With regulations changing regarding outbound marketing, new opportunities will arise to fill the gaps left by new restrictions. This law should see a drastic dip in fraudulent robocalling, but which legitimate industries will be negatively affected? Will they be looking for new methods to drive leads?
As we've mentioned in our previous posts, many of these companies affected by the TRACED Act are in the fraud or scamming business, but there will be a secondary effect on legitimate businesses using the same features. Robocalling is a dead man walking in the industry, and that means other tactics will fill the same need.
Even if the regulations aren't directly limiting outbound marketing rules, smart companies will be ready to pivot. There is a already a fatigue with telemarketers given the influx in calls over the last few years. As the STIR/SHAKEN protocols are introduced by the cell phone companies, there will be more skepticism towards anything identified as 'Telemarketer'. So even if you make the connection, the conversion rates will likely see a dip as the general populace becomes more aware and reluctant to give their business to companies using those tactics.
Now that the problem of predatory calling will be gradually solved, we have to think what will happen to those empty outbound call centers? Well, they could start thinking more seriously about inbound calling paired with a strong direct marketing plan.
We may be seeing the end of the Boiler Room phenomenon of aggressive outbound call centers, most recently immortalized in the movie 'Wolf of Wall Street'. And good riddance! As phone solicitations decline, there is a major opportunity to use the resources of a call center. Although we don't know how these companies will adapt, we know their clients will be missing out on potential leads earned in the past by cold calling. New targeting methods in the era of big data can easily outdo the outbound response rates. These have to be paired with smart creative design and selective targeting, but the potential is there if you have the right data-driven agency.
Direct Mail was getting brushed aside with the explosion of digital ads like Facebook and Google AdWords, but companies are now realizing that mailers are more viable than ever (and digital might not be all it's cracked up to be). In my 20 years of marketing and sales, I've seen tactics come and go, and I think we're seeing a moment where Direct Mail paired with inbound phone sales could fill a void left by the admirable changes of the TRACED Act. At minimum, it can fill the vacancies in the call centers.
This all begs the question, where will the next new business opportunity happen? We don't have all the answers at Milestone, but we feel comfortable sharing our target industries. As the outbound calling industry wavers and inbound call centers become more viable, here is a list we've developed of industries on our 'Watch List':
Debt Refinance
Automotive
Market Research
Political Donations
Home Improvement
Business Processing Outsourcing (payroll, HR, accounting)
Utility Providers
Landscaping Services
Vacation & Travel
Education
Legal Campaigns (i.e. Tort)
Blood Banks
If you or someone you know are active in one of these industries, give Direct Mail a thought and feel free to reach out to our team here at Milestone. We have hundreds of millions of data records at our disposal and the modeling methods to find your customer. Take a look at our case studies to see the effect we could have on your business.
Marketers are metaphorically dusting off the mailbox, reaching old and new customers, and seeing greater returns on their marketing spend than ever before. Don't delay– act now to take advantage of the ever-evolving marketing space with direct mail services.
