All You Need to Know About Conducting Telemarketing Surveys

When you hear the word “telemarketer,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Did you just roll your eyes or exhale in disgust while recalling a telemarketer’s call that interrupted a family dinner? Chances are, you’ve been on the receiving end of an annoying telemarketing call at least once.

But the truth is, when done correctly, telemarketing doesn’t have to have such a negative undertone. When conducting telemarketing surveys, you’re not trying to sell, sell, sell to the person on the other end of the line. Your focus is more on gathering key information that can help you design a better customer service experience or better product design.    

What is the History of Telemarketing?    

Encyclopedia.com shares a succinct definition of this popular direct marketing method, “Telemarketing is the process of using the telephone to generate leads, make sales, or gather marketing information.”

The history of using telemarketing services varies depending on who you ask. Some website resources state that the first telemarketers were housewives that used a list of phone numbers to sell cookies. Another website suggests that household name, Ford Motors Company, was the first to launch a telemarketing campaign. 

If we turn to the heavily monitored Wikipedia, we learn that, “The term telemarketing was first used extensively in the late 1970s to describe Bell System communications which related to new uses for the outbound WATS and inbound Toll-free services.” 

What is a Telemarketing Survey?    

A telemarketing survey is a marketing research solution that involves asking a series of questions to a sample of individuals or businesses. Telemarketing surveys can be accomplished by taking inbound calls that are initiated by the consumer, as well as making outbound calls to a list of current customers or leads.

While telemarketing sale calls focus on converting a phone conversation into a paying transaction, telemarketing surveying focuses purely on gathering information.   

Why Would I Benefit From a Telemarketing Survey?

There are a multitude of creative ways you can benefit from conducting a telemarketing survey. Again, you’re not trying to sell with phone surveys; you’re trying to learn. Depending on the reasons for conducting your market research, you can extract an infinite amount of vital information. 

Here are some direct benefits from utilizing a telemarketing survey campaign:

• • Analyzing the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing efforts.
• • Gathering specific information from segmented markets.
• • Improving customer service based on direct feedback from customers.
• • Learning the key factors that play a role in your target market’s buying decisions.
• • Gauging the interest of a new product or service in development.
• • Determining the demographics of your past, existing or future customer base.
• • Discovering why past customers stopped purchasing your product or service.
• • Understanding content topics or subjects that your target market is interested in.
• • Performing market research to determine market segments within a specific location.
• • Surveying constituents for political campaign messages and platforms.

These are just a handful of productive ways you can utilize telemarketing surveys to learn more about your market, consumers, industry, etc.  

How Do I Write a Telemarketing Survey Script?

We refer to the humorous acronym of KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly. When writing a telemarketing survey script, you want to be sure to keep it as simple as possible. Take into consideration the time your call list will have to invest in helping you with your research. You want to keep the questions short, sweet and to the point.

Here are some quick do’s and don’ts of telemarketing survey script writing:

• • Make your introduction informative and intriguing to avoid hang ups
• • Let your respondent know their survey responses are anonymous
• • Use direct questions to allow “yes” or “no” answers
• • Don’t ask open-ended questions
• • Use universally known language to avoid confusion
• • Don’t overload your respondent with long-winded multiple choice questions
• • Use a number scale to gauge levels of satisfaction
• • Keep your survey script under five minutes when possible
• • Offer an incentive to your respondents to get more participants
• • Don’t make an offer to sell your product or service; just gather information

The University of Waterloo’s Survey Research Center shares a highly informative white paper that helps you understand the importance behind the survey wording you choose.

What Can I Do With Telemarketing Survey Responses?

There is an excellent resource provided by Survey Monkey that will help you breakdown the quantitative data gathered during a telemarketing survey. In their detailed white paper, How to Analyze Your Survey Data Like a Survey Scientist, you’ll learn how to:

1. 1.) Analyze your top research questions.
2. 2.) Cross-tabulate and filter results.
3. 3.) Handle benchmarking, trending, and comparative data.
4. 4.) Discover the longitudinal analysis a/k/a trending analysis.
5. 5.) Crunch the numbers most effectively.
6. 6.) Draw informative conclusions and theories.

Closely analyzing your survey data gives you a powerful insight into make positive changes within your organization. Listen to your respondents and try to find solutions to trending issues they have. If customer satisfaction is declining, change company policies to provide their desired customer experience.  

Can I Outsource My Telemarketing Surveying?

The majority of businesses that conduct telephone surveys outsource to a telemarketing call center. It makes ‘sense’ because telephone agents working in a call center are highly trained in providing customer service for incoming and outgoing calls. It also makes ‘cents’ because hiring a virtual team of telemarketers is the most cost-effective solution for high call volume tasks.

Not to toot our own horn, but our digital call center has been providing award winning customer service for 3 decades now. We have a variety of virtual receptionist services that range from handling your customer service department to conducting highly beneficial telemarketing surveys.

Good Luck Telemarketing Survey Rock Stars!    

We hope this article has taught you the important aspects and specific advantages of telemarketing surveying. Again, telemarketing doesn’t have to be a negative word. It’s all about your approach style, choice of words and genuine intentions that’ll leave your respondents with a favorable impression of your company.   

If you want to know more about our competitive rates and service packages for handling your next phone survey, give us a call at 1-800-785-6161.