12/10/2012

Is Telemarketing Still Relevant In Lead Generation?

Is Telemarketing Still Relevant In Lead Generation?: 

Lead generation is one component of marketing that must never be taken for granted. After all, we are talking about business prospects that could be lost due to careless or sloppy business prospecting work. You would want to avoid that, right? That is why you need a marketing program or process that will maximize your success. But how will you do that? The key here lies in the marketers you hire. Of course, that suggestion, in itself, can raise other problems. Be it due to budget or skill available, a lot of businesses have problems establishing their own in-house team of marketers. That is the reason why outsourcing to a competent marketing firm has become the norm. But where does telemarketing enter the picture here?
While it may be true that we need to maximize our marketing potentials, there are some parties that do not see telemarketing as a viable marketing potion. Well, if we consider the past history of unscrupulous marketers, then we can understand the current antagonism of business owners over this method. Aside from that, calling prospects on the phone is just a matter of preference. Older generations of business executives would immediately hire telemarketers whenever sales are down, but the younger generation would prefer other marketing mediums. They would point out that the expansion of the internet into the world of business has made telephone calls obsolete. They would cite social media, email, as well as search engine optimization (SEO) marketing as the way to go these modern times.

So why do some still use telemarketing?

Let us put it this way: there are some tasks that are best done on the phone. Take appointment setting work as an example. Here, not only are you trying to prospect for new B2B leads, you are also nurturing them, building your brand, as well as encouraging them to take the next step in the marketing process. Surely, this is something that you cannot easily do using email or social media, right? You will need a much better communication tool for this. And what better way is that than through the phone? Besides, as a businessman, you will agree that time is not a luxury you can spend carelessly. Emails can only do so much, but time will prevent you from reading all the details. At least, when talking to telemarketers, you can get straight to the point. This is the whole point of your campaign.
Also, you need to consider the effectiveness of much more modern marketing tools. Sure, you can say that social media and SEO can get you more qualified sales leads, but it takes a long time to do so. And as I have previously mentioned, time is a luxury that you cannot afford to waste. You need to beat your competition. And you can only do that if you have a more aggressive communication tool. As long as you hire the right people, you can be sure that telemarketing will make your lead generation campaign more successful.

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