What is telemarketing? How to build an inbound telemarketing strategy

Telemarketing is a reality that has been around for over 30 years. It can be a valuable tool in your business, but it takes strategy to use this form of marketing effectively. However, it can be tough to know where to start. That's why this post will cover everything you need to know about telemarketing before getting started with it.

What is telemarketing?

Telemarketing is a form of marketing that focuses on using the telephone to advertise, sell and distribute goods, services and information. Telemarketing is commonly used in conjunction with other forms of direct marketing such as email and direct mailings.

Short history of telemarketing

The birth of telemarketing

The first telemarketing activity occurred in 1878 when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Western Union offered train tickets to customers. Then, in 1883, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and today we enjoy hearing music on demand because of his invention. It was about 60 years later that those two events were combined as telemarketers used the phonograph to sell songs to consumers.

In the 1960s, the term "telemarketing" was coined and it wasn't until 1981 that AT&T implemented a full-scale telemarketing service known as the AT&T Telemarketing Center. In 1982, Duracell employed 1,000 telemarketers for their battery division. This was the first time that an entire division was telemarketed.

Cold calling era

I remember when telemarketers called my house in the late 1980s to sell me magazines. Why didn't it work? I wasn't interested in what they were selling. I was interested in the concept of privacy and that "Big Brother" (or rather, Big Sister) was trying to sell magazines. Privacy is something we all value; especially when we live in a world where companies collect information about us and use it with or without our consent. 

The early 1990s saw a growth of telemarketing as more and more companies adopted the practice.

The rise of Internet Marketing

In late 1990s, the rise of Internet Marketing made telemarketing less popular, but it didn't die off. However, with the rise of social media marketing and email marketing in more recent years, telemarketing has become less effective due to the fact that consumers are desensitized to messages via these mediums.

Telemarketing in nowadays

Telemarketing is still used and can be effective when done correctly. It remains a great way to sell high-priced items and complex services, but it must be done with strategy.

How telemarketing works

In reality, there are two methods that businesses often use when implementing a telemarketing campaign:

Outbound telemarketing

Companies using outbound telemarketing are high aggressive in calling. The steps to carry out outbound telemarketing are simple. First, the company prepare a list of contacts (phone numbers). The number of contact should be as many as possible. Second, the company salesforce try to call each phone number of the list as fast as possible.

Outbound telemarketing usually has a very low conversion rate. It generate many cold calls which people feel annoyed when receving these calls.

Inbound telemarketing

Companies using inbound telemarketing are less aggressive because they do not need to call to all customers. Instead, they have a process that upon customers purchase or inquiry, they will be added to a call list. Then, the company's salesforce can contact those customers as needed. Inbound telemarketing is more personalized and shows interest in the customer needs.

Inbound telemarketing usually has a high conversion rate. It is more friendly to customers. However, it requires more efforts and takes longer time to carry out than outbound telemarketing does.

How to build an inbound telemarketing strategy

Inbound telemarketing is definitely the right way for business to choose. Here are some important steps for creating a telemarketing strategy:

Step 1. Establish your campaign goals and objectives

To achieve success, the first step is to establish the campaign goals and objectives. At this stage, you must define clearly what do you want to get from your telemarketing campaign such as more leads or bigger sales. So, you will know why you are making telemarketing campaign in the first place.

Step 2. Find your target customers

Target customers are the most important aspect of inbound telemarketing. You need to find out who is willing to buy your products or services and what they want from your company before give any call to them, because if you are wasting time talking to people who are not interested in your products or services, it is better you don't make the call. Once you have found customers, develop a list of phone numbers and prepare for making call.

Step 3. Choose proper tools

Tools are essential for any telemarketing campaign. It can be either software or hardware. For any small business, it is good to choose the free one such as Google Voice. However, for bigger telemarketing campaign, you should use software or hardware that will help run your telemarketing campain at a faster and easier way such as Telefield .

Step 4. Make call list and start making calls

For inbound telemarketing, you don't need to make calls all the time. You can manage your call list and only contact customers when they are ready to buy.

Step 5. Evaluate and adjust accordingly

Once your campaign is complete, evaluate what did you get from the telemarketing campaign such as leads or sales. If something went wrong during the process, you can make some changes to your strategy until it reaches the right goal.

Conclusion

Telemarketing is a great for businesses that want to reach more leads or sell higher-priced items. The reality of telemarketing, however, is that it's not always the most effective strategy due to its cost per lead ratio and low conversion rates. With inbound telemarketing, you'll be able to find out who your target customers are so you can better personalize their experience with personalized interactions over the phone. If your goal is generating more leads or upselling high priced items without putting too much time into outreach efforts then this might be the right style of marketing for you!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)