Is Telemarketing ceasing to exist?

It is true that in some areas telemarketing or traditional telephone sales are still effective. But with the expansion of digital media and the growth of consumers who are increasingly reluctant to phone number invasive advertising, the practice of telemarketing (and with it the work of sales agents in the contact center) has been transformed. For companies that are no longer profitable, they can rely exclusively on a cold calling model to attract new customers.

Why is conventional telemarketing declining?

Two reasons:

– The regulations: The consumer protection laws are very strict regarding communications not authorized by the client. If a company sends a promotional message without prior consent (be it a call, an email or an SMS), it can be legally penalized. This means that if the user has not provided their contact information or stated that they are interested in being contacted, companies cannot contact them.

– People do not want to be called: Many people do not even answer the phone when an unknown number calls them. And if they do, they aren’t too thrilled to hear the voice of an agent — no matter how friendly — trying to sell them something. Especially millennials: if they prefer communication by chat or WhatsApp even with their friends, phone number list they are less likely to want to talk to someone from a company.

How do companies continue to sell in this scenario?

Harnessing the power of technology. And it is that people do not want to be called to sell them something, except for this situation: that they are interested in the product or service beforehand. And for that, different digital marketing actions must have been activated beforehand, to prepare the consumer and predispose him to receive that call.

How does modern telemarketing work?

From what we just explained, modern telemarketing has left behind calling a giant list of prospects that they have on file from the last century. Good practices aim to use the phone call, basically, in these cases:

To close sales with the leads that are more likely to buy, since they have gone through a nurturing process where they have already generated interest in the brand and its proposal.

To contact Hot Leads who express that they want that telephone communication immediately, through some digital medium. There are forms whose CTA is, precisely, “I want mobile phone number you to call me”, where, after leaving the phone number, the conversion should be directly connected to the contact center so that it calls the lead as soon as possible. Along the same lines, the “ Click-To-Call ” tactic on landing pages seeks to have the leads themselves call the contact center.

Modern telemarketing aims not to disturb. On the contrary, it seeks to add value to each interaction. The calls are the final step in a series of strategic actions, based on data analysis and always seeking an excellent user experience.

For these practices to be successful, it is essential to have a marketing automation tool and an omnichannel contact center, where the contacts generated in marketing integrated into the sales area are managed.