The mortgage advisory and consulting firm STRATMOR Group released its September Insights Report, highlighting the demonstrative benefits of lenders sharing their stories with borrowers and teammates with respect to building strong relationships, retaining leads, recruiting top talent and driving revenue.
In the report, STRATMOR Customer Experience Director Mike Seminari shared his own journey from aspiring musician to mortgage industry and customer experience expert to illustrate how taking a personal approach with borrowers can improve a company’s success.
“Think about your company website, especially the heavily visited ‘about us’ section,” Seminari exaplained. “If I held my hand over the logo, would I know the difference between your company and every other lender out there? You, your team members, your customers, and your partners all have stories to tell. And today, it's more important than ever.”
STRATMOR’s data indicated 90 percent of borrowers chose their lender based on either their own experience or the experience shared by someone else they knew or trusted.
Referring to stories from tenured industry experts, Seminari identified four types of stories that are important to tell:
- Origin story
- Brand story
- Customer story
- Employee story
Seminari described cultivating and sharing company stories as just one piece of a larger puzzle. He encouraged lenders to also consider the role they play in their borrowers’ stories. He said he uses the “hero’s journey” story structure to illuminate points during the process loan officers should consider providing valuable assistance to borrowers, asserting that doing so can makes the experience more memorable and worth sharing with others.
In the same report, STRATMOR Senior Advisor Brett McCracken shared his observations from recent “secret shopping” client engagements to demonstrate how inconsistent the borrower experience is with most lenders.
McCracken described how building a franchise model can help lenders standardize processes and operational efficiency to create a more predictable environment for business success. He also suggested various strategies for fixing the problem of inconsistency, starting with taking a closer look at how branches identify and acknowledge problems within the process.
To access the complete report, follow this link.