This article is the third and last of our monograph “Digital and paper communications. Everything you need to know to compare and combine them” in which we have been analyzing and comparing both types of communications, with emphasis on maximizing the advantages of each medium with responsibility towards people and the environment.
You can read here the first entry (The revolution that digital communication has brought) and the second one (The second (Paper communication: The advantages of traditional media).
The key to perfect communications lies in choosing between digital or paper or combining both, depending on the type of communication, target audience, message to be conveyed and other variables such as perceived cybersecurity and the digital divide.
Here is a comparative table that advises you to orchestrate this combination to meet the communication needs of your customers:
Hybrid Strategy for Optimal Communication
For comprehensive and effective communication, especially with banking and insurance clients, the key is a hybrid and adaptive strategy, where the choice of channel is based on the nature of the message and the preferences of the receiver:
- For Urgent, Operational and High Frequency Communications:
- Fraud alerts, unexpected movements, card expirations, security notifications: SMS and WhatsApp are ideal for their immediacy and high opening rate.
- Bank statements, policy summaries, transaction confirmations, personalized marketing communications and promotions: Email is the preferred channel due to its cost-effectiveness, ability to attach documents and possibility of including interactive links. Cybersecurity must be ensured with encryption and strong authentication.
- For communications with legal value such as contracts, general terms and conditions, as well as significant changes in products or services:
- The physical channel is the traditional one for this type of communications since it provides maximum reliability and eliminates the digital divide. However, digital communications also provide legal certainty, immediacy and is the channel of choice for many users today.
- For premium direct marketing actions or welcome/loyalty communications:
- A well-designed and personalized letter can generate an emotional impact and a perception of value superior to an email, contributing to differentiation. It can also be combined with digital marketing strategies and thus enhance the impact and therefore the desired result/conversion.
- Additional Considerations:
- Digital Divide and Aging Population: Always offering the option of receiving communications on paper is crucial to leave no one behind. For the older or less digitized segment of the population, paper is the preferred and often the only accessible and trusted channel.
- Customer Preferences: Whenever possible, allow the customer to choose their preferred channel for each type of communication. A robust preference management system increases satisfaction and engagement.
- Cybersecurity: For digital communications, the customer should be educated about the risks of phishing and the importance of verifying the source. For paper, confidentiality must be ensured in the printing and mailing process.
By implementing this dual strategy, your company will not only optimize costs and efficiency, but also build stronger and more reliable relationships with your customers, adapting to their needs and preferences in a constantly evolving communication environment.
In the following table, we summarize the keys to the choice of channel according to the type of specific communication to be carried out:
So much for our monographic series on paper and digital communications. We hope you enjoyed it and that you have gained an overview. We remind you that at MailComms Group we are specialists in multichannel communications and we can help you with your global communications strategy.
