Forthcoming legislation could see companies able to opt out of telemarketing through a business Telephone Preference Service, which would allow them to choose not to be contacted by telephone for marketing purposes.
The direct marketing industry, led by the DMA, believes that the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive would be damaging to business. It would mean that companies wishing to use telemarketing to other businesses would have to screen their databases against the TPS, which is costly and time consuming.
The DMA also argues that companies expect to make and receive sales calls as part of normal business life and are prepared to guard against it with systems such as voicemail to fend off unwanted calls.
The marketing industry believes telemarketing aims to develop long-term partnerships and alliances with other companies, not one-off purchases and that these relationship must be allowed to develop unhindered for industry to grow.
It is also believed that such restrictions on telemarketing would hurt small companies, as recent research from the DMA shows that 44% of SMEs use telephone marketing to drive sales and growth.
Companies also use telemarketing as a means of verifying the business data they hold, to help them comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.
The DMA argues that the development of a business TPS may encourage sabotage and malicious registration with the TPS by competitors or former employees with a grudge.
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