Keep Your Customers Loyal And Your Pipeline Full
By Stephen Margrett
Stephen Margrett
As consumer direct becomes more and more relevant, I bet you want a portion of that business. So, what do you do? My guess is that right now you are wisely seeking the optimum solution for maximizing the value of your key business relationships through effective database management and innovative marketing. However, your database of existing customers requires special attention. Loan originators who focus on relationships rather than transactions understand the ever-expanding influence of loyal customers.
Studies show that a 10% increase in customer retention can translate to as much as an 80% increase in profitability. This means you have to stay in touch with your customers and track the results of your loyalty building activities. You must do the same for your prospects and referral partners. What are the options?
You’ve probably tried various software products and customer relationship management (CRM) systems that are supposed to organize your database and distribute e-mails, postcards and gifts. These products may have met some of your objectives. Maybe not. Probably not.
However, if you’re looking for an all-encompassing application that combines world-class technology with superior marketing capability and compliance, then you need to really look beyond CRM. What do I advise? This enterprise solution should provide loan officers with these key features:
Database Management
Once you import your database into your enterprise marketing automation engine, you can maintain it with a few key strokes—and you’ll find it’s easy to enhance the data for marketing purposes by adding client nicknames, birthdays, language preferences, e-mail addresses and other data. In addition, a link to the U.S. Postal Service ensures that address changes are automatically recorded in a timely fashion.
Automated Programs
These strategically timed sequences of professionally crafted personalized communications establish a firm foundation for your long-term success. That’s because an enterprise-class marketing automation tool provides high tech automation of both electronic and conventional output, which ensures your programs are so hands-free that there’s nothing for you to do but respond to the steady flow of referrals and repeat sales.
On-Demand Marketing
The Custom Campaigns feature of enterprise-class marketing automation enables rapid response to changes in market conditions with relevant sales messages delivered to precisely targeted audiences. The system provides a simple process for driving your campaigns on-demand and—being seamlessly connected to a state-of-the-art production and fulfillment operation. Further, economy, speed and security are guaranteed.
Those are my tips for you as you look to automate more to capture more business. Take my word for it, it works.
Stephen Margrett is CEO of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. With a master’s degree in consumer behavior from the University of Minnesota, Stephen has been in the field of relationship marketing for more than 25 years. In 1986, he created Europe’s first full-service, data-driven marketing agency and managed it until the mid-1990s, when he moved to the United States. He can be reached via e-mail at stephen.margrett@turningpoint.com.
Seize Every Opportunity
By Judy Margrett
What we’re going to talk about today is how you can turn your data into a real business opportunity. If you think about it, every mortgage company in the market holds databases of data on it’s loan products, existing borrowers, prospects, etc.
No mortgage lender that I know is lacking in terms of having access to all this information. The challenge is how do you leverage that static data and turn it into active intelligence.
What do I mean by active intelligence? You need to use the information that you have literally at your fingertips to create new business opportunities. What lenders are finding is that in this market, with all the new rules, the new LO compensation regs and fewer loan products to offer, they are having to respond quicker then ever before. In fact, the market is so fluid that they have to look at technology to bring this static data to life.
Here’s how you do that:
It’s about integrating all the aspects of your marketing like referrals, Realtor contacts, past campaigns, etc. with a rules-based tool. You want to create a business opportunity engine. You want to make that data meaningful to your bottom line.
If you have that automation in place and it’s looking at this data, you can achieve instant results. For example, should you be offering fixed rates? Should you be doing refinances? What works in that geographic area? You now are using all this data to take action to get instant results.
On top of that, if you can offer one-click marketing to the borrower so they can take advantage of your offering, that’s very powerful. And this is not hard to do.
Automation combining rules and marketing allows companies to analyze and track all this data to produce real opportunity. Why should you look seriously at this technology? You can maximize value. You can stimulate two-way dialogue. You can build loyalty and enhance your reputation with consistent and compliant messaging.
As lenders look for ways to be more competitive, tools like this enable the lender to boost productivity and profitability. Who doesn’t want to do that in any market, let alone a declining market like the one we find ourselves in today? In addition, you also enhance compliance and control by automating this part of your business. Let’s not forget the power of relationships. You can grow borrower relationships and cross sell opportunities through the implementation of this strategy.
All this enables lenders to seize current market opportunities. So, get started.
