••• telephone research
Scared of scammers – telemarketing confusion casts a pall on research
Telemarketing. It’s a dirty word in the research industry, as consumers struggle to differentiate between “telemarketing” and “telephone research.” Telephone interviewers have long been lumped in with the telemarketers – and telemarketing scammers – and general confusion surrounding consumer rights regarding telemarketing may be part of the problem.
According to the Consumer Federation of America, Washington, D.C., 89 percent of adults are concerned that telemarketing calls from companies they haven’t done business with before might be scams and more than three-quarters think that it’s hard for most consumers to tell if a call is legitimate or not.
With all the skepticism and uncertainty surrounding the legitimacy of telemarketing calls, it’s no wonder consumers are wary of any call that remotely resembles solicitation. And unfortunately, most adults don’t know their basic telemarketing rights.
The first question in the survey was whether the respondents had put their phone number on the national Do-Not-Call Registry (DNC). More than half said they had put their number on the DNC; 46 percent had not; and 2 percent were unsure.
The second question asked, “If you put your phone number on the DNC, which of the following is true:
- No telemarketers are allowed to call you.
- Telemarketers are allowed to call you if you have recently done business with
them. (correct)
- Any telemarketer is allowed to call you, but only in the late afternoon
between 4 and 6 p.m.”
Only 34 percent answered this correctly and of those who had put their number on the DNC, only a slightly higher number, 39 percent, got it right. More than half of the respondents thought that no telemarketers were allowed to call them if their numbers were on the DNC.
••• retailing
Can Best Buy shut down showrooming?
Since the explosion of online retailing and the subsequent success of sites like Amazon.com that are beating out big-box retailers on many metrics – from price to customer service – consumer opinion of Best Buy has suffered. The electronics retailer has floundered – seeming woefully confused and behind the times.
But all that’s changing. Or at least Best Buy hopes. On March 3rd, Best Buy launched its Low Price Guarantee. Best Buy will price-match the current price for new, identical, immediately-available products from all local retail competitors and 19 major online competitors in all product categories and on nearly all in-stock products, when asked by a customer. Best Buy will also match prices between its stores and BestBuy.com and match prices post-purchase if it lowers its own price within 15 days. The post-purchase match isn’t as sweet as Target or Macy’s “find a better price within X days and we’ll match it,” but it’s something.
Best Buy hopes that competitive prices, along with its in-store staff and inventory, will breathe new life into its business and turn Best Buy shoppers into Best Buy buyers. Best Buy even showed its marketing savvy in a February 15th press release, acknowledging the hit it’s taken from showrooming and stating that the Low Price Guarantee will “[signal] the end of showrooming.”