Using fear to motivate action is a proven and effective technique in direct marketing. But when used inappropriately, it can not only suppress response, it can damage your brand.

My wife and I have been harassed by our credit card company for months now. We are not missing payments. Our identity was not stolen. No, we have been harassed simply because we are not picking up the phone when they call us. For months we have been receiving calls from an unidentified 800 number from Arizona (Thank god for caller ID). On some days, we receive up to 5 calls in one day! Most of the time a message is not left. But when a message is left, it is a recorded voice asking us to call an 800 number right away.

The fact that it is not a live person on the other end of the phone should be a trigger that this is just a promotional call. But the fact that it is an ambiguous message from my credit card company is a situation most people would not want to risk neglecting. I resisted my first instincts to call the number for weeks. But finally, my patience wore thin and I picked up the phone.

The number dialed into an automated telephone system identifying themselves as my credit card company but then immediately asking for my account number. Before entering it, I went online and confirmed this was indeed a number from the company. But after entering it into the system, it dumped me into a generic main menu. COuld it be? Could this major credit card company really call me multiple times a day and when given the opportunity to leave a message, dump me back into a main number? I guess so.

Should I have actually been interested in whatever offer they were going to give me, they nor I would have no idea what it was by the time I called in. But this was not the case. I was there to raise cain. Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, the card is under my wife's name and she had to raise it for me. In the end, we are now "opted out" of promotional solicitation as it pertains to our account.

Companies like credit card companies use scare tactics all the time in direct marketing communications. Using blind envelopes, faux plastics, and "Do not discard" messaging is a proven way to get someone into the envelope. But traditionally, that's where the scare stops, giving way to a more promotional message inside.

For the most part, consumers are forgiving of that type of scare:
"You fooled me Credit Card company. Well played. Well played."

Some even get the message:
"Ok. you got me. I took the time to open the envelope. Now I'm going to throw away this junk in the…wait a minute. 0% APR for balance transfers? Wow. That's interesting…"

In either case, scare tactics have convinced the customer to check out what is inside. But in the end, the only commitment needed was opening the envelope.

There is a completely different effect when on the phone. Outgoing telephone marketing (OTM) is still an effective mode of communication despite the hub bub of the Do Not Call Registry and the use of Caller ID. If you are a customer, you can be fair game. And as long as that relationship is not abused, a friendly voice can be more effective than a printed piece.

But using scare tactics on the phone and making customers call back can severely damage your brand. And repeated calling over the course of a day may make sense for a salesperson who needs to make a quota but kills the warm and fuzzy feeling you may have for a company.

No doubt, it would have been a straight sell message if we actually answered the phone the first time. And we probably would have just said a "No thanks. Don't ever call me again." Even if that call had come during dinnertime, I would have not held it against my credit card company. But five calls in 8 hours with no message left from an unidentified 800 number from Arizona? That is unforgivable.