The marketing landscape is slowly transitioning into a purely web-based platform, despite the resistance of traditional marketers. The first ones that are likely to go are those which thrive on orthodox methods such as talking on the phone – in this case,telemarketing.
Does it still work?
To answer that, let us first take a look at the current situation:
Email is still the most productive marketing channel among marketers according to Experian Data Quality survey conducted earlier this year.
SEO is not dead, at least according to this Forbes article, despite the rapid changes of Google algorithms and the constant challenges that SEO marketers encounter.
Social media will see explosive growth in 2014 and beyond according to this postat Social Media Today.
Content is still king, according to Econsultancy.com
So what about telemarketing?
If telemarketing is indeed dead, the culprit would be the rise of inbound marketing. A lot of businesses have invested a huge chunk of their budget in inbound marketing tactics, and they have a reason to do so.
Inbound marketing has been proven to be highly effective, especially for businesses with high-end B2B products. The research and buying process of B2B buyers have shifted in recent years which caused marketers to use “pulling” strategies instead of “pushing”.
Telemarketing is still worth it
The rise and effectiveness of other marketing channels do not necessarily mean that telemarketing should no longer be an option. Here’s why:
Some businesses have products which still require human interaction to sell. Nothing beats being able to hear the voice of the person you’re making business with, especially when you’re trying to pitch people-oriented services rather than high-tech equipment.
Despite the availability of information online, there are still business decision makers who prefer to be called by a telemarketer so he can throw questions and clarify matter before making a commitment.
Let’s face it: no matter how many email were exchanged or how long your interaction on Linkedin may be, you will still need to talk to the prospect eventually. So why not establish a business relationship over the phone in the first place?
On the business side, telemarketing also has the advantage of having a database of call recordings which would be beneficial for training and quality purposes. We certainly don’t want a future of text-based marketers who don’t know how to talk to real people anymore.
Originally appeared at ITSalesLeads Blogs.
