State of Direct Mail 2025
Financial services is all in on direct mail – now it’s time to optimize
Healthcare companies tell us they’re increasing direct mail volume by 25% this year, reinforcing its role in patient engagement, payments, and health outcomes. But rising costs and response challenges mean success isn’t just about sending more, it’s about making what they send more impactful. The brands seeing the strongest ROI are refining their strategies with automation, better data, and deeper digital integration.
Insights-at-a-glance
Direct mail drives results.
81% of financial services leaders say it's their top-performing channel – the highest among industries surveyed.
Personalization fuels engagement.
87% say data-driven personalization improves response rates and customer trust.hest-ROI channels.
Investment in automation is growing.
62% already use automation partners, and 59% plan to significantly increase AI and automation in the next five years.
Omnichannel strategies still have room for growth.
While 86% agree direct mail performs best when integrated with digital, many aren't fully leveraging these connections.
About Lob’s State of Direct Mail 2025.
Lob and Comperemedia, a Mintel company, surveyed 405+ marketing and operations leaders across healthcare, financial services, and insurance to uncover the key trends shaping direct mail strategy—revealing best practices and insights for the industries that rely on it most.
Personalization improves response – especially when it goes deeper.
87% of financial services marketers and operators say personalization significantly improves response rates. High-ROI teams are leveraging 1:1 targeting, behavioral triggers, and real-time data integration to boost response rates and drive more conversions.
Which direct mail elements are your personalizing?
How To Take Action
Here’s how FinServ brands can take personalization even further:
- Data-driven segmentation – Send mortgage, loan, and credit card offers tailored to a recipient’s credit profile and financial history.
- Smart QR codes and PURLs – Reduce friction by linking mail directly to secure application portals, payment pages, or appointment scheduling tools.
- Behavioral triggers – Send mail based on key lifecycle moments, such as bill due dates, policy renewals, or investment portfolio updates.
The right mail format matters.
Not all direct mail formats are equally effective. In financial services marketing, 72% lean on letters for high-trust, compliance-driven communications. Postcards and catalogs are runners up, great for pre-approved credit card offers, refinancing promotions, and customer referral programs.
Match format to intent
Critical documents need secure delivery, while promotional mail should be eye-catching and easy to digest. Choosing the right format increases both response rates and customer trust.
- Use letters for security and trust – Letters are official, private, and credible. They're ideal for account updates, loan approvals, and compliance notices.
- Leverage postcards for quick impact – With 62% of financial services marketers using postcards, they’re proven effective for pre-approved offers, refinancing promotions, and customer referral programs. A strong CTA makes them hard to ignore.
Preferred direct mail formats
Industry breakdown: Showing significant increases (more than 10% YoY)
Data challenges cost money – smarter targeting fixes it.
46% of financial marketers and operators struggle with outdated or incomplete customer data. Accurate customer data is critical for effective financial services marketing. Poorly maintained mailing lists lead to wasted spend, compliance risks, and lower ROI.
Top data targeting challenges for financial services companies
How To Take Action
Keep these strategies into account to improve your targeting and reduce budget bloat:
- CASS-certified address verification ensures mail reaches the right customer, reducing undeliverable mail for statements, pre-approvals, and compliance notices.
- Dynamic segmentation, which tailors messaging based on customer financial behavior, credit status, and past interactions.
- Trigger-based automation sends mail based on key customer actions, like a missed payment, account anniversary, or digital inactivity.
Omnichannel integration = stronger engagement and conversions.
While 86% of financial marketers and operators agree direct mail performs best when integrated with digital, many aren’t yet optimizing omnichannel engagement.
How do you integrate direct mail with digital channels?
How To Take Action
Take some of these strategies into mind as you build your digital and direct partnerships:
- Trigger mail based on digital behaviors – Send a personalized pre-approval letter after a lead visits a mortgage calculator or loan application page.
- Use direct mail for retargeting – Re-engage dormant customers who haven’t responded to digital outreach.
- Ensure messaging consistency across channels – Sync direct mail with email, SMS, and paid media campaigns for seamless customer interactions.
Automation is the key to compliance, efficiency and scale.
59% of financial services companies say they plan to significantly increase their company’s use of AI and/or automation in the next five years.
How To Take Action
With a few key strategies, financial services marketers and operations teams can scale direct mail without increasing complexity or compliance risks:
59% of financial services companies say they plan to significantly increase their company’s use of AI and/or automation in the next five years.
- Automated compliance workflows allowing FinServ brands to send compliant mail with minimal manual effort.
- Leveraging real-time tracking provides complete visibility into mail status and delivery timing.
- Batch-free printing eliminates costly minimums, allowing teams to send mail on demand, as needed.
The best financial services brands aren’t guessing — they’re using automation, data, and measurement to make every mailpiece count.
Ready to make direct mail work harder for your financial brand?