New telemarketing research reveals itâs good to talk

New DMA research published today on telemarketing’s ROI, effectiveness rates and influence on consumer behaviour has revealed the channel’s strong performance in 2014.

The DMA’s inaugural research Telemarketing – marketer and consumer research 2014 surveyed 210 marketers and 1,000 consumers. The research was commissioned by the DMA’s Contact Centres and Telemarketing Council to provide marketers with fresh data to counter what it calls the “gut feeling” that leads many to leave the channel out of campaign planning.

According to the findings, B2B telemarketing generates £11 for every £1 spent while B2C telemarketing generates £5 for every £1 spent. Meanwhile, 92% of businesses rate telemarketing as ‘effective’ and 81% say that integrating it with another channel improves overall campaign performance. Email is the most successful channel for integration for 89% of B2B and 43% of B2C marketers. Company website came second for both B2B (46%) and B2C (37%).

Of the 1,000 consumers surveyed, 53% said they are more likely to trust a brand when they speak to someone on the phone, while 62% of consumers said they prefer to speak to a person when making a purchase. Engagement following telemarketing calls were also high with one in five people reportedly visiting their webpage, while one in eight people made a purchase, changed to a new price-plan or searched online about their products and services.

Commenting on the study Graham Smith, Marketing Director of SCi Sales Group Ltd and member of the DMA’s Contact Centres and Telemarketing Council, says:

“Telemarketing has for too long been the Cinderella of one-to-one marketing. Nobody wanted to take it to the ball. Recent bad press caused by nuisance calls made by rogue companies has left some marketers wary of using telemarketing and feeling it should be avoided.

“This research is the catalyst for a change in attitude towards telemarketing. It counters the subjective ‘gut feeling’ of many marketers that telemarketing should be left off the schedule. The ROI figures alone should convince them to integrate telemarketing into their campaigns if not the fact that it makes customers feel valued when used well.”

In other findings, 61% B2C marketers mainly use telemarketing for upselling, 58% used it to generate sales and 49% used it for customer services. B2B marketers on the other hand used it to generate leads (84%), make appointments (79%) and nurture leads (68%). B2B marketers are also reportedly employing new tactics to improve customer engagement as 64% use content marketing such as infographics, whitepapers and webinars in their telemarketing conversations.

The DMA’s Telemarketing – marketer and consumer research 2014 was commissioned by the DMA’s Contact Centres and Telemarketing Council and sponsored by SCi Sales Group Ltd. The results can be downloaded from the DMA’s website.

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Contact

Ed Owen, Head of PR
Tel. 020 7291 3324
Email ed.owen@dma.org.uk