Telemarketing Concept

Telemarketing is a form of direct marketing and can be defined as a marketing tool that through the resource to a customer services centre (many times designated by call centre) operates as sales channel and, simultaneously, as communication channel. In spite of generally confused with ordinary telephone sales, Telemarketing includes the integrated application of telecommunications technologies and data processing in order to optimize the process and the effectiveness increase of the contacts made with the client.

According to the application form, telemarketing can be classified as Active (out Bound) or as Passive or Receptive (In Bound). In the case of active telemarketing, it’s the company who takes the initiative to contact its clients or potential clients (therefore the out bound designation) in order to gather information or to make the sale. As to receptive telemarketing, the companies make themselves available to its clients or potential clients, belonging to these last the contact initiative.

The main telemarketing applications are the following:

. Customer service;

. Sales / uptake orders;

. Researches or market studies;

. Charges;

. Scheduling salesman visits;

. Registration update.

The main advantages of the telemarketing are the following:

. Coverage: it’s easy to achieve high market coverage whether in geographic terms whether in terms of diversified segments;

. Focus: the fact that the contact is personal allows defining characteristics of the good or service and individualized sales conditions;

. Interactivity: in the telemarketing process exists a direct contact between the salesman and the buyer being by this an interactive way by excellence:

. Cost: the telemarketing costs are significantly lower than the costs associated to sales points like stores or publicity campaigns using the conventional methods;

. Flexibility: it’s extremely easy and quick to put together a telemarketing operation for a certain campaign;

. Control: due to the use of information technologies and data base management systems, it’s very easy to have a control over the whole telemarketing process;

. Speed: due to the no need of trips, it’s much easier to reach a high number of clients or potential clients.

 

 

Translated from Portuguese by Susana Saraiva, Portuguese-English and English-Portuguese translation specialist. Contact: spams@sapo.pt.