Today’s mortgage lenders are working as sales agents pitching their products to the right kind of borrowers. Often, this leads to an increasingly competitive environment amongst lenders to land the ideal clients. That's why marketing your services as a lender is essential. Direct marketing, when done right, targets the right audience with the right message at the right place and time. For lenders, this profile typically is potential borrowers in need of financing that meet specific risk criteria.
But how do you find these ideal clients? In the age of big data, it's become easier to target home buyers and owners who are the best match for your company. Homeowner marketing data has several benefits. Primarily, it enables you, as a lender, to identify the best prospects faster without wasting time and money on targets unlikely to buy your product. This leads to a better return on investment for your marketing spend.
The Role of Marketing Data in Mortgage Lending
Most people – at some point – finance or refinance a home purchase. That's a huge potential client pool but not every potential buyer will meet your lending criteria. Your business may focus on borrowers with distinct risk profiles that differ from other financial institutions. Knowing who to target — and who to leave to another firm — is essential to growing and maintaining your lending business.
Homeowner data enables you to create intelligent marketing lists. This is not a mere list of names and addresses. Instead, it's a vetted roster of potential clients who may meet the criteria of your preferred customer. The money you spend on marketing and outreach to these targeted individuals is therefore more likely to come back in the money you make, as you'll successfully close more deals, in less time.
Before big data, smart marketing lists were hard to develop — it took a lot of time and leg work. Now, with technology and smart algorithms, these lists are less costly, quicker to produce – and more effective than ever before.
Key Metrics Derived From Homeowner Data
So, what does the homeowner data tell you? DataTree marketing lists provide key pieces of information, such as geographic location, property details and the nature of the surrounding market. You can also view proprietary home finance prediction scores to target prime homeowner prospects for refinance, purchase or home equity lending. Sophisticated data analysis can offer precise insight into when and why homeowners are looking to engage with mortgage lenders. This is essential to your business and enables you to focus on target segments as part of your business model.
Timing is key as you have a limited window to get on a client's radar when they begin searching for financing options. Accurate homeowner data is an essential toolkit for this type of predictive marketing and allows you to engage with prime prospects at the beginning.
Overcoming Marketing Challenges
Knowing what a potential customer needs and when they need it, is essential to streamlining marketing efforts. It reduces misused marketing spend on prospects who are not a good fit. However, having the right information does more than just provide insight into new prospects. It also helps better serve your existing clients to develop sustained (and profitable) relationships.
The right homeowner data can help you:
- Acquire new customers through effective targeting
- Re-activate prior customers through intelligent engagement
- Retain current customers though pro-active marketing on anticipated needs
- Up-sell and cross-sell products using in-depth financial customer profiles
As a lender, it is critical to understand the market as a whole so you can best ascertain the number of qualified prospects interested in your offerings. Homeowner data enables you to identify, target and effectively speak to prime prospects whether you sell locally, across the state or nationwide.
Finding the Best Homeowner Data for Your Lending Practice
Accurate homeowner data is an invaluable tool for mortgage lenders. When you're ready to start streamlining your marketing efforts to a targeted audience, DataTree can help. You can get started with a free trial to see how knowing the right information can get you in touch with the best prospects. Learn more today!