Smart Mortgage Marketing

If I had to choose one marketing tip for mortgage loan officers to put above all others, I think it would be the following:

In a time when consumer trust toward mortgage companies is in the toilet, you need to work extra hard to encourage trust from your audience.

Why do I stress this loan officer marketing tip above others? Because there is an enormous lack of trust among the public right now, with regard to lending institutions, mortgage companies, etc. Every time you turn on the news these days, you hear about the mortgage crisis in this country, and how it can be traced back to the “easy lending” practices of the subprime boom.

Of course, you and I both know that consumers bear some of the blame in all of this, but John Q. Public does not see it that way. John Q. Public thinks a mortgage company will do anything to sell him on a particular mortgage product, even if it’s going to bite him in the butt five years from now.

So my marketing advice for loan officers is to focus on rebuilding trust with your ideal audience. This loan officer marketing tip should be on the top of your list in the coming months. I’ve offered some tips on how to encourage trust in a related mortgage marketing article on the site.

I hope this loan officer marketing tip helps you grow your business in the new year. Happy holidays.

You may not realize this, but you have a powerful mortgage marketing tool at your disposal, right this very moment. No, it’s not some kind of software. In fact, it’s not even something you can purchase. It’s you!

Surely you have seen the ads for mortgage marketing products that promise to boost your mortgage business to the next level. In truth, however, not one of these products actually has the power to do that, not by itself anyway. There is only one mortgage marketing tools that can have such a positive impact on your business … and that tool is you.

You Are Your Best Marketing Tool

Here’s the simple point I’m making. If you go shopping for a mortgage marketing tool to elevate your business to some higher level, you are going to be disappointed and frustrated. All marketing starts with starts with great products and big ideas — mortgage marketing is no different. The “tools” only help you communicate those things to your audience.

Top 5 Mortgage Marketing Tools

Now we know that you are your best “tool” for marketing purposes. So what are some of the other top marketing tools? Here are four more things you should have in your toolkit:

1. Persistence - Repetition plays a big role in mortgage marketing. First you experiment with a certain marketing technique to see how it works. Then you modify that technique as needed and compare the results to the first attempt. Then you repeat the process, continuously. This process requires patience and persistence — two mortgage marketing tools you’ll certainly need.

2. Imagination - Without imagination, the best you can do is mimic the marketing strategies of other mortgage professionals. But mimicry will only carry you so far, especially if you copy a strategy that is either ineffective or widely used already. Imagination, on the other hand, can help you identify and harness the next big idea in mortgage marketing. And big ideas can yield big results.

3. Enthusiasm - Communicating with current clients and potential clients is a major part of your marketing program. If you communicate with passion, professionalism and enthusiasm, your message will become “contagious.” And what better tool for mortgage marketing than an army of advocates? Spread your message with enthusiasm, and people will help you spread it without even being asked.

4. Adaptability - Communication methods change frequently and constantly. The Internet, for example, has opened up a new spectrum of possibilities. (Witness the current explosion of mortgage websites and blogs.) As the communication landscape changes, you must be able to change with it. You must be able to adapt to new mediums and methods. So make sure adaptability is one of the mortgage marketing tools in your kit.

The Common Thread

What do all of these mortgage marketing tools have in common? Well, as we mentioned, you can’t buy any of them in a store. You are either born with these things, or you work hard to acquire them as you go along. But if you refer back to the beginning of this article, you’ll remember the good news — you already have the most powerful mortgage marketing tool. You have yourself. Everything else can be learned.

In the previous post, I talked about integrating various marketing channels to improve your mortgage marketing program overall. In this post, I’m going to offer an example of such integrated marketing.

Mortgage Postcards + Website Lead Generation
A lot of mortgage folks use direct mail postcards to promote themselves within their local area, or perhaps even nationally (in the case of larger mortgage companies). In fact, direct mail postcards are one of the oldest forms of mortgage marketing.

Many of these mortgage professionals who use postcards also own websites, which creates an opportunity to use integrated marketing. Here’s how you might go about it:

What Would Your Audience Desire?
Aside from the logistics of this postcard and website marketing strategy, the key to success is the “prize.” By prize, I’m referring to something that your ideal audience would find valuable and thus desirable. Information works great, provided it’s promoted properly.

I’m not talking about the commonly used “Top Ten Mortgage Tips” kind of report. I’m talking about creating a web-based resource with a login requirement (to generate leads) … or maybe a high-value information report on the current real estate market in your area, delivered by email (to generate leads) … or … you get the picture.

When used properly, mortgage postcards and mortgage websites can make powerful marketing partners. But when operated independently of each other, they will never live up to their full potential.

Related Resources

• Resource: Postcard Marketing Book

Q: What kind of useful information will mortgage brokers find on this website?

A: In addition to SEO services and our training guide on the Mortgage Web Presence, we also provide plenty of free mortgage broker marketing information. This free information comes from a steady stream of articles and tips on mortgage broker marketing.

In fact, this website is built around a blog platform, which makes it very easy for us to update. Because of this, we can publish free mortgage broker marketing information on a regular basis. We try to publish new articles and tips at least once per week.

Submit a Mortgage Marketing Article
If you enjoy the concept of free mortgage broker marketing information, and would like to contribute something to it, we would be happy to publish your articles on mortgage marketing. As part of publication, you would of course get the benefit of a direct link from this website to yours. So if you can write a quality article on mortgage marketing that is similar to these articles, we would love to publish it.

We hope you find this website (and the free mortgage broker marketing information it provides) interesting, useful and helpful.

~Brandon

Public relations, or PR, is often the forgotten side of mortgage marketing. When you say “marketing” to most mortgage folks, they think of things like direct mail, print advertisements and the like. These are legitimate components of a mortgage marketing program, but PR can be equally effective (if not more).

People define PR in different ways. In my opinion, PR is when you put yourself in front of your primary audience through techniques other traditional advertising. Conducting home buying seminars can be a form of PR, as well as the media exposure you could generate through such seminars. Publishing mortgage-related articles online or in your local newspaper is another form of PR. And, of course, there is the press release.

PR has changed over the years. In the past, PR meant pitching a story idea to journalists and hoping they picked it up. But these days, you can publish press releases intended for your audience, not for journalists. You can use services like PRWeb.com to publish press releases that match the Internet search terms of your target audience.

Adding Value to Your Mortgage Marketing
When you incorporate PR into your marketing program, you are adding value through legitimacy. PR helps you build credibility by spreading your message beyond traditional advertising channels. When somebody reads about you online or in the newspaper, or attends one of your seminars, they will be more inclined to trust you (than if they had only seen your advertisement).

A mortgage marketing program should be well-rounded. You never want to put all your eggs into one basket. Sure, run some ads if it has worked for you in the past. But be sure to incorporate other marketing channels, such as PR.

Related articles: Mortgage Marketing - The Power of PR | Press Releases and SEO