Mortgage companies received across-the-board low marks when it comes to their attentiveness to new potential customers, as rated in a “secret shopper” study conducted by leads software management provider Leads360.
The Los Angeles-based maker of leads management software conducted a study of nearly 20 mortgage companies to rank their responsiveness to new leads. They logged phone and email responses from those companies and measured speed-to-phone and speed-to-email times. The findings? Quicken Loans, with an “A-” average, was the only company of those surveyed to receive better than a “B” overall.
“Many lenders are damaging their business prospects unnecessarily by taking too long to respond to inquiries,” a white paper on the study notes.
“Nearly half of the lenders surveyed failed to average even a single call attempt to contact each prospect; clearly demonstrating an unacceptably low level of responsiveness to consumers,” Leads360 writes. “Perhaps even more troubling is the inconsistency in responding to similar leads within the same lending institution. The research strongly suggests that some leads are pursued doggedly while others are left completely untouched. In an age of increased competition within the industry, this lack of consistency should be seen as a major red flag for mortgage lenders because it demonstrates a fundamental absence of appropriate processes, compliance and management.”
The measures of responsiveness showed lacking results, with 74% of lenders failing to attempt contact with a new lead via telephone within the first 24 hours after the lead was submitted, and only 58% of lenders responding via email within the same time frame.
“The lack of a thoughtful and consistent consumer response strategy is resulting in lost opportunities and lost origination volume,” Leads360 says. “Most importantly for the industry, the customer experience of searching for reliable mortgage information, contacting a prospective lender and receiving responsive, appropriate information and service from a lender is a game of hit-and-miss…at best.”
View the report card.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
