Telemarketing Bureaus

Industry Profile Report

Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters

Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.

Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.

Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.

Industry Profile Excerpts

Industry Overview

The 2,500 telemarketing bureaus in the US operate call centers that initiate and receive communications via telephone, email, fax, or other medium on behalf of their clients. Services provided include promoting or selling a client’s products or services, taking orders, soliciting donations, and handling customer service inquiries.

Privacy Regulations

In response to concerns about telephone scams and consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls, Congress has enacted regulations governing the activities of telemarketing bureaus.

Competition From Offshore Centers

US telemarketing bureaus compete with lower cost services in the Philippines, India, and other low-wage countries.

Industry size & Structure

The average telemarketing bureau operates a single location, has 166 employees, and generates $9 million in annual revenue.

    • The telemarketing bureau industry in the US consists of about 2,500 firms operating about 3,700 centers with 416,000 employees and $24 billion in annual revenue.
    • The industry is concentrated, as the largest 50 firms account for 55% of industry revenue.
    • Large US telemarketing firms include The Results Companies and USA800, DialAmerica, VXI Global Solutions, and American Customer Care.
    • The states with the largest number of telemarketing bureaus are Florida, California, Texas, New York, Ohio, and Arizona.
                                    Industry Forecast
                                    Telemarketing Bureaus Industry Growth
                                    Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum

                                    Recent Developments

                                    Sep 28, 2023 - FCC, FTC Recommit to Cross-Border Enforcement Effort
                                    • In September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signed a renewal of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among fellow public agencies abroad that are members of the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet). The MOU promotes cross-border cooperation to fight illegal telemarketing, email and text spam, and scams through information sharing, capacity building, and enforcement assistance among partners. Initially formed in 2016, the latest renewal makes the MOU evergreen and was also signed by UCENet peer organizations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
                                    • In August 2023, the number of robocalls in the US rose by 13.1% to 5.1 billion, according to YouMail. On average, US consumers received more than 163 million robocalls per day. The top five cities for robocalls in August were Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, and New York. In August, 30% of robocalls were for telemarketing, and 23% were scams.
                                    • US net media owner advertising revenues returned to growth in the second quarter of 2023 after posting two consecutive quarters of flat sales, according to a September forecast by advertising firm MAGNA. Ad sales rose 4.4% in Q2 compared to the same period in 2022 amid an improving economy and more favorable year-over-year comps. However, the Q2 2023 growth was due to pure-play digital (search, social, video), which grew 8.7%. Traditional media spending (TV, audio, publishing, OOH, and cinema) declined 4.1%. MAGNA also upwardly revised its full-year 2023 outlook from 4.2% to 5.2% growth. However, digital will again dominate 2023 growth with a rise of 9.6% compared to traditional media’s decline of 3.6%. Total ad spending is expected to grow 5.6% in 2024.
                                    • In July, the Federal Trade Commission FTC announced a joint federal and state initiative called “Operation Stop Scam Calls” to crack down on illegal telemarketing calls, including robocalls. The effort includes more than 100 federal and state law enforcement entities, including the attorneys general in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to targeting telemarketers and the companies that hire them, enforcement actions will focus on lead generators that wrongfully collect consumer telephone numbers and provide them to robocallers.
                                    Get A Demo

                                    Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform

                                    See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.

                                    Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
                                    check out Vertical IQ today.

                                    Request A Demo