Posted by Gareth Cutter on 6th October 2008 to
Marketplace It comes as little surprise that the financial sector is trimming its expenditure, what with all the recent news of nationalisations and bail-outs. This pessimistic outlook is reflected in the most recent research from Neilson Media, showing that credit card providers have cut their direct-mail spend significantly: by as much as 83% in some cases.
Remember all those plastic credit card promotions Capital One were sending out earlier this year? In a remarkable 'about face', they've become one of the biggest direct-mail spendthrifts in the sector. Expenditure was down from £36.9m to £6.3m in the year to June.
Overall, the financial sector was down 3.5% on year-on-year figures. While this isn't quite as dramatic a drop as the one seen last year (6.2%), it's still large enough to raise a few eyebrows over the cost-effectiveness of traditional marketing methods. Perhaps it's time to move for the financial industry to move on - or catch up, as the case may be?
The cost per send of an email is already known to be much lower than that of a direct mail campaign, so email marketing is an ideal way of promoting consumer spending whilst staying within budget (and increased consumer spending will help stimulate the economy). The benefits enjoyed by eMailCampaigner clients will translate to anyone who wants to reduce their marketing spend and enjoy a higher return on investment - a little good news for those dismayed by the financial forecast.