Judy Margrett is President of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. With more than 20 years’ experience in mortgage banking, Judy was an early advocate of technology-based marketing solutions, especially for nurturing key business relationships. Recognizing the demand to maximize resources within business enterprises, she works closely with industry leaders to guide The Turning Point’s development of advanced mortgage-specific solutions. She can be reached via e-mail at judy.margrett@turningpoint.com.
Retaining Top Talent
By Stephen Margrett
As we mentioned in past articles, with origination volumes expected to be down by as much as 40% this year and with lenders really fighting for each and every borrower, recruiting and retention becomes critical given the intense pressure on production. While there may be a lot of loan officers looking for a different position, that doesn’t mean that they have the ability to produce results, especially in a down market.
Think about it. If they’re in the market for a job, you have to ask yourself why. Recruiting and retaining top talent is so important. Look at the 80/20 rule. You’ll notice that 20% of your staff will bring in 80% of the volume in most cases. So, good talent is critical. These top producers are in a position where they get to pick who they want to work for because of the skill set that they’ve developed. Here’s how you get them to work for you.
In order to recruit and retain this top talent you need to ask yourself, “What are these loan officers really looking for?” It’s not a simple question to answer. However, there are certain things that every loan officer wants.
Obviously, they want an opportunity to bring on new business. They want to offer borrowers programs and products that today’s borrower is looking for. Beyond that, they are working to determine which lender will help them do a better job client retention. A lot of business can be had from referrals. What lenders are finding is that automation tools play heavily in the recruiting and retaining of top loan officers.
Through the use of enterprise marketing automation, these loan officers can send out a whole campaign to all their database, that’s powerful. If there is a library of templates and tools that they can use and customize, top producers are going to jump on board. Automation like this will keep that top producing loan officers on your team. They will feel supported and they will have everything that they need to keep that business coming in the door.
In addition, if this automated tool is an enterprise-level application there are benefits for the lender as well. It’s not just about bringing in new business these days, it’s also about compliance. An enterprise-level marketing automation tool enables the lender to stay compliant and control their brand because they can also ensure compliance. Everyone wins.
Stephen Margrett is CEO of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. With a master’s degree in consumer behavior from the University of Minnesota, Stephen has been in the field of relationship marketing for more than 25 years. In 1986, he created Europe’s first full-service, data-driven marketing agency and managed it until the mid-1990s, when he moved to the United States. He can be reached via e-mail at stephen.margrett@turningpoint.com.
The Pressure Is On Production
By Judy Margrett
Origination volumes are predicted to be significantly lower in 2011. The Mortgage Bankers Association expects to see mortgage originations fall from an estimated $1.4 trillion in 2010 to slightly under $1 trillion in 2011. The drop will be driven by a decline in refinance originations, but the industry will see an increase in purchase originations. The economy will grow at a slow pace but with no significant job growth. The increase in purchase originations will be driven by modest increases in home sales and stabilizing home prices. In contrast, MBA refinance originations are expected to fall steadily as mortgage rates gradually increase throughout 2011 and 2012.
What does this mean for lenders? There will be a shift to consumer-direct lending that will continue throughout 2011 and beyond. As a result, there will be intense pressure on loan officers and production managers to produce quality loans. We all know that the LOs and production managers are currently being forced to do more with less. That trend won’t end anytime soon. Production managers have less assistance and avenues to attract new borrowers. What should they do? Here’s what:
This is where enterprise marketing automation can fill a very important gap. LOs for one need marketing tools and materials that specifically address today’s market conditions. What does that mean?
They want to create their own materials so they can respond to this very competitive market. They also want a library of templates and materials that are current so they can easily use and customize them. The end goal of course is to get new prospects, referrals and past customers to do business with them.
When you put it all together, they want a solution that is fully automated. They want an on-demand solution so that in one click they can execute a marketing campaign to all their clients and prospects. They need a tool that will make them competitive while they fight for the borrower.
On the other hand, production managers are under the gun, too. They understand that they have to be able to provide these types of tools to help their LOs succeed. To make the challenge even more daunting for production managers, is the highly regulated environment that we find ourselves in today. As a result, these managers are pressured to get results in a declining market, but they have to provide new and better tools to their LOs to get those borrowers in the door, and at the same time they have to do it in a compliant manner.
This is where enterprise marketing automation comes in. Remember, these production managers also have to maintain their company’s brand and produce compliant marketing materials in this highly regulated market. The only answer that can help both constituents, the LO and the production manager, is to automate.
