New. Fresh. Cutting-edge. RIGHT NOW. Sound familiar? Are your loan officers constantly clamoring for new marketing messages and assets? News, interest rates, market conditions – even seasons – can affect what the borrowing public is thinking, which affects what mortgage loan officers (MLOs) want to say and send to them. With the many marketing angles that salespeople want to pursue at any given time, it’s an ongoing battle for companies to keep their MLOs from acquiring the materials they want, when they want them – outside the purview of your marketing and compliance departments.
The nonstop need for MLOs to have the latest and greatest is like an insatiable beast that causes headaches at the very least and damage to companies and bottom lines at worst. So how does a marketing department keep up with multiple, differing opinions and impatient producers who want relevant material yesterday? Choosing and implementing the right technology solution can help companies reduce – or even eliminate – the temptation for MLOs to “stray outside the organization” for marketing messages and materials: The only thing more attractive to restless salespeople than making more money is making more money with less work.
It’s not uncommon for MLOs to engage in different types of marketing for different lead and contact types, as well as with different referral partners, sending companies on wild goose chases to review and approve multiple assets – if they even know they’re being deployed. MLOs who use multiple systems and sources to capture, connect with, manage and market to leads and contacts may think they’re covering their proverbial bases, but they’re actually diluting their messages and efforts, which creates more work than necessary for marketing and compliance departments.
The right solution can help differentiate parts of the organization reach their goals simultaneously while freeing people up to do what they love and do best. Commitment to technology and automation can do this for mortgage marketing departments and the producers they support and allow these two groups to do the following:
Marketing Departments:
- Spend less time reviewing multiple, disparate materials and more time building and growing brand influence
- Control message, brand, and disclosures for all assets from one place with the ability to add, change and update easily
- Monitor and manage co-marketing easily, without the need to analyze individual assets for accurate cost-sharing, or having to collect payment or generate records
- Create new angles and materials in response to market or other conditions and make them available for use quickly and easily
MLOs and Co-Marketing Partners:
- Spend less time on marketing busywork and more time building relationships and converting leads
- Have choice of fresh, relevant, compliant assets such as open house and rate flyers, email campaigns for prospects, past and present clients, social media posts and direct mail
- Invite referral partners to co-market with cutting-edge messaging and materials that allow you to move quickly and build business together
- Access single and co-branded materials easily and distribute across multipl channels quickly without spending the time to create and get them approved
Getting entrepreneurial-minded salespeople excited about company-driven marketing may sound difficult; however, objections can be converted to buy-in when producers see the ease of access and execution of a multi-channel approach that can be set in motion instantly. MLOs or their support staff can spin the listing of a partner they currently work with – or one they would like to align with – into multiple assets in moments:
- Open house flyers for distribution at the property
- Single property websites that can be promoted on social media
- Database emails
- Every door direct mail (EDDM) to a target area
- Landing pages for lead capture
An overall, easily-deployed marketing strategy that includes fresh, relevant assets is the best way to curb temptation for MLOs to fragment their marketing and efforts across multiple platforms that don’t comply or properly represent your company’s vision, mission and brand. This approach will ensure that MLOs aren’t left to their own devices and under the influence of Realtors who want to try any and every marketing idea that comes across their radar. Playing catch-up is a difficult and dangerous way for marketing and compliance departments to operate, and it behooves them to help company leadership with due diligence in exploring the best solution for your goals and organization.
Truly committing to technology, automation and a single system of record will provide the protection and create the productivity that modern lenders need to grow and win; but companies need to choose their solutions carefully and take a top-down approach to communicate the value, support adoption and celebrate successes continually – not just around the launch. MLOs and Realtors are driven and demanding; but the best way for companies to get them to “play ball” when it comes to marketing and compliance is to help them produce.
