Guaranteed Rate, Rocket apps make a play for lifelong customers

Looking to bring a personal wellness angle to the mortgage loan process for consumers, Guaranteed Rate is rolling out the Rate App, including content from Dr. Deepak Chopra.

The Chicago-based mortgage lender cited a recent survey of 2,000 Americans that claimed 80% of respondents reported experiencing stress every single day. The most significant causes of that stress were identified as financial concerns and health-related issues.

The Rate App's focus differs from Rocket Cos.' Rocket Money app, which has the primary goal of financial-health improvement. Also, while Rocket Money is a subscription service, the Rate App is free, unless consumers are engaging for a financial product, Guaranteed Rate's Chief Growth Officer Scott Stephen said.

When logging in, rather than having to create an account, people can access the service as a guest.

"Victor [Ciardelli, Guaranteed Rate's president and CEO] would say it was his personal journey of wellness, and wanting to have an impact, a positive impact on people's lives," Stephen said in an interview. 

The goal of both Guaranteed Rate and Rocket's apps is to build a relationship with the consumer, an area that many depositories have an interest in, said Craig Martin, managing director and global head of wealth & lending intelligence at J.D. Power. For example, Bank of America is certified for financial health. As noted above, financial issues can increase one's level of personal stress, which is something mortgage servicers working with distressed borrowers have found.

In its 2023 mortgage originator survey, for which the results will be released soon, J.D. Power has added some questions around relationships and financial health it already asks in its banking and credit card surveys.

In the results it found that "at a high level, I would say it absolutely has an impact on satisfaction, how it's executed, how it's presented," Martin said. "Financial health is becoming this really critical part of the puzzle."

Originators that are perceived to provide the highest level of help with the customer's overall financial health have an average satisfaction score of 828, with a net promoter score of 70. For those IMBs in the middle, they have a satisfaction score of 733, with an NPS of 52.

But lenders viewed as not doing much in this area have an average customer satisfaction score of 582 and an NPS of 14, Martin said.

"If you're not recognizing the nature of my financial position, and what's going to happen over time and help me get to a better place, I'm going to be less satisfied," he said.

It goes back to the idea of becoming the trusted advisor for the consumer seeking a mortgage, and that happens over months, not an hour before the search begins, Martin said.

The Rate App is free to everyone and besides the wellness information from Dr. Chopra, also includes mortgage and personal loan services, such as speedy approvals, as well as access to a digital insurance marketplace.

"A shared vision of well-being connected to business leadership is the key to emotional and spiritual bonding," a statement from Dr. Chopra in the press release said. "That's effective leadership."

The wellness portion of the app is in line with Guaranteed Rate's philosophy, as well as its purpose for being in business, Stephen said. Besides the content from Dr. Chopra, the app has nutrition classes and meditation and yoga classes.

So yes, Guaranteed Rate would like to have the consumer make their next loan with them. "We'd be lying if we said anything else," Stephen said. "But more so we want to have a positive impact in their lives and make it available to as many people as we possibly can."

At the end of the day the question that needs to be answered, Martin said, is does this app's purpose resonate with the consumer?

Most people are very careful about what they put on their cell phones.

"Downloading an app is a commitment to a relationship in many regards," Martin said. But that also creates "an adoption barrier," and people need to have a reason to want one.

So the challenge, even with a free app, is "to convince people to download it," Martin said.