TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1133509
30 | TH E M R EP O RT FEATURE your customers' native language— based on customer data, they may reach out proactively to learn more about their options from your team in their first language. On the other hand, mortgages aren't rele- vant for someone who's just trying to make rent each month. That particular financial situation is an opportunity to help these potential future customers grow into better- banked participants in the financial market. Your first conversations, for example, may focus on budgeting and financial literacy. Your multicultural product and service education opportuni- ties should also be available and accessible across platforms. As digital banking rockets into the future, you need to provide the right digital tools and collateral to demonstrate that you're available to support potential home buyers across cultural backgrounds. Count on Fintech F intech is making it easier than ever for lenders to support their customer base by providing customizable content to LOs that's also compliant. These adaptable marketing materials and solutions allow you to scale your brand lo- cally without sacrificing corporate brand quality and control. That means you don't have to be part of a large organization to achieve cultural sensitivity and local engagement. Thanks to fintech innovations, anyone in financial services can leverage tech to provide an inclusive lending experience. Think back to when LOs relied on typewriters, white-out and copy machines to make changes to marketing materials. Those days are long gone. The computer has been replaced by the tablet, and most consumers have heard of cloud computing. Similarly, over half of banked customers primarily access their account through mobile banking products. Ask yourself if your current marketing tools are adapt- able, including those for your local, multicultural audience. If the answer is no, consider this: The United States is home to more native Spanish speakers today than there are in Spain. Globalization is here. It's up to you to human- ize your marketing strategy to meet people where they are and communicate with them in their preferred language, however they're introduced to your products. Start with Your Team T echnology matters and software solutions are key to growth. However, your best asset may still be your team—humanized market- ing can't happen without people. One example of a global brand that has humanized its strategy to dominate in its field is L'Oréal. The makeup giant has been doing multicultural marketing right to drive its growth, and the key to its success is its strategic hiring of multicultural managers. The intercultural competencies of these managers have positioned L'Oréal at the top. The company is able to dominate the global market because its product de- velopment and marketing are led by an empire of managers well- versed in the cultural area where they hope to grow. These teams succeed because their leaders are encouraged to nurture colleagues who share their expertise. L'Oréal has also invested signifi- cantly more in local market research and product development than its competitors. The result is that the company is able to bring new, relevant products out each year. What's the lesson here? The foun- dation of L'Oréal's success is that it focuses on its employees' knowledge and bringing their hyperlocal exper- tise to bear on its product develop- ment. This drives sales. Lenders aren't selling beauty products, but we can still learn from this model to better serve our customers. Being Human L Os must be empowered to help customers. Many tech solutions aimed at facilitating more business transactions at higher speeds are really just trying to make it easier for people to get their messages across with less friction. The takeaway: Tech is here to help people communicate better and faster. With the right tech solutions, bringing your LOs' knowledge to their marketing efforts will happen in a way that fosters understanding and opportunities for customer growth. The magic ingredient is still a human touch. SUE WOODARD is Chief Customer Officer at Total Expert, the first fully integrated, enterprise-level marketing and sales software solution built specifically for the mortgage and banking industries. With 30 years of industry experience in financial services and mortgage industry, Woodward is a subject-matter expert, acclaimed speaker, and recipient of numerous industry honors including the NMP Most Powerful Women in Mortgage Banking, the MPA HOT 100 list, and the NMP Most Innovative Award. She's also chair of the board for HOPE 4 Youth, Minnesota-based nonprofit. Details matter when you're trying to connect. Of course, hyperlocal marketing efforts should pay special attention to the local culture in any language, but it's especially important when mounting a successful multicultural campaign, where honest mistakes may come off as insulting.