Page turners – TCF and customer magazines

Insurance companies in the UK are prolific users of direct mail. In the first three months of 2008 a total of 117.45 million mailings were sent by insurance companies, a rise of 3.4% on the same period in 2007. These figures confirm the central role direct mail plays in the marketing and communication strategies of insurance providers, as a tool to both drive sales and boost customer retention. The tangible nature of direct mail, its ability to be personalised and targeted, and the simple fact that every household in the country can be reached by it, sets it apart from almost every other channel. And especially in light of the regulatory requirement for insurance providers to summarise policy details before purchase, more substantial communication delivered by the post lends itself well to satisfying this requirement. According to Abi Wood, head of financial sector marketing, Royal Mail, it is a natural progression for the entire financial services sector, collectively one of the largest users of direct mail, to have begun embracing another personal, tangible and direct form of communication – the customer magazine.