The Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) has been around for a couple of years now, but have marketers really come to terms with its repercussions? Do we really appreciate the limitations that the CTPS is placing on companies’ ability to innovate and expand their businesses?
At the time the CTPS was introduced, Stephen Timms – the minister responsible – responded to the negative reaction of the direct marketing community by explaining that its aim was to help small businesses tackle sales calls that were a distraction to running their business. In effect, it was to function as an extension of the previously established consumer TPS.
This objective is laudable, but the consequences of the CTPS have extended beyond the small business community. For example, one issue in particular that is stirring up the emotions of the telemarketing community is that bigger businesses are registering their numbers – on both a piecemeal and wholesale basis. These organizations have plenty of resources to answer calls, and benefit from the full range of gatekeepers and technology to field appropriate or inappropriate enquiries.
The restrictions that the CTPS imposes on small businesses in their attempt to target corporates are certainly unfair, and may even be illegal.
Government regulators are of the opinion that marketers can reach large companies via their procurement departments. However, as marketers, we know that procurement’s only function is to knock suppliers down on price: they have no influence on the selection of service.
So are we shooting UK PLC in the foot? Does CTPS represent a restriction on innovation and the growth of commerce? Does CTPS create an unfair playing field where compliant companies fail to serve their clients properly? And in a world where Ofcom has just started to fine telemarketers for gross abuse for phoning consumers, is the regulator really going to act against me for making a few calls to large global corporates?
B2B marketers need to take our heads out of the sand and get real about the CTPS. We need to debate the issues, understand the repercussions and work together to press for suitable outcome.
It was only a couple of years ago when the consumer TPS registrations counted less than two million. Now we have sleepwalked into a situation where over 60 per cent of UK households are registered. Marketers must wake up now to protect our business and the commercial future of UK PLC.
