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Campaign managers often sit through pitches for various tools – it’s part of the job. Imagine a consultant came to your office and offered you a tool with a century’s worth of use, wide coverage of voters, and a strong evidence base for its effectiveness. You would sit up and take notice immediately.
Well, that tool is the telephone, a device so near at hand that in spite of its effectiveness, it is often overlooked.
In the same way that a Coke is a Coke, and no amount of money can get you a better Coke, the basic telephone service remains the same wherever you are in the world.
The universal presence of a telephone, first in homes and now as a mobile device, makes it an obvious tool for political organizing. The personal nature of a telephone call means you can make your case directly in a simple and unmediated fashion.
The landline has been a component of political campaigns in the United States since at least the 1960s. In the UK, there is a perception that landline usage may be in steep decline, but in 2018, the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, found that 81% of households still had a landline. Among the groups most likely to vote in an election, 92% had access to a landline while only 48% had internet access at home.
The telephone is a highly effective form of campaigning and organizing.
At Ten Boroughs Research we transform the relationship between organisations and their members and supporters, engaging and driving them to action. Through person-to-person contact over the telephone, we turn supporters to members, and into their greatest advocates.
Read Also: Landlines Are Dead? How to Ace Phone Banking to Win Voters
We spoke to colleagues on the Callhub webinar recently and shared our five lessons for great conversations:
- Listen to the data – discover what is working and scale it to every call.
- Say it again – continue your conversation in every communication.
- Make it personal – understand voters’ relationship with your campaign.
- Use lego bricks – adapt at a moment’s notice to changing circumstances.
- Don’t forget about the when – find the best time to call, it’s as important as your message and script.
You can watch the full webinar here.
Like all tools, the telephone does face challenges from technological and behavioral change – Ofcom research found that the volume of outgoing calls decreased year-on-year, and discovered a preference for messaging apps over telephone calls for younger consumers.
However, the universality of the telephone service will continue for many years. One-to-one conversations over the telephone will remain the most efficient way for campaigns to engage, persuade, and mobilize.
Here’s what we have been able to achieve with telephone campaigns
Our success can be measured in our campaign with a major education union to take strike action over pay. We made an average of 3,000 calls every day over eight weeks, reaching almost 100,000 trade unionists and speaking about issues that matter to them. Telephone calling through Callhub was supported by texts and emails, feeding into a data-driven approach focused on securing the votes of those most likely to support action.
After receiving our telephone call, the hardest-to-reach members are twice as likely to vote. Our calls are 113% effective when compared to other campaign tactics.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
Alex James, co-founder of Ten Boroughs Research, converts spreadsheets to heartbeats through his data and communication expertise. With over a decade of experience in the political and charitable sectors, he transforms organizational relationships through person-to-person engagement.
Alex has worked on significant UK campaigns, including the Scottish independence referendum and multiple General Elections. Through person-to-person contact, they turn supporters into members and the greatest advocates. His diverse campaigning, trade, and arts background showcases his comprehensive expertise.
