According to data tracking group ATTOM, just 1.25 million mortgages were originated in the first quarter of 2023 in the United States — that’s the lowest number since late-2000 and down 19% from Q4 of 2022.
Those losses can be attributed to a slackening of business as many would-be borrowers worry about rising interest rates, low housing inventories and rising home prices.
Refinances are also sluggish with only 407,956 originated in Q1 2023. That’s the lowest quarterly figure of this century and down 85% from the first quarter of 2021.
Whether volume is down, up or anywhere in between, a marketing automation platform and mortgage marketing CRM is a powerful tool for calibrating communications and providing white-glove service to each and every borrower..
WHAT’S AN AUTOMATED WORKFLOW?
Simply put, a marketing automation workflow is a series of communications that are triggered by a customer’s action or changes made to their CRM contact information. The best mortgage CRMs offer “set it and forget it” automated workflows that allow your team to perform their many other duties while automation stays on top of prospects and guides borrowers through common roadblocks.
There are many types of marketing automation workflows. But for mortgage lenders, the most important are inbound lead workflows, prospect workflows, in-process workflows and post-close workflows.
Let’s look into how each of these workflow types optimizes production.
4 MUST-HAVE WORKFLOWS FOR MORTGAGE LENDERS
- Inbound lead workflows are designed to generate interest in your organization and expedite lead-to-prospect conversion. Once a website visitor engages with your company — for instance, by signing inquiring about mortgage rates —- your marketing automation platform will generate a contact entry within your CRM and begin a cascade of email, text, and mail communications appropriate for this initial stage of the customer journey.
- Prospect workflows are best-known for their ability to convert leads to applicants, but they can also be used to nurture relationships with existing clients and referral partners. A prospect workflow is usually a high-volume workflow, consisting of many interactions with a large number of contacts.
- In-process workflows help you close more loans faster by deploying educational content that talks customers through specific steps in the loan process — getting pre-approved, applying for a loan, working with the underwriter, and, finally, signing the loan documents. Getting a home loan can be one of the most complicated transactions a consumer ever faces. Making the process simpler and more familiar requires deep industry expertise you won’t find in just any marketing automation platform.
- Post-close workflows are designed to help you keep customers for life by maintaining relationships long after the initial transaction. Examples include sending borrowers a closing gift, notifying them when they would benefit from a refinance, or letting them know how their home’s value has changed over time.
HOW TO FREE UP RESOURCES WITH MARKETING AUTOMATION
You don’t need to hire a team of marketing gurus to experience phenomenal success with marketing automation, but you will need the best mortgage CRM that is designed to meet the unique needs of lending professionals.
Read how SecurityNational Mortgage Company uses marketing automation workflows to generate 10 times the leads with 10 times fewer resources with Surefire℠ CRM and Mortgage Marketing Engine.