Telemarketing and Internet Marketing: A One-Two Punch Combo?
Marketing over the phone has for a number of years earned a bad reputation amongst those who consider the tactic as a source of annoyance. On the other hand, internet marketing is just in its blooming phase, and no one knows how much bigger it would blow up in the next decades.
What if telemarketing and internet marketing were molded into one?
Using web presence to generate lists for telemarketing can breathe fresh air into outdated call lists and help businesses regain a relevant target. Together, they make a powerful team.
But before we get excited, let’s weigh the pros and cons of merging the two tactics:
Pros:
- Relevance. People who have explicitly expressed interest in a subject are a more promising candidate for telemarketing than a cold list of contacts. Depending on the type of response elicited and where it was placed, marketers can define the list around relevant audience characteristics.
- Consent to call. Marketers can pre-structure a web platform to include permissions to make follow-up calls to help trounce legal restrictions and customer elusiveness.
- Fresh data. Information gathered from online responses can contribute to new data, most of which are often not available from public directories.
- Faster interaction. If it’s necessary to make a lead “lukewarm” before a telephone call, a conversation can easily be established online using social media platforms or conference applications.
Cons:
- Limited shelf life. A response to a specific offer or subject matter may be very time-sensitive. The more time that passes before a follow call is made, the colder the lead will become.
- Inaccurate info. Because online responses are mostly made up of self-reported data, they become highly prone to inaccuracies and may greatly affect the quality of leads.
- Time and manpower. Obviously it would take a certain number of people to scour the web for potential clients not to mention interacting with them on a personal level. Doing that can eat up a lot of hours, too.
- Quantity can be overwhelming. The power of the internet is immense. Depending on the platform to be used, the number of responses may become too great that it makes qualifying a more difficult task, more so when there is, again, lack of manpower and time.
So what do you think? As promising as it sounds, do you think your team will be able to pull it off? Remember, when generating more leads is your priority, you shouldn’t be afraid to try out new things, let alone give it consideration.