The Death of Interruptive Marketing
Interruptive marketing is the process of interrupting prospective clients from whatever they are doing at the moment...to get their attention in order to begin/further a sales relationship.
Salespeople have practiced interruptive marketing for years. During the mid-1800s, tinkers and peddlers went from town-to-town knocking on doors...selling household goods, lightning rods, books, etc. In 1906, Alfred C. Fuller started a company that made door-to-door selling acceptable, as his hard-working sales force became a cultural icon. In the 1980s, telemarketing became the favored form of interruptive marketing...more than $100 billion worth of goods and services were sold by telemarketers in 2002.
Interrupting marketing was effective because it rewarded tactics that many Americans embraced:
- Hard work
- Doggedness
- Persistence
In 2006, the effectiveness of many forms of interruptive marketing is declining rapidly.
- With more than 110 million phone numbers on the FTC's Do-Not-Call list, the heyday of the telemarketer is long gone.
- Direct mail effectiveness is greatly reduced. Our mailboxes are too full with junk, to take much notice of anything of value.
In short, irritating prospective clients is out. Salespeople must find other methods to engage a prospect's interest. I'll have more on alternative approaches...in future posts.
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