Financial services marketing to B2B prospects can be a daunting task. Depending on the product or service, churn happens for several reasons cited by customers:
- bad or slow customer service
- interest rates too high or too low (depending on their preference and product)
- poor online banking experience
Given how prospective business customers get dozens of emails a day, direct mail has the ability to stand out in uncrowded postal mailboxes when it’s delivered.
What is B2B Finance Direct Mail?
B2B finance direct mail includes promotions for products and services that help businesses manage their money as well as provide protection from different types of risks.
In Who’s Mailing What!, B2B finance subcategories are:
- Banking
- Credit Cards
- Financial Services
- Insurance
What Formats Work Best for B2B Finance Direct Mail?
All the 3 main mailer formats — postcards, folded self-mailers, and envelopes — are used to market B2B finance products and services.
Banking services such as checking are mostly promoted using self-mailers or postcards; prospects are directed online or to a local office for more information and customized service.
Envelopes are ideally suited for products and services that require detailed explanation upfront, or in the case of insurance, privacy, and discretion.
B2B Finance Direct Mail Practices
Your direct mail can stand out by reaching the right prospect at the right time with the right message, and persuading them to act. With powerful words and compelling images, your mail can help you turn a prospect into a customer, and then, to keep spending money with you.
1. Target Your Audience
Who is your target market? For a financial institution, you can offer specific products or services based on firmographic segmentation. Some business attributes are similar to those in B2C marketing, such as geographic location. Others, however, can be leveraged to zero in on prospects by company type, industry vertical, or employee headcount and/or annual revenue.
In this example, Truist’s campaign casts entrepreneurs as “the backbone of our community” and shows a busy solo operator on the front of this postcard.
2. Focus on Current Customers
When done right, looking for ways to keep your current customers engaged and loyal (and maybe even earn more of their business) can pay dividends like increasing your ROI and sales. How? By cross-selling or upgrading them to other or additional products or services.
In this example, a “valued Business Card member” is offered an upgrade by American Express to the Business Platinum Card, which carries more rewards points and enhanced benefits.