Over the past ten years there’s been a shift from direct mail to digital marketing in the financial industry. Which makes sense, as everything moves toward new technology, including the ways that banks offer products and services and even communicate with their customers.

But direct mail is still an important player in your marketing arsenal.

For one thing, it gets results: According to the 2018 ANA/DMA Marketing Report, DM offers a 9% response rate with a house list and 5% with a prospect list. A letter sized DM package has a 15.1% response rate for lead generation.

If that doesn’t get your attention, consider the response rates for email, social media, and paid search: 1%.

One percent!!!!

Maybe you’re satisfied with that, but we’re not.

Direct mail may take more time to develop and send, and it may cost a bit more. But it’s worth the effort, and the expense, in terms of customers reached, influenced, and onboarded.

We aren’t suggesting any business abandon it’s digital efforts. That’s crazy! But we also think it’s crazy not to support your digital efforts with the big dog, direct mail. Considering the way the financial industry landscape is changing, with Amazon, Apple, and Google hovering out there on the horizon, your marketing strategy is more important now than ever. Direct mail will boost any campaign initiative you have.

Besides amazing response stats, here are some of the reasons direct mail works:

Consumers actually look at their direct mail. According to the U.S. Postal Service, 98% of people bring in their mail everyday, and 77% look at it immediately. They spend an average amount of time with:

Magazines—45 minutes

Catalogs—30 minutes

DM—25 minutes

Most folks are willing to give their time and attention to what arrives in the mail box!

DM breaks through the clutter

In this case, we mean all the clutter you find on the screen. Many people look at their screens all day long, at work, then later, at home. It’s too much stimulation for the human brain to totally comprehend. So we’ve learned to tune a lot of that noise out. Marketing messages get missed, overlooked.

Direct mail is not so noisy. Which makes it easier to enjoy, and to spend more time with.

People like Direct Mail

This might be because there’s less of it now, with so many communications channels to choose from. But it’s probably because DM has become much more targeted, thanks to technology. Which means people are receiving more of what they’re interested in, and less of what they’re not. Data allows us to pinpoint potential customers based on facts, making the whole process less guesswork and much more specific. This helps marketers save money while their DM investment goes further.

With the right production agency, you can keep DM costs down

There is a lot to consider when you embark on adding DM to your marketing mix. When faced with hiring a designer and a writer and the production process plus mailing, it can helpful to work with an experienced agency that can identify cost efficiencies and help you keep your budget in check.

With any digital campaign you’re running, DM is always going to drive people online, so it’s the best way to drive awareness to your most important initiatives. If you are looking for a consistent, high response communication channel, DM is it!