If you have a mailbox, it will come as no surprise that US credit card companies and other financial services firms spent more on direct marketing in 2007 than any other industry. Banks and credit card issuers are masters of mailing targeted offers, and that mail accounts for nearly 42% of their direct marketing budgets.
E-mail is becoming part of this massive direct marketing effort as well, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)'s
"Direct Marketing Facts and Figures in the Financial Services Industry."
The DMA had previously released some information from the study in a press release, but a recent Marketing Charts article cited more, revealing e-mail as the number three direct marketing tactic in the industry.
The DMA also said that banks and credit card direct marketers had a better return on investment in 2007 than did any other industry, at $13.37 per dollar spent.
That may have something to do with the high open rate that the financial services industry gets.
E-mail list management company MailerMailer found that nearly 29% of direct marketing e-mails sent by financial services companies were opened during the second half of 2007—more than for any other industry.
eMarketer predicts that financial services spending on online
advertising will also continue to increase through at least 2011. That means more offers on any given Website, not just in your inbox.
Since e-mail marketing works for banks and card issuers, consumers can also expect more offers in their inboxes to join those in their mailboxes.
Learn why e-mail remains a cornerstone of digital marketing. Read eMarketer's E-Mail Marketing: Getting Through to Customers report today.