Why Social Media Won’t Replace Telemarketing

In this age of social media, it might seem like the art of live conversation is no longer necessary. And while technology seems to be taking over every facet of marketing, studies show that telemarketing continues to offer an outstanding return on investment.

Telemarketing is an excellent way to find leads and convert those leads into sales. Telemarketing is similar to other forms of marketing in that campaigns must be designed to meet the needs of its target audience. The best telemarketers also realize that their job goes way beyond making sales – although this is the end game. Lead generation, relationship building, and lead nurturing are the hallmarks of any successful telemarketing campaign. Experts will tell you that nurtured leads spend more money – over a longer period of time – than customers who were won over with a quick sales pitch.

Telemarketers need to work hard not just to make sales but to capture vital information and find new opportunities. In this way, telemarketing is anything but behind the times. Telemarketing allows companies to compile a great deal of data that will allow for pinpointed marketing campaigns.

While telemarketing continues to outpace most other forms of marketing – including social media – there are certain components that are necessary for a telemarketing campaign to be successful. These include:

Repetition: The most successful telemarketing campaigns are anything but one and done. In order to forge the type of relationships that lead to long-term customer relationships you should expect to make several calls to prospects. Remember, it’s all about relationship building.

Well-Defined Goals: Getting a prospect on the phone is just the beginning of the process, not the end. Make sure your script is clear, concise, and delivered with confidence. There is a very short window of time to engage your prospect. Make sure you make the most of it.

Relevancy: Make sure the product or service you are calling about is relevant to the prospect. In today’s data-driven marketing world, there is no excuse for poorly targeted prospects.

Telemarketing continues to outpace other forms of marketing because of its high success rate. No matter what you are trying to achieve – sales, lead generation, customer retention, market research, etc. – telemarketing will continue to be important for one simple reason: it works.