Telemarketing

1. Telemarketing Chapter 8 Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

2. The Telephone • Can be viewed both as a marketing medium and a response mechanism • Telemarketing is a medium that uses sophisticated telecommunications and information systems combined with personal selling and servicing skills to help companies keep in close contact with present and potential customers, increase sales, and enhance business productivity. Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

3. Inbound Vs. Outbound Calls • Inbound Calls (where customers are calling in) - reactive telemarketing • Applications: • Ordering or inquiring • Clarifying or requesting assistance • Responding immediately to an advertisement • Expediting processing • Making pledges or contributions • Obtaining financial data, stock prices, etc.. Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

4. Inbound Vs. Outbound Calls • Outbound Calls(where firms call the customers) - Proactive telemarketing • Applications: • Generating new sales, including reorders and new product introductions • Generating leads • Serving present accounts • Reactivating old customers • Surveying customers, members, voters Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

5. Advantages Two-way communication Immediate feedback Very flexible medium Most productive medium Cost-effective medium Disadvantages Intrusive marketing medium Lacks visual enhancement Does not provide a permanent response device Retaining highly trained telephone operators Advantages/Disadvantages of Telemarketing Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

6. TelephoneTechnology • DNIS (dialed number identification system) • allows any organization that has multiple 800 or 900 numbers to differentiate incoming calls based on the number dialed by the caller. • Can be used to track media performance and accountability Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

7. TelephoneTechnology • ANI( automated number identification) • Identifies the number of the person calling • The number can be matched against a database Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

8. TelephoneTechnology • Incoming calls: 3 types of voice technology • Audiotex-involves playing of prerecorded messages on request • Voice messaging-the process of storing and retrieving voice mail from mailboxes • Interactive voice response- enables callers to access and update a database using their touch-tone key pads Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

9. Planning a TelemarketingProgram • Preparing the telephone scripts • Aids the telephone operator,like an outline • Training the telephone operators – 6 qualities: • Experience, computer literacy, people skills, reliability, organization & problem-solving skills • Integrating with other media • Television, direct mail, catalogs, print, radio, yellow pages, Internet Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

10. Call Centers • A call center is a dedicated team supported by various telephone technological resources to provide responses to customer inquires • Telemarketing activities can be carried out via call centers in a variety of ways: • Within the company(in-house) • Outside of the company(calls are made by a teleservice outsourcing firm) • a combination of both methods Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

11. In-House Call Centers • Advantage-the degree of control the company has over the telemarketing operations • Disadvantage-time and expense of training the telemarketers and large financial burden • “Call-abandonment” is the number of callers that hang-up before being serviced by a telephone sales representative Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

12. Advantages Low initial investment Fixed operating costs Quick start up Time Flexibility Disadvantages Lack of direct control Lack of direct security Lack of employee loyalty Mass-market approach OutsideCall Centers Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

13. Media Measurement • Inbound calls are generally less expensive than outbound calls. • 3 components that make up the cost of telemarketing calls are: • Personnel (50% of costs) • Equipment and overhead (30% of costs) • Telecommunications service (20% of costs) Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

14. Ethical & Legal Aspects of Telemarketing • The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) and the ERA (Electronic Retailing Association) address the ethical aspects of telephone marketing by the issuance of ethical guidelines. • The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) has issued a set of telemarketing rules that organizations must follow in order to conform to the legal constraints of using the phone as a marketing medium Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

15. Prompt disclosure/identity of seller Honesty Terms of the offer Reasonable hours Transfer of Data Laws, codes, and regulations Use of automatic equipment Taping of conversations Name removal Minors Monitoring Prompt delivery Cooling off period Restricted contracts DMA Guidelines: Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

16. ERA Guidelines • All statements made during a telemarketing call must be truthful and not misleading • Members should ensure that the billing methods they will use are clearly disclosed to consumers before completing a phone sale • Members should maintain, and require their telemarketing service providers to maintain, a list of consumers who ask not to receive telemarketing calls Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

17. The FTC Rules • Disclosure Requirements • Prohibited Misrepresentation • Assisting Telemarketing Fraud • DNC LIST … pending! Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08

18. Chapter Case 1-800-FLOWERS Contemporary Direct Marketing - Chapter 08