Small firms could be damaging their brand

Small businesses are putting their reputation at risk if they use cold calling methods, a new survey suggests.

Despite cold calling being a legal form of marketing which remains widespread amongst small businesses, they are being warned that it could cause significant damage to their brand.

The research carried out by Which? suggests that three quarters of people want to see cold calling completely banned and some 25% said they felt intimidated by cold calling, causing irreparable harm to their brand.

Some businesses buy lists of numbers from third party providers, while others use random number generators. However, it was reported that some firms fail to abide by the Telephone Preference Service, which is where householders opt out of cold calls, considering many presume that cold calls are scams.

Worse, some companies continue to call even when a recipient has asked to be removed from the business’s list. This can cause further harm to a brand.

Ceri Stanaway, a spokesperson for Which? said:

“Cold calls are at best a nuisance and at worst an intimidating intrusion into our lives.”

“Reputable businesses should stop making sales calls to you if you ask to be removed from their contact database, but if that doesn’t work you should report the company to the Information Commissioner’s Office or Ofcom.”