also sell more in less time that’s the key importance of telemarketing.
Furthermore, you can even keep a track of the costs incurred as the results of telemarketing are highly measurable.
- According to the DMA, telemarketing is a cost-effective method for generating leads because its cost per lead (CPL) is far lower than that of other marketing channels, such as direct mail or trade exhibitions.
- In comparison to other marketing strategies like direct mail ($57) and digital advertising ($71), research by B2B Marketing Zone shows that telemarketing has the lowest cost per contact (about $28).
- Telemarketing is a very cost-effective marketing strategy, with an average return on investment (ROI) of 300–400%, as per a MarketResearch.com report.
4. Build Global Territory With Effective Telemarketing
In telemarketing, geography is not a limitation. You can sell your product anywhere in the world according to its relevance. You can stretch your sales territory as far as you want.
This advantage of telemarketing has also presented you with an opportunity to take your product overseas and sell it globally all with the convenience of a toll free customer care number. This helps increase sales as well as brand value. Telemarketing also lets you reach more people in a day than you can reach them in person.
- Based on a survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), 47% of companies use telemarketing to broaden their clientele internationally and into new markets
- According to MarketResearchFuture’s Global Teleservices Market Report, the Asia-Pacific region will have the largest growth in teleservices due to its quickly growing consumer base and rising usage of telecommunications technologies
- A survey by Global Industry Analysts projects that the global telemarketing market will rise to $481.3 billion by 2027, driven by the expanding trend of companies focusing on customers in various geographical places
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5. You do not need a Central Office For Effective Telemarketing
YES! One of the advantages of telemarketing is that you do not need a central office for you employees, telemarketing can be managed from anywhere. It means you can even hire employees with top-notch telemarketing skills without having to worry about relocating them.
If you’re wondering how telemarketing is possible when your employees are at remote locations, then let us tell you that cold calling is the way through which this is possible. This advantage of telesales helps in reducing extravagant expenses and yet yields incredible results.
- According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work 2020 research, 98% of remote workers would wish to continue working from home for the remainder of their lives, underscoring the allure of remote telemarketing jobs for salespeople.
- Companies can save up to $11,000 per remote employee yearly by doing away with the requirement for an actual office location, as per a Global Workplace Analytics survey
- On the basis of research that appeared in the Harvard Business Review, remote workers are frequently more productive and have better levels of job satisfaction than their office-bound counterparts
Furthermore, telemarketing is even easier with MyOperator’s call center software, outbound calling and missed call services. Build your brand and manage your calling exclusively with MyOperator’s facilities. Let your customers know about your brand with the help of automated outbound calling software and let your customers approach you professionally with the help of our missed call service.
It is evident that telemarketing has a lot of advantages but, you must not forget that every coin has two sides. Along with advantages, there are several disadvantages of telemarketing as well. Let us have a look into them to understand telemarketing and what comes along with it.
Disadvantages Of Telemarketing
1. Widely Resented
Imagine relishing your snacks while enjoying the pleasant weather, and you receive a call through which someone is trying to sell a product.
How would you feel? You will probably get annoyed and refrain from picking up calls from that number even if they are selling services you might want to avail.
Well, this is exactly why telemarketing is little difficult.
Some of the major disadvantages of telemarketing include:
- Stereotypical thoughts regarding it
- Challenges in building rapport among customers
It is interfering and reported as spam most of the time. If you do not have trained employees, then it might become way too tough for you to yield positive results from telemarketing
- A survey conducted by Gallup found that 79% of participants had negative feelings about receiving telemarketing calls, making it one of the least appreciated kinds of advertising
- Over 3.8 million complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls were filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020, demonstrating the extent of customer annoyance
- 91% of Americans find telemarketing calls irritating and disruptive to their everyday life, according to a Consumer Reports survey
2. Cost Incurred
Even though telemarketing is cost-effective, it can turn into a costly affair if not taken care of. A huge amount is required to train employees for telemarketing and also the customer list is very costly.
- According to research by MarketingCharts, the average cost of a telemarketing call in the US ranges from $5 to $30, depending on the intricacy of the sales process and the length of the contact
- Businesses spend $35 to $50 per hour on average for telemarketing services, per agent, according to a survey by CFI Group, which can add up to significant costs for extensive campaigns.
3. Availing Outside Services
Availing outside services may seem like an amicable option, but it is quite the opposite. Because of hiring outside services, you may lose control over your sales, and you may lose the flexibility to work according to your game plan. Moreover, There will be no proper care for your sales process as it is not assisting the employees
- According to a ContactBabel poll, 47% of those questioned said telemarketing calls from outside contact centers were annoying, which might have a negative impact on a company’s reputation
- If not properly handled, outsourcing telemarketing may result in issues with language barriers, cultural variances, and inconsistent messaging.
But with MyOperator’s services, this is never the case. We work on the motto of serve more and sell more’ we intend to give you the best of services without taking away your liberty. Our cloud call center solution is perfect for telemarketing as it is customizable, flexible, and helps avoid unnecessary labor.
Telemarketing is an effective way of generating leads and building a trustworthy customer base. All you need to do is avail the right IVR service provider services for your product, make wise use of the advantages of telemarketing, and sell it, minimising the effects of disadvantages of telemarketing.