In the mortgage industry, the one thing that is critical to a lenders business is customization. As lenders have to build their business around distinct customer segments, customization can transform the borrower-lender relationship into a personalized experience that customers crave for.
But what does personalization mean for the lender? It means engaging with the customer in their preferred ways at different touch points. In the traditional form of engagement it would mean the lender visiting the buyer’s home for helping him with the loan process. Surely, it meant making things a lot convenient for the buyer. Personalization is particularly important for new borrowers, who seek constant reassurances, preferably from the comfort of their homes, that the lender is tailoring the process to their needs.
In today’s technology driven age, getting in touch with buyers at their homes has gone out of fashion. In fact, the concept of personalized experience has a taken a big leap forward and entails getting in touch with them real-time. If your success as real estate professional is tied to how happy your clients are, then its time for lenders need to go digital to deliver homebuyers the ultimate personalized experience.
Customizing Offerings with a Digital Platform
Truly speaking, home buyers want a mix of digital and face-to-face interactions throughout the mortgage process. They are comfortable starting off with a face to face interaction. Thereafter, they wouldn’t mind being updated through other means of communication like phones. But once the association takes off, the onus of building the relationship lies with the lender. They need to ensure that the customer is comfortable and confident at all times. The key to this lies in embracing a digital sales platform.
Digital platforms help to tailor a customized experience by understanding buying behavior at different stages of the buying process. For instance, the first-time home buyer segment is typically less financially savvy and more adverse to risks. Catering to this section can be more challenging as they are unlikely to commit themselves easily.
By leveraging digital platforms, lenders can win them over with greater ease as they can personalize their offerings with educational materials and make it possible for them to set up meeting requests with a loan officer anytime and anywhere. All these go a long way in boosting first-time buyer confidence.
In contrast, investor buyers have more experience and consequently less emotional involvement. They value a lower-touch, streamlined and quick process. For such customers, a digital platform introduces features like automated text message alerts and online interactions. These features enable real time updates which simplifies the process of communication. Likewise, such customers can leverage a customized app provided by the lender to upload and store docs, sign and submit docs on the go, access information from one log-in, set reminders and even deposit checks.
A recent report found that 3 out of 5 borrowers want their lender to offer them a mobile app with advanced capabilities. Investing in digital initiatives can help lenders differentiate themselves in more ways than one. A quick shift would mean improved customer relationships and greater market share.
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