The Non-value of Telemarketers

The feds launched the National Do Not Call List Friday (register here. I just did, it is quite easy.). Response nearly clogged the phone lines and website within hours of it coming up on Friday. Why?

Telemarketers are intrusive. Even if they are polite on the phone (like the earnest young folks calling me for money from my undergraduate and graduate universities), intrusions add no value.

Put in Lean terms, intrusions are "push" marketing. It feels offensive, if not downright oppressive. Especially at dinner time.

Lean is built on "pull". In marketing terms, that means letting the customer selelct when he/she wants to learn more. It is about gaining invitations to tell a story of one's product. It is certainly about thinking far more creatively about how to get customers.

Value. Pull. Two central concepts in Lean. Look for new ways to use them both today. I hope this is helpful and nonintrusive for you. Thank you for listening.

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