Despite their insistence that telemarketing is on the verge of death, some marketers would eventually find themselves in the wrong spectrum when they realize that B2B companies are still conducting cold call campaigns.

Telemarketing still manages to stay at the top of the list of the most effective lead generation and appointment setting channels. Its position is supported firmly by the prevailing demand for direct and real-time communications that succeed where social media and email engagement failed. Marketers maintain an immense degree of optimism that they could get quality B2B leads from cold calling.

What’s more, even though case studies and white papers show numbers unfavorable to telemarketing, businesses still believe they can do more in using the channel in ways that deliver high-value opportunities.

Here are three ways to make your telemarketing campaign more efficient, as seen on an article published in Target MarketingMag.com:

Have Live Call Center Agents Taking Customer Calls. Eighty percent of consumers sent to voicemail don’t leave messages, because they don’t think they’ll even be heard.

Customers are still using their phones, so it’s important that businesses be prepared to engage customers on their time. Your ad dollars are working cross platform 24/7, so it is important to set up systems to ensure a potential or existing customer call never goes unnoticed.

Don’t Count on Voicemail Messages Being Heard. More than 30 percent of voice messages linger unheard for three days or longer and more than 20 percent of people with messages in their mailboxes “rarely even dial in” to check them. Consider That Customer Service May Be More Important Than Sales for Retention. A customer is four times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related than price- or product-related.

It important to keep in mind that smart devices — where the rubber meets the road in terms of apps and the use of many online portals — are phones. If a customer is having trouble with an app or with a website, the next stop is a phone call. If this function is not robust and optimized, the customer relationship is in jeopardy.

Creating a highly effective telemarketing campaign entails hard work and a whole lot of cash. In this case, opt for a lead generation company that uses cold calls along with digital channels to increase your lead acquisition rate and expand revenue.