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The financial services forum tank! has published the first hard

data on response rates for financial direct mail. Over 20 of the UK's

largest financial mailers took part in the benchmarking study based on

the results of 97 million items mailed between January and June last

year.

The average response rate to cold prospect mailings is under one per

cent with a conversion rate of just 0.3 per cent. However, 5.7 per cent

of warm prospects typically respond to financial mailings and over four

percent of recipients respond to cross-sell opportunities.

Motor insurance mailings generate the highest response rate followed by

home insurance. At the bottom of the table, credit card mailings

generate the lowest response rates but enjoy a relatively high

conversion rate, double that of personal loans.

Later this year tank! plans to release figures for mailing activity in

July to December, giving a clear indication of whether response rates

are rising or falling in the financial sector.

See In Depth, pg 22.