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Why Customers Are Disappointed With the Do Not Call List
[August 11, 2005]

Why Customers Are Disappointed With the Do Not Call List


While the rules for the DNC have changed a great deal during the time between concept and implementation, the initial consumer perception remains. And people are upset.
 
By Christa Heibel
 
Whenever I’m at a party and someone finds out what industry I’m in, the first thing I hear is “Why do I still get calls when I’m on the Do Not Call list?” Usually this question is voiced in a rather frustrated tone. Some people have even been rather angry. The DNC started out as a great idea to keep unwanted callers from harassing consumers, or at least that was the general perception. While the rules for the DNC have changed a great deal during the time between concept and implementation, the initial consumer perception remains. And people are upset. And the telemarketing industry is getting even more of a black mark against its reputation.
 
Why has this misperception continued? Why do consumers assume if they’re on the DNC list, that no one will call them? There are several reasons. Let’s take a look at the main ones.

 
  • Exceptions cause confusion to consumers.  The Do Not Call list doesn’t apply to people doing research, conducting political calls, calls from non-profits, and advocacy calls. They don’t make a distinction between those calls and what we consider to be true telemarketing calls. Often, the callers don’t make the distinction either. And, truth be told, there are telemarketing calls being made that are only thinly disguised as research or advocacy outreach.
  • Existing business relationships are not really well defined in many cases. Anytime someone orders an item from a catalog, puts their name in for a drawing, or signs up for a newsletter subscription, they create an existing business relationship with that entity. And that leaves them open for that company to call them. In addition, companies are now ‘partnering’ so that existing business relationships can be transferred. Customers are not aware that signing up for a program at Barnes and Noble allows them to give out names and numbers to their partners as well. And sometimes the folks at Barnes and Noble don’t know that either!
  • Customers don’t understand the inbound and outbound nature of business. In fact, it’s an integral part of how we define our target markets. Anytime a customer calls a toll free number for an order, they’re using a telemarketing service. That needs to be understood.
There are tremendous impacts to these misperceptions. To begin with, there’s a lot of wasted time and energy for the folks supporting the DNC list program. Many customers, believing they are wrongly being called, are taking advantage of complaint processes. Only to be told the telemarketers are within their rights due to exclusions or existing relationships.
 
More importantly, the confusion further damages the reputation of the telemarketing industry, something we hardly need. Misunderstood DNC rules could negatively impact individual brands as well, if the consumer feels they shouldn’t be called. And finally, the misperceptions could also affect the ROI for telemarketing projects. This not only wastes the time of the consumer, it wastes time and money for clients and agencies conducting truly legitimate campaigns.
 
What should we do? I believe the government needs to launch an aggressive campaign to educate consumers about the DNC list. Today, consumers are becoming even more frustrated with companies in our industry because they believe we are acting unethically because we are ‘still calling’ them.  Consumers need to know the details about the DNC list, and when they are unwittingly ‘opting in’ for telemarketers to call. Consumers also need to know who is still allowed to call under the DNC. Non-profits, political outreach and other advocacy groups should try to educate consumers as well. It’s not just the responsibility of the legislative body, or the ATA.  All of our businesses will benefit and we should all support and assist..
 
I think a public relations campaign to improve the image of our industry in general is also needed. Customers need to be re-educated on the value of the telemarketing industry. They need to know how it really does facilitate their buying experience. Above that, it’s important to understand the impact the telemarketing industry has on our country’s overall performance. We create a lot of jobs for a lot of people, probably more then any other industry with our employee demographic. People need to remember that it’s an industry that supports our economic environment.
 
Christa Heibel is the CEO of CH Consulting, LLC. Still in her early thirties, Christa has led CH Consulting to revenue growth of over 4,000 percent in the past year. Christa is regarded as an expert in the field of integrated marketing campaigns as well as effectively using technology for supporting sales and marketing efforts.
 
An accomplished speaker, writer and sales trainer, Christa is looking forward to leading her company into continued growth over the next few years. She continues her commitment to staying active in the political arena, and plans to expand CH Consulting to actively managing telemarketing and other outreach campaigns for public officials.
 
 
 

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