Introduction

Despite the release of many digital marketing approaches, outbound telemarketing still stays relevant! 

Like any marketing method, it does come with its set of challenges. But the good news is that, when done right, telemarketing can be a cost-effective way to drive sales and generate leads. Keep scrolling to learn more about telemarketing advantages and disadvantages with us.

What Are Telemarketing Advantages and Disadvantages?

The Benefits of Telemarketing

Reaching More Customers

Thanks to telemarketing and telesales, businesses can easily reach out to specific groups of potential customers likely to be interested in their products or services. Even better, when using targeted calling lists based on market segments or purchasing behaviours, the chances of positive responses are very high! 

Aside from that, physical locations are no longer an issue, either. Now, your team may call prospects across cities, states, or even internationally. As a result, it's easy to access a large pool of prospects without needing a physical presence in multiple locations.

Immediate Rapport with Customers

Emails or advertisements are usually one-sided and lack interaction. A simple phone call, on the other hand, allows marketers to actively adjust their tones and engage in dialogues with customers! This instant exchange connects both sides in a way that's harder to achieve through non-verbal channels.

Plus, thanks to virtual centres like StringeeX, your sales team can quickly gather information about customers' needs across multiple channels. (even before the call!) 

From there, your sales representatives may tailor their messages and responses accordingly so customers feel understood. They will see that your company is genuinely interested in helping them - rather than just making a sale.

Generating Leads

Agents can ask customers targeted questions (Source: Pxhere). 

Another key telemarketing benefit is that it helps qualify leads during the first conversation. Instead of relying on forms or digital interactions, agents can ask targeted questions to see whether the prospect is suitable for the product! From here, your business may choose to prioritise leads based on their purchasing intent and level of interest. 

And that's not all; telemarketing also offers businesses immediate feedback from potential customers. Based on the responses, businesses can either score leads by their likelihood to convert or follow up later with those who need more nurturing. 

Reducing Costs

Unlike traditional marketing, telemarketing is usually cheaper (Source: Pxhere). 

Traditional marketing methods (TV, print, and digital ads) can be expensive and require ongoing investments. In contrast, telemarketing allows businesses to reach potential customers directly without relying on costly media campaigns. Plus, when focusing on personalised, 1-on-1 conversations with prospects, you can yield higher ROI than broad advertising. 

Most importantly, telemarketing eliminates the need for physical offices, stores, or sales visits in different locations. Sales and marketing efforts can now be conducted from just one centralised location! As a result, it significantly reduces the costs often associated with travel, accommodations, or setting up physical branches.

The Cons of Telemarketing

Resentment Amongst Clients

People tend to feel harassed or pressured (Source: Pexels). 

Customers often feel their privacy is being invaded when they receive unsolicited calls. (especially if they haven’t expressed interest in the company’s products or services). Furthermore, some agents call prospects during inconvenient times, such as early mornings, late evenings, or even during meals. Given this invasion of both personal time and space, people may consider telemarketing calls intrusive and harbour negative feelings toward the brand. 

Also, when bombarded with multiple calls from the same company, people tend to feel harassed or pressured. Even if the customer was originally interested in the product, frequent follow-up calls might push them away! Over time, it will become less and less likely that they will ever do business with the company.

Low Response Rate

Not everyone responds to telemarketing calls (Source: Pexels). 

According to our research, many countries have established Do-Not-Call (DNC) registries that allow people to opt out of telemarketing calls. Every company must respect these lists by law - or they will face legal penalties otherwise.

As more customers sign up for these registries, the pool of potential contacts will shrink, limiting how many people you can legally reach. Simply put, even if a telemarketing campaign is well-planned, it may not get much of the target audience due to legal restraints!

And don't forget that many people lead busy lives. Reaching them during a time when they are available and willing to engage, therefore, is not easy. And even if customers answer the phone, they may not have time to listen attentively; the whole conversation will be rushed and ineffective.

Not to mention, some telemarketing campaigns rely on databases of phone numbers that may be outdated over time. After all, many customers frequently change their phone numbers or switch from landlines to mobile phones!

This results in a higher number of disconnected or non-functional numbers in your calling lists. Worse, your team may accidentally call numbers reassigned to new users - who are not at all interested in the offer.

Still Costly At Times

It can still be costly (Source: Rawpixel). 

This marketing strategy often requires a dedicated team of telemarketers (paid hourly wages, salaries, or commissions). Maintaining a full team can be quite expensive, especially if you're running large-scale campaigns!

Not to mention, when operating a call centre, there are costs for hiring, managing, and retaining employees. Worse, campaigns requiring more specialised skills or experience (examples: B2B or high-ticket item sales) usually cost even more. 

And don't forget that effective telemarketing requires properly trained staff to handle customer objections and follow proper sales techniques. 

Training also involves updating employees on compliance regulations, call etiquette, customer service skills, and more. All of this takes time and resources! (we have yet to mention difficult periods, such as when dealing with employee turnover).

Plus, reliable technology is an important part of every telemarketing campaign: phone systems, CRM, software, cloud-based platforms, and more. Needless to say, high-quality systems to house all these functions tend to come with hefty setup and maintenance fees. 

Solution: Keeping costs low can be challenging at times; here's where StringeeX steps in! As a virtual call centre, it eliminates the need for physical office setups. Your telemarketing team can now operate anywhere and anytime, drastically reducing overhead fees for equipment and office space.

Even better, the platform integrates different marketing channels (voice calls, SMS, video calls, social media) into one easy-to-use system. No more switching between platforms or juggling multiple setup systems!

Extra Tips to Nail Telemarketing

Some extra tips to keep in mind (Source: Creativecommons). 

1. Before making a call, research your potential customer to understand their needs and pain points. It will help you tailor your message and make it more relevant to customers, which results in better, more meaningful conversations. 

2. Of course, having a script is important to stay on message. But that doesn't mean you should sound robotic; personalise your offer based on customers' responses! Otherwise, prospects will assume you are not genuinely interested in their concerns and refuse to convert.

3. Delivering your message is just part of effective telemarketing. Hence, there's nothing wrong with sparing a few minutes of silence for your customer to ponder what to say or consider your offers. Avoid talking non-stop from beginning to end! 

Conclusion

All in all, telemarketing remains a valuable business tool, though there are both telemarketing advantages and disadvantages. Keep in mind our extra tips to reach as many prospects as possible and handle objections confidently! For more clarification, you can always write to us.