22 May 2007
The research discovered that only three out of ten people actually read leaflets included with their monthly statements, meaning that over 375 million are ignored and go straight into the bin.
If a more streamlined approach to statement marketing was undertaken, the industry could reduce its carbon footprint and in turn save businesses millions of pounds each year. More importantly, this approach would ensure a greater number of messages actually reach the customer.
Tim Delahay, Chief Executive Officer at DSTi Output, the UK’s leading one-to-one transactional mail and technology specialist comments:
“Banks need to look at all the options available to help them market and cross sell products to customers. With over 70% of inserts remaining unread, it is essential to see what can be done on the statement itself - not only to get messages across effectively but to help banks reach CSR targets.”
The cost to banks is also high when you consider that on average, an insert within a statement costs approximately 9 pence to design, produce and insert. This means that a bank with five million customers, sending out just one insert with their statements every month are wasting almost £3.8million per annum on marketing tools which are not actually read by the customer. In terms of response rates, of the three in 10 people that do read the information with their statement, only just over 10% have reacted. This wastes a further £1.5million each year and highlights the need to take a more targeted approach to customer communications. In total, £5.3million could be spent with absolutely no benefit.
Tim Delahay continues: “There has to be a better way, and there is. The good news is that the technology is now available for banks and other organisations to print colour, targeted messages directly onto statements or bills using a white paper solution. Not only does this eliminate the need for separate inserts but it also means that companies no longer need pre-printed stock. How many times in the last six months have organisations had to change their pre-printed stock due to a small change in their terms and conditions? This also gives them the ability to react quickly to competitor offers or changing market conditions.
Other key findings highlighted that the days of the black and white bank statement are numbered. Amongst the 16-44 yr old age group there was a strong preference for receiving colour bank statements as this group found them more attention grabbing and easier to read. Delahay concludes, “Companies using our full colour, fully variable white paper solution have also seen their typical 1-2% response rates being uplifted to as much as 20%. Costs are also being reduced with one client reporting a 40% decrease in stationery costs. Overall, it’s a win-win for the banks and the environment.”
