When you hear “phone marketing,” pesky telemarketers probably come to mind. Because of telemarketing, many of us screen our calls and let unknown callers go to voicemail. And if we do happen to answer a call from an unknown number, most of us immediately say “no, thank you” or “sorry, not interested” once we recognize that the caller is trying to sell us something. Telemarketing became such an irritating practice that the FTC enforces telemarketing sales rules which include limits on the times telemarketers can call consumers.

However, phone marketing shouldn’t be misunderstood as solely telemarketing. Cold-calling aside, phone marketing can still be a profitable practice that can be leveraged to convert leads. Here are ways to leverage phone marketing to increase campaign success:

Event marketing

Event marketing increases brand and product exposure and helps establish a relationship with customers. It allows you to interact with potential buyers and deliver your message in real-time. One of the most challenging aspects of event marketing is securing attendance. To promote the event, you can leverage social media and your email list. But if you want to make the invitation more personal, the best approach would be to speak to people directly over the phone. Phone calls can be personalized, allowing you to connect with the prospect. The effort is worthwhile because the person on the other line will feel the sincerity and appreciation of their attendance.

Lead nurturing

Telemarketing has become a futile exercise not because callers aren’t making quality calls. The practice is pointless when skilled salespeople call low-quality leads and pester them with irrelevant messages. Therefore, phone marketing will only be effective in lead generation when you target the right prospects. You can segment your phone marketing list when you have a complete contact database with valuable demographic details. List segmentation allows you to customize your outbound communication based on specific needs. By choosing to call target personas, you know you’re delivering a relevant message and, therefore, increasing responsiveness.  

Customer retention

We turn to customer support when issues arise and need a resolution. Therefore, most consumers only speak with a brand representative when things have gone wrong. With phone marketing, you can help ensure that a conversation with a customer isn’t always related to a bad experience. Phone marketing can be used to reach customers for a number of positive reasons, such as an invitation to exclusive events, an offer for a special promotion, or a simple check-in on their latest purchase. You get real-time feedback on the product and customer experience through customer-centric calls. Calls also provide openings for upsell opportunities.   

To increase phone marketing success and save time and resources, ensure phone numbers are live. At RunnerEDQ, our Phone Append solution verifies and corrects numbers at the entry point to provide only accurate information entering your database. We also verify if numbers are mobile for compliance, allowing your company to mitigate risks associated with telephone violations.