Judy Margrett is President of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. With more than 20 years’ experience in mortgage banking, Judy was an early advocate of technology-based marketing solutions, especially for nurturing key business relationships. Recognizing the demand to maximize resources within business enterprises, she works closely with industry leaders to guide The Turning Point’s development of advanced mortgage-specific solutions. She can be reached via e-mail at judy.margrett@turningpoint.com.
Gauging Customer Satisfaction
By Kim Karouni
One of the key components to winning the battle for the borrower is delivering superior service on a consistent basis. It’s a given that satisfied customers are loyal customers. The challenge is, how do you accurately gauge your customer’s perceptions, and what can you do to increase their level of satisfaction?
Soliciting feedback from customers can provide valuable insight into your company’s strengths as well as areas that can be improved upon. Most lenders are now using some type of surveying tool to gather information from the borrower. How effective the surveys are, however, is up for debate. To get the most relevant, useful information from your customers, consider the following:
Timing. At what point are you requesting feedback? The closing table may not be the best choice—any opinions expressed by your customers at this time will be colored by the inevitable stress of the loan application process. Delivering a survey within a few weeks of the closing will ensure a more objective response.
Content. Carefully consider the questions you include in your survey, and make sure they reflect your key service objectives. Instead of a long list of questions that rehash each individual step of the loan application process, consider fewer questions that focus on your core values. The survey should consist of no more than 5-10 questions. For example, if your company advertises personalized service, your survey questions should be geared towards personalized service. Provide space for comments.
Respond. It is important to respond personally to any “less than positive” feedback. In many cases, you can counteract a negative perception just by letting your customer know they are heard and that their opinion matters.
React. Finally, and most importantly, make good use of the information you receive. Pay close attention to what your customers are telling you. If their perceptions are not in line with your core values, either make course corrections within your organization, or reconsider your value proposition. It may be that your real strengths differ from how you market yourself.
Focus on what you do best, and strive to deliver 100%, 100% of the time. Your customers will appreciate you for it.
Kim Karouni is EVP/Business Development Manager of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. Kim’s 30-plus years in financial services and lending technology includes management positions in residential and commercial production, fulfillment, underwriting, capital markets and warehouse lending. She has also provided consulting services to several top lenders in process re-engineering, technology implementation, portfolio retention strategies and portfolio securitization. Kim can be reached via e-mail at kim.karouni@turningpoint.com.
Resolve To Stay In Touch
By Kim Karouni
Like most people, I typically receive a number of holiday greetings this time of year—from family, friends and acquaintances. This year, I noticed a lot more greetings coming in from vendors I’ve done business with over the year—my insurance agent, various retailers, dentist, etc. No one was trying to sell me anything, just thanking me for my business and wishing me a happy holiday season. I thought it was a nice gesture, and a very smart one.
Guess who I DIDN’T receive a holiday greeting from? My mortgage banker.
What a missed opportunity to touch base and spread a little good will! It’s not that I never hear from my mortgage company—every so often I’ll get a “once in a lifetime offer” in the mail or my email inbox. I typically dispose of these “offers” without opening them. I sometimes wonder if my attitude towards my lender would change if they ever communicated with me when they didn’t want something.
I’m not alone in my perception. In 2009, the “open rate” for e-mail messages coming from the banking/financial services sector was a whopping 8.2%, the lowest rate of any industry surveyed. While it’s much more difficult to track open rates for print mail, my guess is that it may not be that much higher.
Now compare those numbers against response rates for lenders that effectively use loyalty marketing. These lenders stay in touch with their customers on a regular basis, thanking them for their business and letting them know how important they are. When they do send their customer base a “once in a lifetime offer”, they report response rates exceeding 20%. That’s 20% of recipients that not only opened the mail, but responded directly back to the lender. Why such a big difference? These lenders have created a different impression with their customers.
This coming year, resolve to stay in touch with your customers. You’ll feel good about it, your customers will think better of you, and your business will definitely be the better for it!
Kim Karouni is EVP/Business Development Manager of The Turning Point, Inc. The company’s flagship product is MACH3, a mortgage-specific CRM and automated marketing engine. Kim’s 30-plus years in financial services and lending technology includes management positions in residential and commercial production, fulfillment, underwriting, capital markets and warehouse lending. She has also provided consulting services to several top lenders in process re-engineering, technology implementation, portfolio retention strategies and portfolio securitization. Kim can be reached via e-mail at kim.karouni@turningpoint.com.
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