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If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I believe mortgage loans will be a little tougher to come by in 2018. I know, I’m not the only one. Lenders need to find new and better ways to attract consumers and acquire their business.
Much of the talk has centered on what is needed to service the new generation of home buyers. Most of it involves the Millennials and their propensity toward the use of technology.
Would it surprise you to find that it’s not just the Millennials who feel this way?
A recent survey conducted by Velocify, of El Segundo CA, a provider of sales acceleration software, found that across all generations of consumers want more online access to a lender with the capability for digital communication.
Based on their survey results, the borrowers that found their mortgage lender online over the past two years:
- 46% were Millennials
- 42% were Gen Xers, and
- 32% were Baby Boomers
It looks as though everyone wants to get into the act. In fact, almost half of those surveyed who got a mortgage in the past year found their lender online.
That’s a pretty big jump from just 5 to 10 years ago when only about 13% of borrowers went online for their lender. Are you out there?
Looks like lenders need to have an online presence to get/take new applications and communicate with new customers. That’s what they expect.
When doing so, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Most Millennials prefer to work online via chat more than through phone or in person communication
- Gen Xers preferred more email and less phone communication during the process, while
- Baby Boomers wanted more in person and telephone communications.
Interestingly, although some percentage of each group wanted access to online communications,
40% of all groups still want available telephone and personal communication when needed or desired.
To be successful in 2018 and beyond, lenders need to do it all; online, via telephone, and when necessary, in person. Are you prepared?
Keep in mind, the more business that is done online, the more the need for lockdown cybersecurity. Consumers will be entrusting you with their most private personal information. It is your responsibility to protect that data at all costs. A data breach could be catastrophic.
Further, lenders need the capability to validate an applicant’s identity and qualifying information. With technology playing a bigger role, safeguards must be in place to protect the information collected while verifying that it is accurate and legitimate. Not an easy task.
Welcome to the future.
