Telemarketing: the Cinderella of 1-to-1 marketing

When sales are sluggish in B2B marketing someone will eventually call for telemarketing to get on the phones and boost the figures, and B2C is fast recognising the benefits of inbound marketing which often results in a call to the Contact Centre.

So why is just 4%* of the average budget allocated to the Cinderella of marketing?

Time and again I’ve read B2B effectiveness surveys which show that telemarketing, email and events are the most effective tools for lead generation – yet email gets 13% and events gets 19% of budget.

B2C marketers are recognising how human interaction enhances brand relationships. There is a drive towards UK-based contact centres with well trained brand ambassadors that can do more than any set of FAQs on a website. Yet contact centres don’t have the same high profile as other marketing channels.

So where do we get the who, what and why answers on this? Truth is there is very little research available on telemarketing and contact centres.

That’s why the DMA Contact Centre and Telemarketing Council has commissioned its first piece of research into the industry, sponsored by the SCi Sales Group.

We are looking not only for your views as a marketing professional, but also for the views of the consumer. And it’s a piece of research that will be carried out every year for the next three years, so we can add trending to the results.

So the first stage is to get you guys involved. Whether you currently use contact centres/telemarketing or not, we value your opinion.

Get involved by completing the survey here. Let’s get this Cinderella to the ball for all to see.

By DMA guest blogger Graham Smith, Marketing Director, SCi Sales Group and DMA Contact Centres and Telemarketing Council member

*Source: The B2B Barometer