A sixty-year-old receives a call from a telemarketer, "Greetings, Mr ABC, Congratulation, as per our records, you are eligible for admission to XYZ business management school. Would you be interested?"
One can only laugh and wonder. How come? Why me? There's is got to be some logic. These people have my name, my number. Are they playing pranks? Am I at some kind of a risk?
It worsens when such people are inconvenienced by calls that provide home loans, life insurance, long-term retirement plans, and other daily financial loans. While none of the stated institutions extends any of the mentioned services to this segment of customers (sixty-year-old plus).
These meaningless calls are a nuisance, frustration, fear and Anxiety to the receiver of these segments. And a sure productivity loss to the telemarketers and significant revenue drainers to these telemarketing companies.
From my experience dated 2010, base conversion of about five percent is a must for these telemarketing companies. The conversion figures might be dated. However, the business hasn't changed. It's still a function of base conversion. Then how come these telemarketing companies can afford such calls.
I guess I overthink, not to feel bad. It's just that I overthink. I value things, emotions, people, promises, and processes. That's the way I am. That's what got me hooked on this telemarketing issue. It is causing sufficient irritation to the recipient, with embarrassment and productivity loss to the telesales executives.
Is It A Database Issue?
Maybe. If it is, then the feedback loop should immediately correct it.
As a customer service head for a large telco in India, I once faced an incident when two databases were swapped between the call centres, collection and retention. It took just fifteen minutes for the telesales executive from both call centres to create havoc. We stopped operations for about an hour and compensated the telemarketing companies for the productivity loss. This is an essential response mechanism, in fact, a business rule.
Then Why do we get these calls?
Source of the Telemarketing Database.
We all live in an internet-connected world. Which is sufficiently served with details of each individual information on it. Information is gathered from personal searches, social media posts and location. The advertising industries thrive by exploiting this user behaviour and movement.
We have an astounding 55% of our population riding the internet. That for lack of knowledge is eager to provide all the information that is sought from them. The want for information about an individual is only by the imagination of the Platforms, Applications and website creators. Most users are oblivious or ridiculously naïve to blindly click on the "I accept" icon.
Using this data and artificial intelligence (AI) programs. We can make reasonably accurate predictions on how the country shall vote in the upcoming elections. Then where is the GAP?
Is It The Two-Cent Database?
Hypothetically let's assume that all these call centres don't have the knowledge, resources or access to the aforementioned databases.
They are at the mercy of local directories, visitor registers, or old historical databases.
If yes. Then the primary activity is to rearrange or clean the Database. Such as sort it as per Age, Sex, Location, or comments from Previous interaction. The most crucial aspect is scrubbing the Database against the DND( Don Not Disturb) list. This can be done online in batches of five-thousand numbers. If you don't have the patience and know-how to access the TARI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) provided DND list.
The telemarketer has just a printed list of names and numbers in an event. Capturing can avoid repeated calls from the same customer who isn't interested. call responses
The Interest Statement.
Most important for a telemarketer is the interest Statement. It takes an enormous amount of Product and Industry knowledge clubbed with excellent communication skills to brainstorm on one or more than one Interest stamen for just one Product. The aptest one is put into production post testes that prove its effectiveness.
One cannot have a single interest statement for all products and services. It's like paracetamol syndrome, one medicine for almost all ailments.
The interest statement is a "moment of truth". A call that gets business is a shiny moment of truth, whereas the one that doesn't is a dull moment of truth.
Refining or redefining interest statements
Calls are observed for improvement primarily through captured audio recordings. This brings out which areas of the call needs improvement. Is it the Greeting, Interest statement, Product knowledge, or capability of the telecall executive to translate features into benefits or the concluding words?
Though a disclaimer often states, "this call shall be recorded for training and development purposes." Who listens to these calls with what intention and expertise is a mystery.
Ground fact about Telemarketers
I got talking to a few telemarketing executives. To my utter shock, they are handed over a list of names and numbers and asked for a two per cent conversion. As for Product knowledge, Greeting and interest statements, a sheet of paper or a brochure is handed over, and the balance is for the telecall executive to figure it out. The pay-outs structures are horrendous in nature and definitely atrociously low.
The exploitation of the unemployed youth in a new avatar. Is it the cost of acquisition, budget crunch or the lack of choice that nationalised banks, great brands and others opt for these call centres?
Conclusion
If you can register for DND and report every undesirable call, probably post some inconvenience the telemarketers would maybe pay attention and the lives of these poor kids could improve.
