Direct Marketing Tactics for FIs in the Digital Age

by Georgann Smith

With the rapid rise of social media, many financial institution (FI) marketers are left wondering if there is still a place for more traditional marketing efforts, like direct marketing. According Dave Braun, president of New Control Direct & Digital and a bank marketing expert, the answer is yes. In a recent Q&A with the FinancialBrand.com, Mr. Braun says direct marketing is still effective, especially as it evolves to take advantage of new digital and data-driven technologies.

To Mr. Braun’s point, it’s important to consider the digital evolution (or should we say revolution) of direct marketing. The most dramatic developments to impact the direct marketing industry were rising costs and access to technology. As postage rates increased and more consumers became comfortable sharing their email addresses, many companies began to view traditional direct marketing tactics as an unnecessary expense.

Enter digital direct marketing. Marketers raced to give this a try when they learned not only were the costs lower, but the response rates were higher. Calls-to-action on print direct mail pieces required customers to take extra steps for more information, such as calling a phone number or visiting a website. Response rates suffered as busy customers didn’t have the time, or simply forgot, to take those next steps. With digital pieces, on the other hand, customers simply click a link within the marketing message to take them directly to the information.

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