On Total Expert’s Fresh Takes podcast, Chief Customer Officer Sue Woodard talked to Michael Guidotti, Vice President of Integration and Branch Technology at American Pacific Mortgage, about how mortgage lenders can use technology to cultivate deeper customer relationships.
His advice? Learn from your own experiences as a customer, leverage existing technology solutions, and work toward complete visibility across customer lifecycles.
Take a Walk in Your Customer’s Shoes to Identify Opportunities to Improve
A great way to find out how you can provide a better customer experience is to reflect on your own transactions with a lender.
If you’ve bought a house before, was there something your lender did that made it a memorable experience? Maybe your loan officer wished you a happy birthday or sent you a handwritten note congratulating you and your partner on your new home.
Or maybe they could have done something differently that would have made your life easier.
As a mortgage pro, you can then reverse engineer any wins or gaps you experienced as a customer into a process improvement.
Get More Value Out of the Tools You Already Have
2020 was a watershed year for technology adoption in the mortgage industry as the workforce went remote. In the process, a lot of lenders realized that the tools they already had could unlock incredible customer experience outcomes.
At American Pacific Mortgage, Michael’s team leaned into existing functionalities to drive engagement and set loan officers up for success. That meant leveraging tech platforms to give loan officers prescriptive, predictive analyses and keep them tuned into key market trends and customer updates.
In practice, these tools empower loan officers to be more proactive. When data tells them which customers are opening refinance campaigns and who among those customers are suitable for a refinance, they can reach out before a customer does.
Ensure Continuity Across the Entire Customer Lifecycle
Every note your loan officer makes about the smallest customer detail could be the difference that makes a customer keep coming back. Don’t let that note get lost in the shuffle.
Once you start making better use of your existing technology, ensure your whole team has visibility across the entire customer lifecycle, from lead to loan. Integrations between tools enable your loan officers to act on key data points to deliver a meaningful experience.
All touchpoints with a customer, from a phone call with a lead to an email with a long-time borrower, should be logged and accessible on a centralized digital platform. Eventually, you’ll be able to empower your loan officers with an action plan for success based on those customer journeys.
Streamline Your Technology Workflows to Deepen Customer Relationships
After you’ve reflected on your own mortgage customer experience, look for ways technology can help your loan officers deliver that same experience – or an even better one.
To get there, build a clear roadmap for your loan officers with a centralized technology workflow.
For more of Michael’s insights, listen to the full Fresh Takes episode!
