There's GOLD in those mailboxes!

EPSILON SURVEY REPORTS: PROSPECTS PREFER DIRECT MAIL

Social Media, blogs, emails and banner ads are considerably less trusted

You’d have to be living under a rock to not notice how rapidly social media has grown. Over the past several years, many financial advisors thought that by diverting their marketing dollars to creating a social media strategy – including company pages on Facebook, blogging, eblasting, and banner ads – in the hopes of saving money while garnering motivated prospects. Unfortunately for them that bet didn't pay off. Why? Because there are certain subjects and issues that consumers don’t want to talk about on the internet. 

In fact, according to Epsilon’s 2012 Annual Channel Preference Study, consumers (your prospects) made it very clear that their preferred channel to receive financial planning information is direct mail. 

Specifically, the survey found, “Marketers can take advantage of consumers’ resurgence and interest in receiving postal mail to help differentiate their offers and grab consumer attention to increase sales. In a digitally-focused world, a majority of consumers still prefer postal mail for a large portion of their multi-channel diet when it comes to receiving information.”

When they asked why they preferred mail over email or online sources, consumers were very clear!

The bottom line? This survey validates what we have been sharing with our clients and prospects for more than 18 years: When it comes to offering your financial planning services, they prefer direct mail because they feel like they are being communicated with specifically and intelligently. 

When consumers (your prospects) speak – LISTEN! 

Bob Wilgus is the Director of Corporate Communications and Social Community Manager for RME360. You can reach him at: bob.wilgus@rme360.com