Where does your direct mail go?

Does the term "direct mail" mean that it's the type of mail that goes directly into the wastebasket? After all, marketers will spend more than $10 billion this year mailing each of us more than 550 pieces--or 34 pounds-of junk mail. The financial services industry spends about 26% of that $10 billion.

So how do you cut through the clutter and deliver a relevant and useful direct mail piece? Many marketers subscribe to the 40-40-20 theory. That theory states that the success of your direct marketing campaign is based on: The offer (what you say) is responsible for 40% of a mailing's success.

The list (whom you talk to) is responsible for another 40%.

The creative (how you say it) is responsible for the last 20%.

What you say depends on your credit union's strategic direction. Do you want to increase membership? Entice more members to use your online services? Grow your loan portfolio? The answers to these questions determine what you say to your members.

The next task is to determine whom you talk to. There's nothing worse than sending a message to the wrong person. That form of direct mail heads directly to the trash.

A marketing customer information file (MCIF) can help you avoid these kinds of mistakes. It can tell you just about everything you need to know about your members' spending and saving habits and their potential needs. It can also provide you with valuable insight into their profitability.

Most MCIF systems today have the statistical capabilities to answer your strategic questions. Asking your MCIF database some basic questions about member behavior will give you the insight you need to figure out what you say, to whom, and when to say it.

Once you know what to say and to whom, the only thing remaining is how to get the message to your members so they'll read it. Making a memorable impression by breaking through the clutter is a direct marketer's biggest challenge.

Personalization significantly increases response rate. Recent developments in digital printing technology have greatly enhanced your ability to personalize member communications. Letter checksor "convenience checks"-are the most common form of personalized digital printing for financial institutions. Credit card balance transfers and preapproved loan applications are two of the more frequently seen examples.

You can now send personalized messages to your members in their check pads with Clarke American's InTouch Messaging. These aren't top-of-pack generic flyers. They're truly customized messages within the member's check pad.

You can use InTouch Messaging to communicate to all your members with checking accounts, to a specific club or group, or to a specific accountholder. The message you send is limited only by your creativity and the size of the paper on which it will be printed. Clarke American has a portfolio of more than 20 standard messages or you can create a custom message. InTouch Messaging can cost you less than the price of a postage stamp per member.

As technology continues to evolve, new opportunities for personalized communication will inevitably arise. In the meantime, consider these time-tested rules. You'll achieve better returns on your direct mail investments.

Julie Faulkner is the associate director of marketing for Clarke American's credit union division, San Antonio.

Copyright Credit Union National Association, Inc. Feb 2000
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