This post was prompted by the number of political phone calls that I’ve received in the past four days. Given that I am always looking for good examples on how NOT to do something in marketing, the robo calling that has been annoying as heck made this topic timely.

I’ve received up to three calls a day from the various campaigns trying to encourage me to go vote on Tuesday. Some of these calls actually left a voicemail message. And given this is Superbowl Sunday with our own beloved New England Patriots playing, I better not get another political campaign call this evening during the festivities.

I hadn’t remembered Drew’s post on the same topic about these type of calls leading up to the Iowa primaries until I stumbled upon it looking for information on this topic. Drew, I feel your pain!

The Marketing Lesson

But like Drew, my marketing lesson is about the real effect these calls may have on how these candidates are perceived. Recorded calls that basically, as Drew nicely put it, talk at me from folks explaining why I should vote for their particular candidate may just do the opposite.

Telemarketing can be an important part of any marketing strategy. It can be used for:

• Generating leads
• Following up on a direct mail or email campaign
• Qualifying prospects who have registered on your web site
• Registering people for an event
• Updating your marketing database
• Conducting market research

If you choose to use telemarketing, make sure you plan what you want to accomplish, employ well trained, qualified resources that can relate to the person they are calling, and target your telemarketing to people who are interested in what you have to offer. I really don’t mind getting telemarketing calls during business hours on my office phone as long as the person talks with me and has respect for my time. Engage your prospects into a conversation about what they need and know when to hang up. A well planned and executed telemarketing campaign can definitely help your bottom line.