23 Oct Top Priorities for 2010
I recently attended the 96th Annual Mortgage Bankers Convention in San Diego and had the opportunity to speak with many vendors and lenders. We discussed technology’s role in successfully navigating the mortgage industry. Many discussions revolved around how technology can assist with compliance, new rules and regulations, fraud and valuation. They also included loan modifications, HVCC, appraisal independence, the new GFE and potential M&A activity to name a few. Lenders and vendors are embracing technology to streamline their operations while dealing with many of the challenges listed above.
With all of that being said, the most common theme throughout all of those discussions came down to two top priorities: customer acquisition and retention. This is further validated by a recent survey from Unisfair, which stated that marketer’s top priorities for 2010 are focused on attracting and retaining current customers. The survey went on to say that these executives plan to use social media technology to accomplish these top priorities. The Unisfair survey provided some key findings:
The 3 leading marketing priorities in 2010:
New customer acquisition (60%)
Customer retention and engagement (48%)
Thought leadership (45%)
The top 5 marketing tactics marketers planned to increase in their 2010 marketing mix:
Social media (75%)
Web search/SEO (51%)
Email campaigns (49%)
Virtual events (48%)
Online advertising (28%)
Each of these marketing tactics involves the use of innovative technology by companies to increase customer acquisition, retention and thought leadership. While most vendors and lenders would agree with these top priorities, the majority of lenders and vendors in the mortgage industry still do not fully understand or embrace social media technology.
One of the biggest mistakes these executives make, besides not embracing social media, is not thinking of social media in the strategic way that they approach other methods for customer acquisition, retention and thought leadership. Social media is serious business and can produce quantifiable results when approached in a strategic manner. It is no longer just a cute way of quickly communicating with family and friends. It is a powerful and innovative technology that businesses can use to drive customer acquisition, retention and thought leadership.
As the mortgage industry looks to move forward and is cautiously optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead in 2010, technology will definitely play a roll. Not just in the products and services that lenders and vendors will offer but also in the way that technology such and social media is used to drive customer acquisition and retention. While more mortgage industry participants are exploring social media technology (AMC’s, POS providers, Data providers, Lenders) by using twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, we are only scratching the surface of truly embracing this technology.
Do you agree that customer acquisition, retention and thought leadership are top priorities for 2010? Has your company implemented social media strategies to address these top priorities? If so, which tools are you using and what type of results are you getting? If your company has a twitter account, Facebook page or LinkedIn corporate profile please send us your address to follow. We would like to follow your company and report back in future posts on how companies in the mortgage industry are embracing social media.