TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1467358
36 | M R EP O RT FEATURE Build a More Supportive Experience for Borrowers K eeping online mortgage ap- plicants in the sales funnel should be your primary goal until they hit that submit button. A survey conducted by McKinsey found that reassurance, transpar- ency, simplicity, and speed are the most critical aspects for a customer during their mortgage journey. When borrowers come across roadblocks like complex terminology or complicated concepts in their mortgage that disrupt their application, they may become distracted from the process. Additionally, what happens when those people open up a new browser tab to look for information? They may find the answers they need relatively quickly—but they'll also see adver- tisements from your competitors. Contextual help within the application can answer commonly asked borrower questions for them—reducing the likelihood that your borrower will click away to look something up. Provide your customers with clear next steps by keeping their online mort- gage experience streamlined and straightforward. Layering behavioral data with existing contextual help resources in your mortgage process will also help to make the experience feel personal. For example, if a borrower stays on one page for too long, maybe a pop-up offers to connect them with a team member, or a chatbot comes in to help unblock them. All bor- rowers will have different needs and questions. Lenders need to understand how and where they can best support and nurture their prospects to increase conversions and gain more business. Predict Conversions Upstream F or most lenders, the first engagement consumers have with their home lending brand is in the shopping phase. Today, mortgage consumers typically do research online to learn about their options before engaging with a specific lender. Start building brand equity early by enabling consumers with intuitive self-serve experiences, like loan calculators and educational resources. Experiences in these early stages can also capture behavioral data to help you assess how serious a prospect is about moving forward with an application. However, when consumers en- counter outdated information and obscure menus, they may leave and never come back. Behavioral data is critical in understanding these touchpoints and how each influences prospects' next move so lenders can optimize tools to reach their lending goals. Increase the Customer Lifetime Value W ith a deep understanding of the borrower's journey, you can fine-tune each step between attracting potential customers and closing loans. Borrowers who have felt like their mortgage journey was easy and personal will keep coming back. In addition, lessons gleaned from behavioral analytics can help you keep your customers happy over the long term. A first-time mortgage cus- tomer might be interested in other financial services and products months or years down the line. Analytics will help you understand when to approach each customer with new offers, increasing their lifetime value to your organization. And as you retain existing customers, you likewise increase your chances of generating new referrals from those same satisfied customers. The cumulative effect, then, can reshape the growth trajectory of your business. By providing a personal, engaging, and transpar- ent experience to your custom- ers, you drive brand loyalty and increase CLTV. Executing a Personalized Home Lending Strategy C ustomer engagement matters for all businesses—it builds trust, establishes personal connections and company loyalty, and, most importantly, keeps business flowing in. But in the home lending world, borrower engagement isn't just important: it's essential. Now more than ever, borrowers hold the power in the transaction. After all, they are the decision-makers in an oversaturated market with unlimited choices and flexibility. If they can't find lenders who will meet their needs quickly and efficiently, they won't hesitate to walk away and find a lender who can. The modern lender has to meet the challenges of the current landscape through meaningful connections and solid engagement right from the start. Otherwise, they risk losing not only the client before them but also the ripple effect of potential referrals. Leveraging behavioral data and insights is a critical step for any lender or bank to inform their decisions and create an experience that meets the evolving needs of their customers. Further, today's lenders need to consider how their digital lending infrastructure enables them to change their process in near real- time in response to behavioral analytics. A highly configurable system that can support multiple lending channels and workflows will easily scale as the industry evolves. RAJESH BHAT is the CEO and Co-Founder of Roostify. An innovator and technologist, Bhat came up with the vision to create an accelerated and streamlined home lending process through his own challenges as a first-time homebuyer. He created Roostify to provide consumers and bank teams with increased transparency, simplicity, and an overall better experience in the home lending journey. Since its launch in 2014, Bhat has built up Roostify to be one of the top digital lending platforms in the home lending industry, with over $50 billion a month in loan volume across 200 financial institutions. The modern lender has to meet the challenges of the current landscape through meaningful connections and solid engagement right from the start. Otherwise, they risk losing not only the client before them but also the ripple effect of potential referrals.