Combine these 2 tools to 10X your customer retention

What does Direct Mail have in common with tech that predicts customer behaviour in the finance sector? And how do they increase customer retention?

Do you ever feel too predictable?

Perhaps your partner sees your last Netflix suggestions coming a mile off. Maybe you found yourself opening a favourite website this morning without even thinking.

Well, you’re not alone.

A few years back, US researchers trawled location data from thousands of mobile phones. They found that 93 percent of human movement is predictable.

You read that right – 93 percent. If our movements are that predictable, imagine what day-to-day consumer behaviour looks like. 

We now know predicting consumer behaviour with algorithms is no longer fantasy. The technology is already changing marketing tactics in the finance sector and beyond.

Businesses who fail to keep pace could end up in trouble.

Look beyond your customer data

According to Experian, only 28 percent of marketing professionals personalise online experiences. Forty-two percent of that group say it’s due to a lack of access to data.

If you’re an established financial services provider, data shouldn’t be a problem. If it is, you should think about enlisting a third-party contractor to crunch your data for you.

But the rise of predictive analytics suggests you should also look beyond your existing customer data. Rather than waiting until a customer has actively engaged with your brand, you can use detailed datasets from third-parties to build an accurate customer profile from the first touchpoint onwards.

With this information, you can segment your audience and target them with relevant content and offers across all channels. You can optimise the customer journey and make the most of sales opportunities via retargeting platforms.

This is particularly useful for products that people buy infrequently.

But by getting to know your customers – and adding value to their journey early – you’re better able to communicate with them and drive conversions.

2 AI insights you should care about

Even if the numbers make no sense to you, you can enjoy the insights from customer data analysis. You can use Machine Learning insights to:

• Identify ‘flight risks’
• Pre-empt customer needs

Identifying ‘flight risks’. Data can pinpoint which customers are most at risk of leaving you.

Companies that use predictive analytics can massively improve customer retention. For example, FedEx uses data to predict customer defection with 60-90% accuracy.

By using data to identify the groups most likely to leave, your company can reach out with targeted messages that stick. Identifying the reasons for churn can be even more important. Over the long term, you can use these insights to improve your business model.

Pre-empting customer needs. Predictive analytics can be used to predict important events in a customer’s life cycle. You can use that information to increase revenue during those times.

Insurance companies commonly use this model by predicting when kids will get their drivers’ licenses. Or when customers will move to a bigger house. Being able to predict life events means you can proactively approach customers about new products when they need them.

These insights give you the freedom to create highly tailored customer experiences. And as we all know, customer experience is crucial. It will define the winners and losers of the next decade. Brands that ensure their communications are relevant, personal and well-timed are more successful at increasing customer loyalty.

All this means the financial industry must really optimise the end-to-end user experience to wow and delight customers.

...and Direct Mail provides you with a great way to achieve that goal.

Avoid this common mistake

Predictive analytics can help you understand customer preferences and behaviours but you still need to take action. Turning customer insights into revenue requires creativity.

And this is where many marketers fall down.

Because crafting a personalised message and sending it to your customer at just the right time may still be a huge waste of time if you only send it by email.

Simply put, the power of email campaigns are limited.

Last year, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) ran a response rate report. In the data they looked at, Direct Mail achieved a 4.4% response rate, compared to 0.12% for email. More broadly, they concluded that Direct Mail’s response rates can be anywhere from 10 to 30 times higher than digital.

In a world filled with emails and cold calls, Direct Mailing campaigns cut through.

Direct Mail takes you back to the future

Sending something by post in the age of lazy emails signals that a company is willing to spend time and effort on you. That’s why receiving something in the post grabs your attention.

And attention can be priceless.

That’s why Direct Mail has reemerged as a vital tool within the sales, marketing and customer CX ecosystems of successful businesses.

So make sure your approach is blended. Where a touchpoint requires efficiency and encourages customers to link through to more info, choose email.

But if you want customers to feel special, make sure you’re sending personalised messages by mail.

With Matter, you can send personalised mail to customers in as little as three clicks, direct from your CRM.

It couldn’t be simpler.

Find out how you can increase customer retention using Matter. Book your free demo now.