Do Not Call Driving Shift in Advertising Market

Do Not Call is unquestionably changing the marketing and sales market. Created in 1996 and later updated in 2004 this legislation limits marketing and sales ability to engage a consumer without their explicit permission.

This reality nearly obsoleted, overnight, the traditional target list building and auto-dialing methods of prospecting for business. As a result, a spotlight has been turned on a little (comparatively speaking) niche in the multi-billion dollar advertising market–Internet lead generation. A marketing medium where consumers provide their personal information and raise their hand to be called.

This changing advertising environment is causing large advertising groups like Titan Group, Inc. a direct advertising and promotional marketing firm to enter the lead generation business. Titan cites the statistics that driving the change in strategic focus:

“In 1998, 89.6% of all leads were generated through telemarketing. Due to the “Do Not Call List” which went into effect 2005, now only 54% of all leads are generated over the phone.”

What does that mean to a market that has been traditionally heavily focus on a single industry, like mortgage?

Obviously, there is still only a limited amount of high profile online advertising landscape, which will continue driving up the cost of ad placement. Likely, it will also drive increased creativity and innovation to attract consumers’ permission to be engaged.

Then the effects begin to ripple into the sales force. Traditionally, inbound and auto-dialing call-center will need to turn to more sophisticated lead management and lead nurturing systems to drive a longer sales cycle.

Finally, lead buyers will have a broader range of choices, more supported industries, and potentially better lead suppliers. The dilemma–lead buyers will be handed a referral with more complexity and unlike anything they have received from traditional marketing.

The Internet is rapidly becoming the consumers’ preferred channel of business–it is opportunity to design the best way to capture their attention and turn them into our customers.

Technorati Tags:
lead generation, lead providers, lead management, Titan Group