Can Telemarketing Replace Face-to-Face Interactions?

Many companies have made the decision to use telemarketers to handle small or inactive accounts and prospects. This decision has proved effective and is based on several factors.

Telemarketing can complement salespeople in the field by reaching out to new customers or markets without committing a great deal of time, money, or manpower. Telemarketers can also sell products and services to existing clients in places where there are no salespeople available or when sending a member of the sales team would be cost-prohibitive.

Telemarketing makes good financial sense when it comes to interacting with customers who generate revenue, but not enough revenue to justify traveling long distances to meet with them on a consistent basis. Since these customers can constitute a large part of a company’s business, it is essential that they are well taken care of. However, they still do not generate enough sales to pull resources away from a company’s top-tier clients.

By hiring a professional telemarketing firm, all customers are nurtured in a way that makes them feel valued. Using telemarketing for a portion of a company’s clients means that there won’t be a strain on the company’s bottom line. What’s best, many of the accounts serviced by telemarketing are so well taken care of they eventually grow into top-tier accounts.

Companies must make the careful distinction between which accounts should be called on in-person, and which should be taken care of via telemarketing. Many business owners may be surprised to find that even some lucrative clients do better with telemarketing. This is especially true when their purchasing cycle is already well-established. Often these customers actually prefer not to take the time for face-to-face interactions. After all, time is money.

Telemarketing also works well for inactive accounts that may or may not become active again. These clients certainly need to be nurtured, but sending salespeople to call on them cannot always be financially justified.

If you have not considered the idea of using telemarketing to support your sales team, you may want to explore that option. Telemarketing is a great way to nurture and connect with potential and existing customers so that they don’t fall through the cracks or put unnecessary strain on your company’s finances.