Mortgage CRM, Customer Loyalty or Referral System?

One of the biggest fallacies in the mortgage CRM business is that you are creating a customer database for repeat business. The fact is that 70% of mortgage customers couldn’t tell you the name of their mortgage broker on their last transaction days later.

That simply means that every customer starts from scratch every 5-7 years when they go to get their next mortgage. What you are playing for is a referral from that past client, based on your lead nurturing strategy.

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Repeat Customers

The statistics are what they are: homeowners purchase or refinance a home once every 5-7 years. The average mortgage broker is in business about three years. That means that by the time the average customer goes to get a new mortgage the mortgage broker is out of business. So, most homeowners simply skip that step and go on the hunt for someone to help them online or by asking friends.

Loyal Customers

In a good mortgage CRM you should be creating loyal customers as much or more after the closing than before the transaction. You want them to give you permission to engage them from time to time about mortgage news and information. This permission will not only motivate them to pay attention to their own needs, but they will increasingly be tuned into conversations that are opportunities for you to get a referral.

Referral Customers

Your CRM should be segmented and tracking your top referral customers. These are the people that you should be sending thank-yous and incentive to. Don’t ask them for their mortgage refinance business–ask them to tell-a-friend.

Referral Partners

The same thing applies to local businesses and professional pillar business. You should be creating “channel” partners of your community leaders, doctors, attorneys, and accountants.

Stop thinking of your CRM as a sales system and start managing it like a referral system.

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