If there is one thing that has been lacking over the years for many mortgage originators, it is customer loyalty. And it is a two-way street—both sides have tended to treat the transaction as a one-off deal.
There are plenty of successful loan officers who have invested in their database and they make sure they keep in contact with their borrowers for both referrals and future transactions.
But sometimes it is the little things that can help you keep your clients from straying.
Pete Bosse is a consultant specializing in improving the customer experience. He said the root cause of customer defections are poor decisions that usually lead to bad customer experiences.
According to Bosse, "The decisions can often be traced to a failure of leadership, some sort of process breakdown or attributed to poor training or policies gone awry."
He has 10 areas in which a business can explore to create a unique and different customer experience. Not all of them apply to the mortgage sales process (such as Starbucks reemphasizing the smell of coffee in its stores).
The first is to offer added value. Among his examples is Enterprise, a car rental company, which offers bottled water to its customers waiting in line.
Next is to provide human contact, whether the person comes into your retail location (like Wal-Mart) or calls up. USAA, which had been on top of the J.D. Power mortgage originator customer survey until the criteria for participation changed, has its call center personnel answer promptly and they remain on the phone until all business is concluded, Bosse said.
Another suggestion is to create your own currency, something akin to a frequent flyer program or Kohl dollars. Mortgage marketing expert Karen Deis (who also writes a blog on this site) has suggested creating a program with a local car wash company and offering clients and referral sources vouchers.
As for the latest marketing trend, social media, Bosse said use it to create a dialogue and build relationships with your customers, but don't expect quick results in terms of getting new business.
Another point is to treat customers nice. He pointed out that Chick-fil-A and Ritz Carlton employees respond to customer interactions with "my pleasure."
Finally, you should map customer touch-points. Bosse said, "If you do nothing else, identify and choreograph the customer experience that you want to deliver. Otherwise, the touch-points will evolve based on operational or financial constraints. Think how Disney handles queuing lines: entertaining hundreds of people standing in line, despite hot weather, by leveraging an opportunity to excite and engage their customers."
Disclosure: I or members of my immediate family own stock in Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Disney.
