It’s no secret that today’s seniors are increasingly tech-savvy. Study after study has revealed that the nation’s older demographic is turning to the Internet for information about health, products and finances, and reverse mortgages are no exception.
Nowadays, prospective borrowers are going online to learn about the loan and find a lender, making it more important than ever for reverse professionals to market their services on the Web.
In an effort to do so, lenders big and small are taking steps to elevate their online presence: fine-tuning their websites, posting educational resources and utilizing social media to spread the word.
Knowing Your Audience
Nearly 60 percent of American seniors are online, according to a study published last year by the Pew Research Institute. Among those seniors, 71 percent say they log on nearly every day, and 46 percent say they use social media sites like Facebook.
Furthermore, global market research firm Radius reports that when it comes to shopping, seniors are likely to do their homework online. A 2013 study by the agency indicated that 86 percent of baby boomers regularly research products on the Web. Our own research falls in line—all five of the reverse mortgage borrowers we spoke with for last month’s cover story said they went online to learn about the loan before picking up the phone.
Senior marketing expert Jim Gilmartin says statistics like these highlight how crucial it is for those selling products to older consumers to promote themselves online. “Anyone selling a product or service who doesn’t understand the value or the impact that the Internet has had on purchasing power of the world, and specifically of these folks in the fall and winter of life, is really making a mistake.”
“A significant amount of people are getting more and more involved digitally. It’s becoming much easier for people of those generations to get online,” says Gilmartin, whose agency, Coming of Age, based in Oakbrook, Illinois, focuses specifically on marketing to older consumers.
Gilmartin says baby boomers are mostly logging on to shop and to research products of interest. “They’re looking for anything that is going to help them improve their quality of life,” he says. “They also check out online what people are saying about the products or the services they’re interested in.”
Gilmartin says that older consumers are especially discerning and most research products—talking to friends and family and searching the Internet—before making a commitment. “They walk in with some information; they don’t walk in cold. So they are becoming quite savvy.”
Steve Chen, founder of newretirement.com, says this is especially true when it comes to financial products. His website, which provides information about financial tools like reverse mortgages, has had more 18 million visitors since it launched nearly 10 years ago—proof that consumers really are doing their research.
“There are 75 million baby boomers out there, and there are 35 million current retirees. That’s 110 million people just in the U.S., and at least half of them are at risk of having a lower quality of life in retirement,” Chen says. “We think we can help many people make better decisions and use their resources more effectively.”
Chen says his site offers a free, unbiased source of information to help discerning consumers explore their financial options.
“Consumers are definitely getting more sophisticated. They are shopping around more. They realize that it’s good to talk to different lenders or different providers of various products. There are many more tools available out there for them, so I think they are trying to do as much research and discovery as they can on their own.”
Expanding Your Reach
Aware of this trend, reverse lenders are doing what they can to spread the word about their services.
Scott Gordon, CEO of top-10 reverse mortgage lender Open Mortgage, says digital marketing is a huge focus for the company. “I would say it is one of the single most important things we do,” he says.
Gordon says that it is essential for an originator to maintain a strong online presence because it not only allows them to be found by an unknown consumer, it validates their integrity for those they have already met.
“You might meet someone in person, and they’re going to research you. Your presence online has to look good so when they look you up, they go, ‘Wow, this person clearly has a lot of experience.’ It validates the fact that you’re a professional… The other part of the equation is being found by people who don’t know you. That will happen if you have webpage or a blog.” Gordon says Open provides blog templates for its originators, syndicating content they can publish and also post on social media sites.
Gordon says Open believes in the importance of social media, and that it utilizes tools that publish customer testimonials on various sites. “It’s referral-based marketing,” he says. “You’re finding out what your friends think, not just finding ads.”
Mary Smith, chief marketing officer at Liberty Home Equity Solutions, says her company also utilizes social media as part of its digital marketing campaign. “Liberty has several social media sites, including a YouTube channel. We use social media when helpful to complement and reinforce the messaging of our traditional digital marketing efforts. For example, we post educational videos and customer testimonials on YouTube and often direct customers to the YouTube link from our website or email campaigns.”
Smith says Liberty places a strong emphasis on digital media. “It is a very, very important part of our marketing mix,” she says, adding that Liberty focuses on “tried and true” strategies like pay-per-click (PPC), display and content advertising.
Other key components that can draw visitors are educational resources. Smith says Liberty’s website offers visitors useful tools and information that can help draw them in. “Our website is very rich in educational content for both seniors and loan officers, and features a reverse mortgage calculator that allows users to estimate how much money they might receive from a HECM reverse mortgage.”
Like Open, Liberty provides support for originators to promote themselves online. “We provide our originators personalized example websites (with their photos and contact information) and templates for social sites such as LinkedIn and email marketing. This way, we ensure that everything that interfaces with our consumers is fully compliant with effective and tested messaging.”
Smith says online marketing is ideal for testing the effectiveness of a campaign. “What I love about digital marketing is the speed in which you can test, improve and optimize your marketing campaigns. You can test copy, design and layout without investing a lot of money and get insights into its effectiveness within hours, compared to weeks and months for traditional media. This means you can quickly improve performance.”
However you choose to go about it, the bottom line is that digital marketing is increasingly important. “Seniors are turning to the Internet more and more for information and education,” Smith says, “so lenders that don’t have an online presence are missing out on an opportunity.”
Enhancing Your Visibility
For originators looking to improve their online visibility, establishing a quality website is the first step. According to Gilmartin, the No. 1 error people make when marketing to seniors online is in their site design.
“They design their site for a youth market, they don’t design them for people who are having problems with their vision. They use colors that aren’t really effective in these markets. The size of the copy should be at least 16 point, using serif type,” he says. “Make sure all the links work, that it makes sense and that your information flows like a story… Less is really more when you’re online. People squeeze 10 pounds of copy into a 5-pound Web page, and that doesn’t work well with these markets. Less can be more.”
Gilmartin says there are companies that can help design a website specifically for older consumers, adding that input from people in your market can be helpful. “If your website is designed by somebody who is under 30, my advice is to get some people who are 62-plus to come in and take a look and give some feedback.”
Gordon says blogs can be extremely helpful for originators looking to enhance their online exposure, and that social media sites are equally important. According to Gordon, Google Plus can be key to elevating one’s online searchability.
“It has never become Facebook, but anything you are putting together to post on Facebook or LinkedIn, you can post on Google Plus too. It allows Google to know you, and Google is the one who ranks you. So even though the world hasn’t adopted Google Plus in a big way, Google pays attention to it.”
Perfecting Your Message
While website design and social media activity may be key components to connecting with clients, it’s just as important to offer the right message once the connection has been made. According to Gilmartin, salespeople can be most effective if they strive to understand the client and what he calls their “values and motivators.”
“Seniors look for anything that is going to help them put more control in their lives. They look for people who are going to provide experiences and who don’t push the product but push the company and the product as the gateway to the kinds of meaningful experiences these folks are looking for.”
Gilmartin says that, for this demographic, building a relationship is key. “If you focus on the values and motivators of the people in the stages of life you’re trying to get to, the chances are you will then connect more effectively and efficiently with them and get them to take the kind of action you want them to take.”
Finally, it’s important to be genuine, no matter what medium you use. “If you want to be effective in these markets, be authentic,” Gilmartin says. “Don’t create a lot of hype, a lot of nonsense. These people have been around for quite some time; they’ve experienced quite a lot in their lives; they’ve learned from all of that and they are smarter than the average bird.”
