Financial advisors offer a critical service. From retirement planning to debt consolidation, financial guidance is valuable to individuals in all tax brackets and at all stages of life.
So why do only 17 percent of Americans work with a financial advisor? The answer is simple: most people don’t understand what financial advisors do.
Direct mail marketing lets you dispel myths about financial planning and connect directly with your target audiences.
Gunderson Direct is experienced in helping financial advisors conceive, create, scale, and manage direct mail campaigns that reach the right clients with the right messaging—bringing you more leads and more clients.
We do much more than just printing and mailing. Our specialized program supports financial advisors through the full life-cycle of a direct mail campaign.
Our one-of-a-kind services include:
- Campaign strategy
- Identifying potential clients
- Targeted messaging
- Creative development
- A/B testing
- Rapid scaling
- Program management
Gunderson Direct can help grow your portfolio by getting your services in front of the clients who are looking for them.
Wondering what ROI could look like for you? Check out our ROI Calculator.
Why Direct Mail?
There are many reasons that direct mail is more effective than digital marketing alone.
For one thing, mail is typically reviewed on the same day it’s received, and is consistently reported to feel more personal than email or phone calls.
Consider this: the standalone response rate of direct mail is 4.4%. While this number might not seem too impressive on its face, the standalone response rate of email is just .12%.
The standalone response rate of direct mail is 37 times stronger than the standalone response rate of email.
That doesn’t mean that digital marketing is bad. In fact, the strongest ROI often results from an integrated marketing strategy—or one that combines digital and direct outreach.
The problem is that there’s a lot of competition in the digital marketing space, which means that consumers are less likely to pay attention to digital-only outreach efforts.
And marketing isn’t only about what gets opened—it’s about what gets remembered.
Research shows that clients are almost twice as likely to remember a brand they see in print than one that they see digitally.
75% of people can recall a brand name immediately after encountering it through direct mail.
Marketing for Financial Advisors
Financial service providers face a challenge of perception.
Although financial planning can benefit all people, it’s still often perceived as an option primarily for those who already have wealth.
Because the general public lacks in-depth knowledge of the financial sector, a bit of bad press can go a long way. Your ideal clients might not understand the difference between a financial advisor, a hedge-fund manager, and a day trader.
The problem is one of awareness and knowledge.
Financial advisors should:
- Inspire trust
- Convey authority
- Provide Education
Direct mail addresses a primary barrier to contracting your services: many people don’t understand how a financial advisor can help them.
Perhaps you’ve heard some of these common myths about what you do:
- Financial advisors are only for the already wealthy
- Financial planners are expensive
- Financial advisors can lose all of your money
Dispelling these myths can be difficult—and the people who most need the services a financial advisor provides may avoid seeking those services out of a fear that they are not qualified.
Direct mail is a great way to educate your potential clients—while including a personal touch.
Direct Mail Marketing and Financial Services
Gunderson Direct is experienced in designing and implementing effective direct mail advertising campaigns for clients across industries. Our campaigns maximize ROI and deliver results (i.e., qualified leads and long-term clients).
Our experience has also taught us that direct mail marketing has particular value for financial services providers. It’s uniquely well-positioned to combat the marketing obstacles faced by service providers in the financial industry.
Benefits of direct mail for financial advisors.
Institutional Authority
In the words of the USPS motto, Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
The mail might not be the fastest way to get word to someone in the 21st century, but it’s been around for a long time, and people trust it.
The physical mail evokes tradition and stability—exactly what financial advisors need to project to calm uneasy clients.
Cross-generational appeal
Direct mail appeals to both seniors and millennials—making it something of a rarity in contemporary marketing.
Seniors are more likely than other generations to regularly rely on snail mail for information, and they can be uncomfortable in digital spaces.
Millennials, on the other hand, see physical mail as a novelty and respond to direct mail marketing as exciting and new.
Personal Touch
Direct mail allows you to contact potential clients in a way that is personal and memorable.
This includes both personalization (such as including full name and neighborhood information in your message) and audience targeting.
For example, you can target your mailers based on list information so that younger people receive literature about how to plan for retirement in their 20s, while seniors receive mail tailored to them.
Inspires Trust
It goes without saying that to inspire trust in consumers, financial advisors should project financial security.
One of the benefits of direct mail is that it looks expensive. Thick, glossy rack cards or a sleek, re-imagined trifold suggest financial success—and your clients are more likely to take your advice if they view you as financially secure.
Educational
Direct mail is also a great way to dispel myths about what financial advisors do.
While digital marketing is either read in one sitting or lost in the flow of notifications, direct mail is something to peruse.
By providing high-quality information in an attractive and readable format, you can prolong a consumer’s exposure to your brand and dispel some of the myths that serve as a barrier to contracting your services.
Strong Brand Presentation
Direct mail allows for a dignified presentation of your brand. While electronic presentations can be distorted by variations in screen size and resolution, a glossy rack card or brochure allows you complete control over how your image is presented.
Contact us to start getting more leads.
Our Approach
An effective direct mail marketing strategy is about a lot more than just printing mail. We guide financial advisors through the entire process of developing and implementing a campaign, from developing an initial concept to analyzing results.
How Gunderson builds campaigns.
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Use data to identify and segment your target audiences | Develop, test, and analyze campaign messaging | Provide rapid scaling and program management to help you meet your goals |
We offer full life-cycle support for your direct mail campaign. See our in-depth breakdown here.
Best-in-class creative
Our talented designers and copywriters build compelling, engaging, and response-driven direct mail marketing materials.
Full-service program management
Direct mail campaigns involve complex logistics. We handle all of it, minimizing your stress and ensuring that your campaign operates smoothly.
Testing and optimization
We manage your campaign from start to finish to get the lowest possible conversion cost. Our signature A/B testing program, Leap and Repeat, supports rapid scaling through overlapping trial phases.
This allows messaging to be refined and adjusted to meet your goals without adding weeks to the development timeline.
Calculating Direct Mail ROI
So direct mail looks expensive—is it expensive?
The answer lies in ROI. While a postcard will cost more than an email, it’s also much
more likely to generate a response from a qualified lead. We collect and analyze data to show you what’s successful and what isn’t.
Years of experience help us deliver the strongest possible ROI for our customers.
We’ve fine-tuned our processes to maximize ROI and promote budget efficiency. Check out our ROI calculator to see how much you could expect to bring in.
Beat the Control
But what if you’ve already tried direct mail, and it isn’t working for you?
We’ve got a plan for that.
Our “Beat the Control” program uses previous mailing performance as the baseline and refines the package to deliver a stronger ROI—and our record is strong.
92% of our packages have outperformed our clients’ pre-existing direct mail campaigns when tested directly against them.
Maximizing ROI with Digital and Direct Marketing
Integrated marketing campaigns are a powerful tool to generate conversions, maximize budget efficiency, and raise awareness across your ideal audience segments.
For example, you might send a follow-up email to the people who received direct mail informing them of a particular service. You can also include a call to action that offers a free consultation or nudges them towards your intake process.
Not sure where to start? Our strategy consultants can help you develop a campaign that integrates direct mail marketing with digital marketing to maximize response rates and budget efficiency.
Getting Started
Direct mail marketing can be an effective business development tool for financial advisors.
Want to see how much you could make? Calculate Your Potential ROI
Your clients are out there—let us help bring them to you.
Ready to start bringing in leads? Contact us today for a consultation.
