TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1181586
28 | M R EP O RT FEATURE 4. Missing a scheduled callback—If someone asks for a call back at a certain time, call them back at that time. Dialers have sched- uled call back features that users should be well aware of. If the loan officer is occupied during the call back time, an automated courtesy email or text will typi- cally satisfy to reschedule for a short time later without many repercussions. Marketing Campaigns Gone Right T he best marketers have moved away from "lead- based marketing" and have deployed a more personalized, one-to-one engagement strategy called "people-based marketing," using an omnichannel approach. In other words, the consumer is receiving an engagement mes- sage and cadence across multiple channels (phone, email, direct mail, sms, digital ads, etc.) that is unique to them. For example, when "Mike Smith" fills out an online inquiry, he'll receive an immediate phone call with a voicemail left by a real person. "Hi, Mike. This is Lauren at XYZ Mortgage, and I just received your inquiry about a mortgage. It's Tuesday at 1:40 p.m., and I'm sorry to have missed you. Please call me back at your convenience. I look forward to helping you." Then, a text message and an email are sent automatically, ap- pearing to be personally written by Lauren. If Mike responds to the text, that is flagged as his preferred contact method moving forward. If Mike goes stale for a month and the marketer is informed by a third-party data vendor that Mike is back in the market for a mortgage, then the timing is right to re-engage. If the vendor indicates Mike is interested in a home equity loan, then future marketing messages are scheduled for home equity or cash-out messages to improve click-thru performance. Lenders who use dialers often get excited to use the automated voicemail feature that will leave a pre-recorded message for all consumers at specific points in the funnel (e.g. all "dial attempt five" consumers will get the same voicemail). However, performance improves greatly when voicemails are genuine and unique. Let the loan officers leave a well-scripted first-dial voicemail that uses the consumer's name along with referencing the time and day. For subsequent voicemail in the calling cadence, consider using the same pre-recorded voicemail that the loan officer recorded that morning referencing the day or date. Consumers will recall the first dial voicemail and assume subsequent voicemails were per- sonalized as well. Text messaging and emails should be coordinated with the call cadence and should be synchronized with one another and appear to be written by the loan officer personally. How do lenders know when they've won at creating a winning text and email marketing campaign at scale? When the consumer sends a response that appears as if they are responding to the loan officer directly—"Hi, Lauren, happy Friday to you too. Thanks for texting about my mortgage. I'm swamped and can't answer my phone now. Does tonight at 6:30 work?" SUCCESS! How to Leverage First- and Third- Party Data G aining a clear picture of your prospects through the use of third-party data will greatly im- prove your ability to personalize your marketing and increase win rates. When consumers submit a quote inquiry or complete a lead form, basic contact and loan scenario information is received. Name, address, phone, email, loan amount, property value, loan type, etc. can all be used in per- sonalization. However, some data- as-a-service providers offer more information about the consumers you care about enabling you to create a high-quality "people- based marketing" strategy with far superior results. Knowing exactly when specific consum- ers are actively visiting mortgage comparison websites throughout their mortgage shopping journey would allow you to deliver timely one-to-one engagement, substan- tially improving the performance of those engagements. Generic, lead-based market- ing strategies have quickly lost momentum due to declining performance. By combining a lender's first-party data with third-party data from data-as-a- service providers, marketers can create better strategies and market to consumers as if they know them. Each engagement attempt a marketer attempts should be done in a thoughtful and meaningful way since each failed engagement attempt means a lower chance of successfully converting that consumer." MIKE ESHELMAN is the Head of Consumer Finance at Jornaya, a data-as-a-service platform that delivers consumer-journey insights to publishers, marketers, analytics, and compliance professionals with the highest-resolution view of the consumer buying journey. Great marketing is difficult for a variety of reasons and is a constant work in progress. Implementing personalized marketing automation campaigns at scale and across multiple platforms requires a lot of energy and focus given the amount of detail required, but it will pay dividends for years to come.