Telemarketing: Past, Present, and Future

Telemarketing: Past, Present, and Future

A Volkmann Production

Lexicon Terms

• Strategy: a plan that is generally followed, but that can evolve
• Transparency: how honest an organization appears to the public
• Trend: patterns in the market, which can be used to predict what will be popular, how to market it, and whom to market it to
• Persuasion: a sales tactic that tries to convince a consumer to purchase a product
• Consumer: people who take part in whatever is being sold (I use this interchangeably with customer, buyer, client, and audience)

Telemarketing

• Definition: “marketing conducted over the telephone” (WiseGeek.com)
• Types
• Outbound: customers or clients are called directly; often unwanted
• Inbound: calling a toll-free 800 number

How does it work?

Hu, M. Y., Munch, J. M. & Toncar, M. F. (1994).

An invasion of privacy?

• Cold calls
• Robocalls
• Restrictions
• 1991: Hours during which telemarketers are allowed was restricted
• 2001: National Do Not Call Registry
• Importance of transparency

Evolution of Telemarketing

• Mobile Marketing
• Gives more power to consumer
• A robot with a human’s voice
• Samantha West

References

• Elkin, N., and Pasqua R. (2012). Mobile marketing an hour a day. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Federal Trade Commission (2000). FTC facts for consumers. Accessed from http://webharvest.gov/peth04/20041023055908/http://www3.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/trvlfrd.pdf.
• Federal Trade Commission. (2012). Robocalls. Retrieved from http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0259-robocalls.
• Genesys | Angel. (2014). Empower the customer: A self-service best practice guide. CRM, 18, 14.
• Hasen, J. (2012). Mobilized marketing. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Hu, M. Y., Munch, J. M. & Toncar, M. F. (1994). Consumers’ thoughts during a telemarketing message. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 2, 45-56.
• Johnston, E. M., & Meiners, W. J. (1987). Telemarketing trends, issues, and opportunities. The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 7, 65-68.
• McLeish, B.J. (2010). Successful marketing strategies for nonprofit organizations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Nicks, Denver. (2013). Robot telemarketer employer: Samantha West is no robot. TIME. Retrieved from http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/17/robot-telemarketer-samantha-west/.
• SAGE. (2011). SAGE brief guide to marketing ethics. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.