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Don't think for a minute that I believe the national do-not-call list is here to stay. There is no doubt in my mind that the United States judicial system will strike this regulation down as unconstitutional. As monumental as that day will be, the reality still exists that the future of the teleservices industry is not faced with "business as usual." Throughout the past year, numerous internal pundits, as well as the mainstream media, have been prognosticating on the future of our industry. Repeatedly, ideas have been pushed around as to where the industry will turn. As we get serious for a minute, it is important to debunk some of the nonsense that is being posited as forecasting by alleged "experts." Let us focus on seven myths circulating through the teleservices industry that need some honest light shed upon them.
The Myth Of Shifting Media Dollars
Nearly every reporter to whom I have spoken has espoused the belief that marketers will simply shift their promotional and marketing dollars from outbound telesales to some other form of media. This is foolish on many levels. First, the assumption is that folks are not already using a variety of marketing messages. It also assumes that the performance is similar regardless of marketing channel. Additionally, outbound teleservices is people-intensive and most other kinds of marketing are media-intensive. We don't replace jobs by simply shifting the dollars to more expensive vehicles, or turning an outbound predictive dialer into an inbound ACD. From experience, we know that other forms of marketing are more expensive and less effective than outbound sales. All channels require integration of message, offer, audience and delivery vehicle. Removing a component such as outbound is similar to removing limbs from a live human being. In a marketer's decision on the allocation of media dollars, outbound teleservices is often his or her most successful choice, when the government allows the choice to be made.
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