Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "How Print Helps The Financial Industry," reviews how print delivers for banking, investing, and other financial institutions in the age of all things digital.
Brands, over the years and especially as of late, have overhauled their marketing budgets with an eye towards more digital advertising. Digital spends on the Internet have grown exponentially with buys for social media, artificial intelligence, machine learning, pay per click, ad banners, and the like. In the future, more revenue will be spent on digital marketing because it is efficient for gathering real-time data. Another reason for digital growth is because it helps to develop loyal consumer relationships with the brand.
While marketing and advertising budgets continue to focus on the digital aspects of customer communications, there comes a point in time where revenue reconciliation will step in and force new decisions. Each industry sector has its particular pain points as well as communication advantages. Marketing 101 teaches us that when all else fails, refocus and "Follow the iconic brands." Following the iconic brands does not necessarily mean you should match their efforts dollar for dollar. That's unrealistic, nevertheless, if your budget can be on par with iconic brands, then that is an area for consideration.
However, when matching the competition is not feasible, it may be more practical to understand how those iconic brands create, use, and publish messaging content.
Evolving with Print!
Brands in general, albeit many iconic brands may perceive that print is not as valuable as it once was. However, that is a misnomer. To begin with, when we say, "All things digital," many exclude print from the all things digital nomenclature. Let's think this through. Advanced technological tools are widespread, reaching all parts of any hardware or software product, including print.
Print is digital! Hence the term, digital printing is a vital aspect of the printing industry and should be considered a valuable element within the realm of all things digital. The real issue may be that some brands and some print providers may fail to evolve with the advances made in the print industry.
Marketing for Financial Services Are Changing
Regardless of the industry, the Internet and digital marketing have transformed the way folks obtain brand information. To that end, consumers and the marketing community now expect the following, to name a few:
- Trackable ROI
- Mass personalized messaging
- Instant gratification
- Highly targeted messages
- Cost-efficient methodologies
Those marketing expectations, as mentioned above, would appear on the surface to exclude print. However, not so fast! When a marketing strategy includes print collateral, the resulting outcome can increase response and engagement rates, particularly in the financial industry.
Changes in the financial industry are constant and sweeping based on a variety of factors, some of which are obvious and others which may not be as evident. Legislative changes, modifications in operational procedures, banking, and lending variations, and other financial concerns are matters that involve informing the consumer.
Further, there is widespread and mounting concern over digital breaches of personal information. From Sony to HBO to Equifax to local and state government databases, and as of late, growing concern and trepidation regarding consumer online financial transactions and disclosures.
Where digital was once the answer for paying bills and expediting voter ballots, now, state and local voting precincts are re-considering paper ballots. People across the country are requesting paper statements, as automatic direct deposit mechanisms are billing some consumers at higher rates than their contract details outline.
As we learned from the movie, "The Firm," sending a bill via the mail with misleading or incorrect numbers constitutes mail fraud; a federal offense with up to 5 years for each conviction. Consequently, more consumers believe, right or wrong, that organizations are more likely to bill them correctly if the bill travels through the US government postal system.
Print Can Deliver for the Financial Industry
Several data-mining organizations prove print's ROI and response rates. Visit the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) for reports that analyze print's performance over the past couple of years. The following excerpts represent a few of the marketing lift capabilities that print delivers for the financial industry:
- Trackable response rates
- Increases trust for financial services, (although commonly viewed as untrustworthy)
- Millennials trust and prefer print over digital marketing and respond to direct mail 12.4% of the time
- Print stays at the top of consumer's mind at 188%
- 80% of consumers view and sort their mail quickly
We contend that marketing automation software is on the rise, and for the most part, focuses on email, communication bots, and social media. Print shines when it comes to generating better response rates. Print delivers over and above that of digital marketing and also improves re-send and engagement rates when directing consumers to digital destinations.
Financial industry ROI when using direct mail is known to be as high as $13.37 return on each dollar invested. Naturally, to achieve these numbers, you will need a well thought out campaign, that marries creative with personalization and high-quality output.
A print product that is a natural fit for the financial sector are brochures. Brochures can contain a great deal of information outlining the various services that make it easy for consumer engagement. Brochures also have a longer shelf life than an electronic PDF, thereby extending the lifetime value of the printed piece.
Live Events
Trade shows and live presentations tend to be more engaging than hanging out in the digital world. Consumers can engage with a real person, ask questions, and receive pertinent information explained to them live and in real-time. Providing a flyer helps people remember the conversation they had with the brand. Event flyers also offer a tangible, tactile impression that can travel with a consumer long after the event.
The Net-Net
When print is the catalyst or part of the marketing initiative, the financial industry does better. Those in the financial sector can make inroads with consumers, attain more trust, increase engagement and response rates, and improve their marketing ROI. Hence, it's a no-brainer that the financial industry should be investing in print. Thanks for reading "How Print Helps The Financial Industry."
Let's have a conversation about catalog direct mail marketing strategies, printing, transactional documents, variable digital printing, brand equity and unified marketing collateral during our next Open House. We invite you to join us on Thursday, Aug 29th, 2019, for an hour or two, anytime between 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop, and mailing capabilities. Dove Direct has an official USPS certified bureau located within our offices that will save you time and money. Moreover, if you bring us your files, we will create a demo file for you. For more information, call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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