The TPS was launched in 1999. Since then, over six million telephone numbers have been registered with the service – that's about a quarter of British households, and it is growing at a staggering rate. And, with outbound callers obtaining few friends, either through silent calls or high frequency sales programmes, is there anything the DM industry can do to stop the tide running against them? Gareth Smith, marketing director at the customer management and marketing services company 2Touch, believes you simply cannot ignore the growing impact of the TPS. It's only going to increase as research and press reporting continues to highlight widespread consumer dissatisfaction with unsolicited sales calls and horror stories of consumers receiving unstructured and irrelevant calls. | |
So, how does the industry counteract rising TPS registrations? We need a service that focuses on giving back consumers choice, control and flexibility – in a way that will win back public confidence in the telesales channel. There are several ways this can be achieved. Rather than an all encompassing TPS that stops all unsolicited calls, consumers could be offered the choice of a more flexible scheme that allows them to effectively 'elect' to receive telesales calls only about products and services that they have previously indicated would be of interest to them. This could be further enhanced with information relating to timings – are they just looking for information or are they ready to buy? Telesales calls promoting other products and services would be excluded under this type of scheme. A more flexible 'opt-in' solution such as this would enable consumers to decide who they want to do business with and at what time of day or day of the week it is most convenient for them to receive telesales calls. Also, and importantly, via which channel - phone, mail, e-mail, mobile, PDA, text etc. It sounds visionary but which organisations consumers choose to do business with should be in their hands. In addition to this, a more visible procedure that highlights which companies are calling them would no doubt be of great value and benefit to currently wary consumers who are dissatisfied with the more unscrupulous telemarketers. It's all about offering consumers choice and certainly, in my opinion, the intelligent use of data, ratified by the consumer, would go a very long way to help improve the targeting of outbound campaigns and to winning back dwindling consumer confidence. It will also ensure that the most appropriate offers are made to the most appropriate customers at the most appropriate times. About 2Touch |
Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
1.) | CrankWheel CrankWheel Screen Sharing CrankWheel is an easy and simple screen sharing solution, made for the needs of salespeople and customer service agents. CrankWheel complements voice calls by adding visuals to ongoing calls. There is no need to get the customer off the phone, onto another platform. Agents share their screens by directing clients to a link that can be sent via SMS, email or simply spelled out. The client can enter on any device, mobile, desktop or tablet and enters the session instantly. There is no registration or download required by the client. Features: - Screen sharing - Agents can hand control over to the client - Warm lead capture widget that alerts the sales team instantly of an intere... (read more) |
I am checking out all the amazing and daily updated content on ContactCenterWorld.com and networking with professionals worldwide
Send To Friends Post On My Wall