You are here: Home - Your Community - Poll -

Regular communication is key to client loyalty – poll result

by:
  • 30/11/2016
  • 0
Regular communication is key to client loyalty – poll result
Brokers have been urged not to take their client relationships for granted, and maintain contact after a mortgage deal completes.

A poll run by Mortgage Solutions revealed more than three quarters of brokers (78%) said their clients had wanted to stay in regular contact after the mortgage had completed.

James Mole, head of mortgages and finance at Nova Financial, said that maintaining contact with clients was imperative, but suggested the best approach would vary depending on the borrower.

He explained: “We find landlords especially love to talk to their broker, even when they have no immediate mortgage need. Because of this they often ring us up for a chat. This allows them to keep up to date on developments in the market. It’s of benefit to both sides as it helps the client keep their knowledge up to date, whilst helping the broker maintain and improve the relationship.”

“We maintain contact using newsletters, blogs, emails and phone calls. Usually we discuss this with each client, so we can take their preferences into consideration,” he added.

Martin Stewart, director at London Money, said: “Clients don’t sit there every month thinking about their broker once they have the keys to the house. You have to keep in their subconscious, but without doing it so much that you become a turn-off.

“We do a newsletter once a month – it may have some market news in there, but we try to keep it engaging, with some humour. We always get a few emails back from clients asking follow-up questions, which is great. It’s almost like sending them a text message to remind them that we are here – even if they don’t regularly read them, it means it isn’t a complete surprise when we contact them at the end of their fixed rate to discuss their options.”

The issue of lenders muscling in on brokers’ relationships with their clients has risen in prominence recently, as some lenders are approaching their existing borrowers up to six months ahead of the expiration of their product term.

Stewart said he had some sympathy for lenders that do this though. He explained: “It is stupid to believe that you will have a client forever. I understand why lenders approach clients like this, as we are all fighting over the same asset essentially. Brokers would be very careless to take that relationship for granted. The worst thing you can do is not speak to the borrower at all for two years, and then call them just before their fixed deal comes to an end.”

Mole added: “Although sometimes a client will go straight to a lender, I find it rare. Often, after a bad experience, they come back for the more personal relationship a broker provides.”

There are 0 Comment(s)

Comments are closed.

You may also be interested in