Marketing Goal
To increase fee income and share of wallet among the affluent segment by promoting investment management and/or trust services.
Target Market
WordCom would identify high potential retail customers who could effectively be targeted for these services. External database selections can be made based on income, age, Net Worth estimate — or a combination of factors. Given the audience, extreme care needs to be used in list hygiene to make sure the name and addresses are as accurate as possible.
Program
The objective of the campaign would be to have affluent households “raise their hands” to indicate they have interest in speaking with the bank about investment or trust services. This is best accomplished with a series of lead generation mailings.
- The Message: The challenge on the investment side is to effectively position the bank as experienced and successful in managing investments. Therefore, the message needs to speak to the customer’s need for security and cite the credentials of the institution.
- Timing: The mailing program should be viewed as a continual effort, with a portion of mail going out over several manageable maildrops to allow time for calling officers to make follow-up contacts. Targeted prospects should be mailed at least three consecutive times over the course of the year.
- Mailing Package: The package received by the prospect needs to be extremely high quality. In keeping with the image and standards of the bank and the affluent household, it should attempt to give the illusion of an individually produced and signed piece of correspondence. WordCom has successfully used authentic foreign banknotes in each package to serve as the creative glue for the mailing series. The copy should relate to the value of their assets and how the bank can improve their stability and growth with professional money management.
Results
Given the significant fee income attached with each new sale, it is not surprising that the response rates typically range from just .25% to .75%. But even at those modest returns, a program can easily cost-justify itself with just a few significant new clients.