Market Trends/ Direct response/ Digital Media

Financial services customers favor direct mail and online
By Mark Mayne Direct Response 05-Oct-07

Direct marketing and online provide the best routes to customers looking for information on financial services products, research from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) shows.
The report, which the DMA Financial Services Council compiled in conjunction with NMG Research, revealed that 55 per cent of consumers use the internet to look for information on financial products, while 24 per cent responded to personally addressed mail
The research, which was based on interviews with 1,000 consumers, also showed that 21 per cent would contact a provider by phone, while 10 per cent would respond to a call from a financial services provider.

Eric Austin, chair of the DMA Financial Services Council, said in a statement: "It is encouraging to see that integrated marketing is prevalent. Use of the internet for both researching and buying products is predictably high, but so are telephone and mail."
The survey also showed that the top reason for buying a product through direct and digital channels, rather than an IFA or high-street bank, was price.

"It is a concern that price is a key trigger in the purchase pattern," Austin added. "It is clearly important that consumers are also aware of what their cover includes and any exclusions." The financial services industry is recognized as one of the most prolific distributors of direct mail. Research from Royal Mail saw building societies' use of direct mail rise by 18.8 per cent to 15.9 million mailings in Q4 2006. The insurance sector posted a small year-on-year increase in DM volumes - from 83.4 million items in 2005 to 83.9 million in 2006.