June 18, 2018

The Most Effective Marketing Strategies in Lending

Most lenders and financial services agents find it really hard to hang on to clients.

Once a transaction is finalized, it’s difficult to justify keeping in touch with clients. According to research carried out by Econsultancy in 2016, only 22% of businesses[1] are happy with their marketing conversion results and 63% of companies say that generating traffic and leads is their biggest challenge.

There are several ways to increase the number of qualified leads generated by your marketing strategies. As the world becomes more technology oriented, automation and simplification are the keys to success. You probably don’t have time to waste on marketing your products, so you want a lot of bang for your bucks.

Before you begin, decide who you're targeting: new or existing customers. In most cases, it’s better to target existing customers because they already trust you and acquisition costs are lower. But in either case, the right marketing strategy is going to be key to your success. Let’s discuss a few of them.

Email Marketing

The most obvious strategy is email marketing. But, as we know, this isn’t always effective.

Most people don’t want to be bombarded with marketing emails. With around 124.5 billion business emails generated each day[2], it is no wonder that most end up in the junk folder, so businesses are having to come up with new and more innovative marketing strategies. What are your options?

If you do elect to send out regular marketing emails, err on the side of caution and keep them targeted and brief. The more you send, the higher the risk your recipient will unsubscribe (78% of recipients admit to unsubscribing if they received too many emails[1]) or forward your mail to the junk folder.

Research carried out by the Direct Marketing Association revealed that targeted emails sent to specific segments generated 58% of all revenue[1].

The more important thing to remember when composing marketing emails is that your content must be relevant to the recipient. Give them a reason to open the email. Make sure the subject line is compelling and that you include a call-to-action in your content, e.g. call me/us today about X.

Ultimately, particularly in lending or real estate, the best way to hold on to clients and groom new ones is by adding value. Homebot for instance uses AI to deliver powerful dashboards and email reports that actually save your customers money.

Citywide Home Loans recently used Homebot sent out 750 digests to clients on their database, of which 725 were opened. That’s a 96% capture rate, which far exceeds the results of a standard email marketing campaign. It proves that people are very receptive to information that clearly shows how much money they can save, either by switching to a different mortgage lender or paying down their existing loan faster.

Nothing builds customer loyalty and referrals more than delivering real value.

Leverage Content Marketing

Since targeted content is far and away the most effective strategy for marketing purposes, it makes sense to extend your content marketing into your social media channels. You can share blog content via social media, which boosts readership and helps to bring new prospects your way.

Write on topics that will be of interest to your readers. As we observed from the Citywide Home Loans case study, readers are interested in content that shows them how they can save money. First-time buyers want easy-to-digest mortgage information and existing homeowners will be interested in new products and topics related to refinancing.

75% of people dislike being fed targeted information via advertising. They much prefer to read the same information in an article or blog.

Keep your content marketing low-key and always write in an engaging, friendly manner. Mix up your content to keep it fresh. It’s a good idea to write about related topics, such as the status of the real estate market, or tips for homeowners looking to sell their properties.

The idea is to build a relationship with your clients. Even if they don’t need your services again, you want them to recommend you to their family and friends.

Not everyone has the time or the inclination to write their own content. That’s OK! Outsource your content writing requirements to a freelancer or content marketing agency, but always quality check before you publish, to make sure the article/blog post fits your brand message.

PPC Advertising

As Homebot customers know, targeted content is the key to success. PPC marketing uses the same principle. For a fee, you can reach clients searching for specific key phrases, such as ‘best mortgage rates’. The more popular the keywords, the more expensive PPC marketing is, but it can be very effective at generating qualified leads.

Most people use search engines to find financial products and carry out research before they buy, so it makes sense to target these people as they pass along the sales funnel. You are in control of how much you spend, so you can always allocate a relatively small budget to PPC, and then increase it if you feel PPC is offering you value for money.

In Summary

Getting new customers is extremely expensive, and keeping existing ones is often even harder. As new acquisition channels seem to pop up on a weekly basis, it’s become an exercise in futility to know the best approach.

At the end of the day, it’s important to stick to the fundamentals - there is no better marketing engine in the world than a happy customer.