Is Telemarketing Still Viable for Small Businesses

The telephone is the lifeline for many small businesses and that includes telemarketing. Yet with the advent of the National No Call Registry and fines up to $11,000 many small businesses are faced with the dilemna to telemarket or not. Telemarketing has always been one of the most cost effective ways for small businesses to market. And even with most states already implementing some sort of Do Not Call Legislation and charging a small fee either monthly or quarterly to Small businesses owners. It was still a viable marketing alternative.
The system was working well for both the states and the small business owners. Yet the federal government or should I say the politicians didn’t see it that way and the FTC felt the need to protect the consumer against those wretched telemarketers by implementing it’s on Do Not Call laws. One might even believe that these concerned politician’s hearts were in the right place if it weren’t for the fact that they decided to exclude themselves from their on laws. Yes the National No Call Registry does not apply to our political representatives. They can still call you up anytime and ask for your vote or your money. How convenient.
So where does that leave the small business owner. With the National No Call List at a price of $7000 annually many small business owners will elect to stop telemarketing. Fortunately the FTC did make a portion of the list free for anyone requiring only a list of Do Not Call numbers in their area. Yes you can go to the National No Call Registry Website and download a list of up to 5 Area codes of No Call Numbers free of charge. This should be sufficient for most small businesses.
Unfortunately the National No Call Registry does not exchange information with the individual state’s No Call lists so you will still have to pay for the State’s No Call List if you wish to be in full compliance. Seems like a lot of work just to be able to make a phone call. So is it worth the trouble. Well contrary to popular belief the Telemarketing Industry has always known that a percentage of their customer base did not wish to be marketed by phone. So now telemarketers no longer have to waste valuable time calling people who mostly didn't want to hear from them anyway. And they can focus their energy on marketing to consumers more receptive to their product.
The benefit of the National No Call Registry is that now millions of those people who do not wish to be solicited to over the phone, can sign up at one central location, making it easier for businesses to access and scrub these no call numbers from their telemarketing lists. So whether you are using automated dialing machines or a small staff of telemarketers you should still see productivity increases. In the end telemarketing is still a very viable marketing tool and one of the best in Return on your investment. However it should only be one part of your marketing strategy and you should always investigate and consider every avenue to promote your business.

_________________________________________________