Effective telephone canvassing is a powerful tool in finding out about the electorate, answering people's concerns and questions about voting, popularizing the elections, and encouraging people to vote. The major advantage of contacting voters in this way is that telephoning provides access to many people in a relatively short period of time.
Telephone canvassing relies on an operational telephone system and is based on the assumption that there are telephones available at people's homes. There should be an accurate electronic or manual directory of names and telephone numbers. In instances where recipients do not have telephones, where the quality of the telecommunications system is poor, where contact information is not available, or where telephone canvassers are held in low regard, there will be obvious constraints for telephone canvassing campaigns.
At least some of these constraints may not exist, however, for the setting up of hotlines, where public or mobile telephones are made available for people to phone into a central number to receive information.
Both political parties and non-statutory organisations can use tele-canvassing. Political parties use this tool to provide information and elicit the support of potential voters. Non-statutory organizations use tele-canvassing organisations to popularize the elections and encourage people to support the democratic process.
A number of factors contribute to successful telephone canvassing campaigns:
- One should find out about the target group. Linking with people by being able to speak to their concerns makes them more at ease and freer to discuss voting and elections.
- One should be sure of the facts. Having up-to-date and accurate information enables canvassers to provide valuable information and assist potential voters.
- One should find out about the voter. By obtaining statistical information about voters and their needs and concerns, canvassers are able to create relevant scripts for their operators.
A Popular Marketing Tool
Telephone marketing has become a popular tool to both gauge public interest and to sell goods. By now, people in countries where this tool is used are tired of being solicited over the phone to buy every imaginable product or service.
Voter education canvassers could therefore be faced with tough competition and should ensure that they have thought through precisely what information their operators intend to obtain or give. This should be placed in a script that operators are trained to follow.
A successful telephone call relies on canvassers introducing themselves and their mission effectively. There are a number of points to remember and include in an introduction:
- the canvasser's name
- organisation the canvasser represents
- what the canvasser can offer the person
- what the canvasser would like from the person
- an assurance that the information the person gives will not compromise the secrecy of their vote
All of this information should be conveyed in a friendly, honest, and open manner.
Setting Up a Canvassing Operation
For a national organisation to set up and implement a telephone canvassing operation, there are a number of factors that will contribute to its success:
- good telephone systems
- proper training of canvassers and supervisors
- committed staff who believe in the importance of voting and providing information to the public that will encourage them to vote
- effective supervision of operators and where necessary retraining
- good technical set-up and assistance
- user-friendly mechanisms for maintaining data and guaranteeing the confidentiality of information received
- continual assessment and flexible adaptation to meet the needs of the electorate
Training
Speaking to a canvasser can be very frustrating if the potential voter continually asks questions that the canvasser is not able to answer. For this reason, much effort has to be spent on equipping canvassers with useful skills and information. They need
- to be thoroughly briefed on the logistical information about the elections and have access to more technical information like ward demarcation and exact location of voting stations based on an individual's address,
- to have a clear voice when speaking,
- to speak neither too fast nor too slow,
- to speak with patience when answering questions,
- to have the facts of the upcoming election at their fingertips: this should include an analytical understanding of the implications of key decisions (such as ward demarcation) taken by parties or the election management body,
- to be able to refer people to other bodies or institutions that will assist them with specific information,
- to gather pertinent information from people,
- to be able to feed information into a central databank if required.
Tele-canvassing works only in societies that use the telephone as a natural means of communication and business. Where this is possible, educators have a potential tool for reaching out to individuals at a relatively low cost per contact.
