Channel 4 Dispatches a lesson in responsible marketing

On Monday evening I watched the latest Channel 4 Dispatches How to Stop Your Nuisance Calls where undercover reporters discovered that some of the UK’s biggest charities were employing agencies that disregarded the needs of vulnerable consumers when carrying out fundraising over the phone on the charities behalf.

In the show vulnerable consumers such as people with Alzheimer’s were being called and although there were clear signals that the person was vulnerable this was not picked up on by the caller. The show revealed the case of Joseph an Alzheimer’s sufferer who had thought he was led to believe by the caller that he was working for Great Ormand Street Hospital when he was in fact donating. Even though it would have been clear to the caller that he was confused and therefore unable to make an informed decision about making a donation.

These mistakes are costly as they bring the telemarketing industry into disrepute and, of course, the serious damage done to the charity’s brand reputation. It can easily be avoided by training staff to deal with vulnerable consumers in a humane and effective manner.

The DMA Contact Centres & Telemarketing Council produced vulnerable person initiative guidelines for call centres. The guide provides senior staff with the knowledge on what to look out for over the phone, such as, obvious confusion or forgetfulness. This knowledge can be taught to call centre employees with relative ease to ensure they know what signs to look out for but also that their employers want them to look out for the concerns of vulnerable consumers.

In the Channel 4 programme it was clear to me that the charities had not assessed the business practices of the agencies they had employed. Businesses abiding by the DMA guidelines and the DMA Code will proudly display this badge and so charities should be on the lookout for markers of this sort and asking questions of agencies which do not have a robust code of practice for dealing with vulnerable consumers.

It is up to charities to demand a high ethical standard from the agencies they use. Not doing so will alienate the very people on which they rely for charitable donations and, as shown by the show, cause distress for vulnerable consumers and their families.

Good service makes for good business sense so any telemarketing firm should ensure that all their call centre staff are adequately trained to deal with vulnerable consumers. Engendering consumer trust is absolutely fundamental to the success of telemarketing. Charities must in the future make sure their fundraising efforts take account the special needs of vulnerable consumers or else they jeopardise their brand and future fundraising efforts.