Today’s buyers are more informed than they used to be. The act of completing a transaction can be done in the palm of their hands with the click of a button.
Consumers are also taking matters into their own hands to research their problems and weigh possible solutions – potentially eliminating any interaction they would have with a salesperson. To up the stakes even more, 65 percent of consumers have cut ties with a brand after just one subpar experience.
This shift has caused organizations to revamp their sales and marketing strategies and re-think how they interact with their customers – including lenders and their loan officers. To be profitable in the Amazon, Uber and Netflix era, loan officers must develop long-term relationships built on trust and a superior customer experience.
The loan officer that understands their customers’ needs, supports them through the decision-making process and delivers real value from first engagement to post-close is the one that wins.
The less emphasis on the transaction, in turn, leads to more transactions. Here’s how the modern loan officer can rise to the top and maximize the lifetime value of their customers.
Hyper-Personalized Marketing – at Scale
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times as likely to retain customers and, as a result, 19 times as likely to generate ROI.
Personalization has become more than a buzzword and is at the root of deepening customer, prospect and partner relationships. However, before an organization can even begin to think about scaling personalized communications, they must have access to the right data.
Fortunately, advancements in technology have significantly lessoned the burden of collecting and analyzing mountains of data – making it possible to turn your mountains of data into measurable ROI.
While it is not revolutionary to use data to inform marketing decisions, using data to enhance the customer experience at every touchpoint is. When a borrower is on the cusp of purchasing a new home, refinancing or any other life-changing event, they need the right information at the right time. This is where access to the right data and a powerful Marketing Operating System comes into play to deliver this information to them in a personalized manner.
After all, 49 percent of customers have made a purchase with a repeat brand due to a personalized recommendation.
Think Long-Term: Customer for Life
It’s easy to fixate on the next deal, the next transaction and the next customer. However, the numbers don’t lie when it comes to nurturing existing relationships to generate new business.
Cultivating new customers costs five times as much as retaining existing customers. What’s more, an estimated $1.6 trillion dollars has been lost in the U.S. alone from customers switching brands due to poor customer experience.
Plus, odds are, if your customers are satisfied with their experience, new business will come in automatically based on referrals. It pays to keep your customers happy as opposed to continually chasing the next deal to fill the pipeline.
So how do you keep customer satisfaction at an all-time high – transforming first-time customers into customers for life?
Create an exceptional customer experience.
Consumers want to be communicated with on a one-to-one basis. Know your customers’ preferred channel of communication, communicate with them on a regular basis and provide information that is relevant to them based on their current life events.
As people, we are guilty of sticking with our favorite brands no matter how much their prices increase. Why? They’ve earned our trust, their products or services meet our expectations and we know exactly what the experience will be like anytime we interact with their brand.
Conclusion
Today’s consumers are going to continue to have endless options. Now is the time for lenders and loan officers to evaluate their marketing strategies and ensure they are nurturing relationships with personalized messaging before they drive their customers into the arms of their competitors.
The key to growing your ROI? Personalize your marketing and engagement, earn the trust of the borrower and create brand loyalty. Not only will you establish deeper relationships with your customers, you will have earned a customer – for life.
