Today, the financial services industry is highly digitalized. 94% of customers of all age groups regularly use online banking, benefiting from the blessings of technological advances. No wonder. Who doesn’t like the agility and comfort of online transactions?

At the same time, when it comes to critical decisions, people still prefer offline channels. 64% of consumers name offline interactions as their primary mode of contact when they need to evaluate a financial institution. 75% state that offline methods of communication are the best way to build relationships with their banks.

Financial organizations also admit the significance of offline channels and direct mail in particular. Moreover, for them, regular mail delivery is essential to stay compliant and provide transparent financial services. Financial mail delivery requires the ultimate security and accuracy. Bank statements, adverse action letters, invoices, collection letters, and other financial reporting is strictly regulated.

Hence, it’s not that easy to organize financial mail delivery without professional help. To ensure the necessary quality and security, the majority of financial institutions outsource their print communications to third-party financial printers. Market leaders and first movers even go a step further and automate their mail delivery process.

Read on to discover more about financial mail automation as well as:  

• Peculiarities of financial direct mail, its types, and delivery challenges
• How to print and deliver mail reporting and marketing of financial services?
• What is the role of direct mail in the marketing of financial services?
• 5 reasons to use automation for financial mail printing and delivery

4 Types of Financial Direct Mail and Possible Delivery Challenges

Although many marketers adore direct mail because of its high response rate and personalization capabilities, in some cases, it’s just mandatory to send. The financial services industry is one of the fields where continuous reporting is a must.

Financial mail delivery services allow institutions to get proof that a notice, letter, or other critical message was delivered. This evidence may later save them from huge penalties and exhausting court proceedings.

Here are the four main types of direct mail sent by financial services companies:

• Debt collection letters. A financial printer or organization sends this type of communication to inform customers about their unsettled debts. Note that consumers have the right to dispute the information provided in a letter within 30 days.

• Pre-adverse/adverse action notices. A financial printer or organization provides such letters to notify consumers about the adverse action based on their credit history. Adverse action notices are usually sent within 7-10 days from the moment of a customer’s application.

• Bank statements and notices. A financial printer or organization delivers bank statements to share a history of bank account activity. The record of transactions is necessary to update customers on their account activity and prevent any fraud.

• Privacy notices. A financial printer or organization may choose to provide any privacy policy changes in writing to make sure consumers read them. Since customers usually ignore emails related to privacy updates, direct mail notices are a great alternative.

As to the challenges, those engaged in financial mail delivery may face, there are several things to note. The first thing you should keep in mind is timing. Each type of financial printing must meet specific deadlines. Make sure to consult with your legal advisor to know what deadlines you need to follow to stay compliant. In addition to that, you also need to take into account the requirements for financial mail content. For example, adverse action notices must include the name of a credit organization and indicate that consumers have the right to file a dispute. Again, you will need to clarify this on your own or consult with professionals.

How to Print and Deliver Mail Reporting and Marketing of Financial Services: In-House, Third-Party Financial Printer, or Advanced Automation

In this section, we want to talk about three main options of financial mail printing and delivery. They can be used both for financial services marketing campaigns and financial reporting depending on your exact needs.

#1. In-House Financial Printing

If you already have printing equipment or want to invest in it, you can organize financial printing at premises. Yet make sure to provide the necessary level of security and limit access to the printed reports. You will also need to be ready that such an investment is unlikely to pay off. In the current market conditions, outsourcing to a third-party financial printer or mail service is more cost-effective.

#2. Third-Party Financial Printer

An external financial printer that specializes in direct mail delivery services can become a great backup for a financial organization. Just delegate your mail-related responsibilities to a vendor that will take care of everything. You won’t have to manually bring mail to a post office or worry about printing equipment maintenance. A third-party financial printer will securely produce and ship mail based on the information you provide.

#3. Advanced Automation of Mail Delivery Services

If you want to minimize your role in mail printing and shipment, automation is the best choice. With modern mail automation tools like Inkit, you can connect financial mail with a CRM or database. As a result, the tool will automatically cast customer’s data from the CRM to customize a mail piece and launch delivery. For example, you could instruct Inkit to automatically print and deliver bank statements at the end of every bank cycle.

What Is the Role of Direct Mail in Marketing of Financial Services?

Even though this article focuses on financial reporting, mail can significantly boost the marketing of financial services. Financial advisors, creditors, small businesses or, generally, marketers should know that seemingly boring official letters leave a lot of space for brand promotion.

We recommend combining mail marketing of financial services with blog posts, content marketing strategies, email newsletters, and social media. According to recent data, 68% of US adult online users that own an investment account use at least 1 social network. Moreover, financial advisors engaged in blogging generate 67% more leads than those who aren’t. So why don’t you boost these trends with direct mail?

Complement financial notices with an unobtrusive mail piece promoting your blog or social media account to increase traffic. Send customers an Easter postcard to show that you appreciate their loyalty. Deliver greeting mail to new customers or come up with any other idea.

Just remember that financial mail should be first of all informative and reliable. Keep the balance with your marketing materials.

5 Reasons to Use Automation for Financial Mail Design, Print, and Delivery

Banks and other financial institutions regularly send tons of mail pieces to recipients all over the world. That’s why financial mail delivery services are particularly well-suited for automation.

Here are the top 5 reasons to start automating your financial mail print and delivery process:

• Financial Mail Automation Benefit #1

You will be able to track all mailings in one place. For example, Inkit’s dashboard shows what was sent, who received it, and when. This is very helpful in the financial services industry to manage financial reporting, customer experience, and mailings history.

• Financial Mail Automation Benefit #2

You will reduce the risk of human error. Financial data will be automatically cast from the CRM/database to printing equipment without unnecessary third-party access.

• Financial Mail Automation Benefit #3

You will make mail printing and delivery more efficient. With automation, mail marketing of financial services takes less time to produce and launch. If you do it right, it may be as fast as priority mail.

• Financial Mail Automation Benefit #4

You will increase the privacy of your customer data. Automated financial printers like Inkit provide advanced protection with secure data storage and transfer.

• Financial Mail Automation Benefit #5

You will be able to analyze the effectiveness of your mail marketing of financial services. Since less than 50% of banks measure their marketing ROI, this will give you a considerable competitive advantage.

Want to start automating your financial mail print & delivery or financial marketing mail? Get access to advanced direct mail automation capabilities with Inkit.