Make member statements great again

Like presidential candidates, statements are often viewed as a necessary evil. As a result, many banks dump data straight from their cores onto paper without much regard for the layout, and then mail them to the intended recipients. Yes, by doing this, you have checked the compliance box. But consider this: You may be throwing away valuable engagement opportunities, spending extended time with members who don’t understand their statements and in turn, BURNING TIME AND MONEY.

According to a recent creditcards.com survey, 62% of respondents say they review their monthly statements via mail, online or both. I think this warrants a large flashing neon sign saying “OPPORTUNITY” with an arrow pointing to print mail and electronic design and delivery of statements.

Before we get into what can be done to MAKE MEMBER STATEMENTS GREAT AGAIN, let’s talk about what’s holding them back from greatness. You may need to re-evaluate your statement design and delivery if your statements are:

1. Stagnant with no clear calls to action
2. Only black and white
3. Filled with unnecessary white space
4. Not giving members the option to receive digital delivery
5. Occupied with pre-printed inserts
6. Lacking personalized messaging

Now that we’ve established the signs of needing a statement facelift, let’s address some of the remedies:

  1. Communicate clear calls to action. Whether you want members to pay a balance or update their billing address, a strong and prominently displayed call to action (CTA) is critical. A successful CTA includes eye-catching design, compelling copy, and a clear value proposition.
  2. Incorporate color. A study conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo determined that 92.6% of those surveyed stressed the importance of visuals when making a purchase, and 84.7% believe that color accounts for more than half of the various factors important to consumers during the purchasing cycle. A well-placed message in a colorful graphic will catch your members’ eyes. Pair this with a strong CTA and watch your speed-to-pay improve and sales numbers increase.
  3. Take advantage of the space you have. Too often we have seen bank statements lined with unnecessary pages and white space. This results in wasted materials, marketing opportunities and postage. If you’re going to send member-critical communications, why not look for ways to minimize the number of pages in each envelope and utilize open space for cross-selling/upselling or affiliate advertising?
  4. Offer digital access and delivery. In today’s society, members expect to be given the right to choose delivery methods. We understand that there are some documents that require USPS mailing. However, with statements, a best practice is to give customers the option to receive and access them digitally by email, ePresentment and SMS. Some may request both the paper and digital delivery and access, but others who are more environmentally friendly will opt out of paper statements altogether.
  5. Utilize inline inserts. Inline inserts are statement stuffers which are printed in-line, in full color with the rest of your documents. They can save you a tremendous amount of time and money by eliminating lead time of production and giving you the option to personalize messaging, which brings us to our last point…
  6. Personalize messaging. We harp on this subject quite often, but it’s one worth mentioning over and over again. According to Aberdeen, personalized email messages improve click-through rates by an average of 14% and conversions by 10%. Simply addressing the member by name can make all the difference in your eStatement viewings.

While there are other ways to make member statements great again in conjunction with what we have discussed, this is a great start for banks in re-evaluating their business-critical document solutions. To learn more, click here.

Callie Cady

Callie Cady

Callie Cady is the Communications & Marketing Manager at Lanvera, a world-class provider of end-to-end outsourcing solutions for transactional documents. At Lanvera, cutting edge technology solutions are coupled with industry ... Web: www.lanvera.com Details