Mail volumes increased significantly in the financial cross-selling category from January 2004 through the first quarter of 2005, according to data released last week by Comperemedia.
Chase tops the top five cross-selling direct mail list for both mortgage and banking product categories. The other top mortgage companies that heavily use direct mail for cross selling are Capital One Bank, MBNA, Citibank and Wells Fargo. For banking, Bank of America, Cap One, Wachovia/First Union and Union Bank of California join Chase in the top five.
“Financial companies understand that existing clients are just as powerful, if not more, than new clients,” said Carrie Merritt, director of financial research at Comperemedia.
Eighty percent of Wells Fargo's recent growth stemmed from selling more products to its existing customer base, Comperemedia said.
“Customers are perfectly willing to shop around for the financial services that best meet their needs,” Merritt said. “If their existing financial institution cannot provide [those] services, they will look elsewhere. The future of cross-selling direct mail will reflect more targeted offers that really emphasize the importance of each customer's individual tastes and preferences.”
Merritt also said better incentives and service bundling will pave the way to more successful cross-selling programs.
Comperemedia, Chicago, is a division of Mintel International Group that monitors direct mail activity.
