subject: What is telemarketing? [print this page] What is telemarketing? What is telemarketing?
Telemarketing
Telemarketing (or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone, face to face or Web conferencing.
Since the 1950s, DialAmerica Marketing, Inc became the first company completely dedicated to inbound and outbound telephone sales and services. The company sold by Time, Inc. magazine in 1976, became the largest provider of telephone sales and services to magazine publishing companies.
The term telemarketing was firstly used in the late 1970s to describe Bell System communications which related to new uses for the outbound WATS and inbound Toll-free services
There are countless products and services you can sell over the telephone. There is also a wide range of telesales techniques you can use to successfully convey your sales message. One you have acquired the knowledge and have developed the skills necessary to sell products and services using the telephone, your potential as a telesales professional is truly limitless.
The two major categories of telemarketing are B2B, (Business-to-business) and B2C (Business-to-consumer).
Lead Generation, (information)
Sales
Outbound, (customers are contacted directly)
Inbound, (demand is created by advertising, publicity, or the efforts of outside salespeople)
Telemarketing may be done from a company office, from a call centre, or from home. It may involve a live operator or a recorded message, known as "automated telemarketing".
An effective telemarketing process involves two or more calls. The first call determines the customer's needs. The final call motivates the customer to make a purchase.
Marketing research companies use telemarketing techniques to survey the prospective or past customers of a client's business in order to assess market acceptance of or satisfaction with a particular product, service, brand, or company.
Telemarketing techniques are also applied to other forms of electronic marketing using e-mail or fax messages, in which case they are frequently considered spam by receivers.
Telemarketing has been negatively associated with various scams and frauds and with deceptively overpriced products and services. Fraudulent telemarketing companies are frequently referred to as "telemarketing boiler rooms" or simply "boiler rooms". Telemarketing is often criticized as an unethical business practice due to the perception of high-pressure sales techniques during unsolicited calls.
Telemarketing calls are often considered an annoyance, especially when they occur during the dinner hour, early in the morning, or late in the evening.
