Buying a home is an exciting milestone experience in the life of a consumer. It’s also undeniably stressful. In a recent study, 37% of homeowners said that buying a home was among the most stressful life events they had ever experienced – worse than job hunting (28%), planning a wedding (23%) or having a child (18%).
Unfortunately, poor communication during the mortgage loan process is often the culprit. Researchers at Stratmor Group found that ineffective communication between the lender and the borrower is the #1 source of problems cited by mortgage borrowers. It also reflects negatively on the lender, resulting in an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of -60 among those surveyed. Suffice to say, there will be no referrals with an NPS of -60.
Improving the mortgage experience
Venture Solutions, a Taylor company, wanted to learn more about the dynamics of communication between mortgage borrowers and mortgage lenders. Specifically, they wanted to understand how lenders can make life easier for their customers through better communication, personalized video and customer-centric processes.
Venture Solutions commissioned an independent research firm to survey 1,002 mortgage borrowers to explore this topic further. Three things stood out in the final analysis.
1: Mortgage borrowers want customization
Key takeaway: One size fits all and “that’s the way we’ve always done it” clearly don’t work in the mortgage industry. Mortgage borrowers are looking to mortgage lenders to ease their stress and demystify the process by providing communications that speak to them as individuals.
2: Personalized video demystifies the complex
Key takeaway: Fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages, escrow and the like are inherently complex concepts – especially for first-time homebuyers. Survey respondents overwhelmingly prefer personalized video as a way to learn about these topics and what it means to them.
3: Video beats call centers hands down
Key takeaway: Call centers are not a substitute for personalization and clarity. The vast majority of mortgage borrowers surveyed admit to seeking help on YouTube as an alternative to engaging with a call center.
These are just some of the findings captured by this Venture Solutions survey.
The margin of error for this study is +/-3.1% at the 95% confidence level.
Personalized Video Communications™
Venture Solutions specializes in the delivery of critical communications for mortgage lenders, banks, healthcare systems, insurance companies and more.
Through their Personalized Video Communications offering, Venture Solutions empowers consumers to make more informed decisions about complex products and services – like mortgages. Personalized Video Communications help customers understand their own data and documents through the use of visual learning and personalized transaction details.