Telemarketing is part of many business plans, but as is often the case, figuring
out the most efficient path from planning to implementation is a key success
factor. Whether it is telemarketing sales, market research, or raising awareness,
there is no doubt that telemarketing is one of the most active marketing approaches.
As such, it can help stimulate the growth of any start-up or small company. The
key is to get this benefit without taking on new burdens that can snuff out that
growth before it has a chance to get started.
Before endeavoring to create a telemarketing operation from scratch, management
should consider what outside telemarketing companies can do for them. By doing
so, managers are likely to find that they can save both time and money if they
buy telemarketing services rather than attempt to build them.
Buy or Build Fundamentals: Where Telemarketing Fits
Fundamentally, when any company contemplates adding a new capability, it should
ask the andquot;buy or buildandquot; question. The answer to that question generally
comes down to this: areas where the company has a unique competitive advantage
should be built; those that are outside the companys core competencies should
be bought.
Telemarketing services represent a considerable investment in time and money.
In most cases, building a call center staff, obtaining the equipment, and acquiring
knowledge about telemarketing are all outside the ways a companys business
plan is designed to add value. Instead, any unique value proposition can be
leveraged by having outside telemarketing companies get the message into the
marketplace.
Six Ways Telemarketing Companies Can Leverage Early Growth
To be more specific, here are six ways telemarketing companies can leverage
the growth phase of a business or product:
1. Speed product introduction. Whether it is a new business or a new product
for an established business, time-to-market is a critical metric when it comes
to taking advantage of emerging opportunities. Telemarketing companies can
get a new message into the marketplace almost immediately, while building and
training a staff from scratch could result in damaging delays.
2. Adjust to seasonal and product cycles. Most businesses have some peaks and
valleys, so rather trying to expand and contract an in-house telemarketing
staff in conjunction with those cycles, why not simply take advantage of outside
capacity as needed?
3. Keep managements eye on the ball. There is already an overwhelming number
of issues involved in a product launch. Outsourcing telemarketing services
can give management one less distraction.
4. Build return on investment. By limiting fixed costs, outsourcing telemarketing
helps build return on investment.
5. Access the best equipment and expertise. Instead of boot-strapping investment
in telemarketing equipment and learning by experience, a company can tap into
state-of-the-art equipment and experienced specialists by outsourcing telemarketing
services.
6. Limit legal liability. Telemarketing laws have been in flux, and are subject
to state-by-state differences. Rather than risk liability or spend time getting
up to speed on an area of the law unrelated to most companies core businesses,
managements can rely on outside telemarketing companies to stay abreast of
the relevant legal environment.
A company is likely to encounter a series of andquot;build or buyandquot; questions
throughout its life cycle. In the case of telemarketing services, the evidence
is clearly in favor of andquot;buy.andquot;
Sources
American Teleservices Association
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 5, 2008, Savvy Consumer: Its getting easier
to control junk mail and junk calls
MSNBC, September 5, 2008, Victory for consumers; defeat for robo-calls
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