Pub. 6 2018 Issue 3

Issue 3. 2018 23 they are currently interested in borrowing or not, and engage them immediately and relevantly. That’s why a holistic loan marketing strategy -- one that both actively reacts to individuals currently shopping for loans, as well as proactively creates interest among those who are not -- makes so much sense in today’s wide-open economic climate. An “always on” approach makes it possible to reach consumers in all stages of the decision-making process, increasing the like- lihood of acquisition and sustained loan growth. For example, actively responding to a credit inquiry will help you to stay engaged with current and potential new account holders. An offer made while a consumer is researching a product or service has far more relevance and saliency than one made outside the shopping window. Execute well on event-trig- gered marketing and you can expect your message to receive five times the response rate of non-targeted push messages. 7 Extending an offer while consumers are researching is highly cost effective. Selling to an existing account holder represents one-tenth the cost of acquiring a new account holder. 8 Companies that execute well on event-triggered marketing can receive 5X the response rate of non-targeted push messages. Conversely, proactively placing multi-product, recurring pre- screened loans offers at the fingertips of pre-qualified loan can- didates can instantly transform non-shoppers into borrowers. It delivers the ultimate friction-free consumer lending experi- ence, while increasing the financial institution’s loan volume, reducing loan acquisition costs, and streamlining loan process- es. Give consumers easy access to multiple, preselected loan products and watch response rates and your total loan portfolio skyrocket. A three-part holistic strategy for loan marketing success 1. Set up an alerts program to receive notification from multi- ple credit bureaus whenever a credit inquiry is submitted for your account holders. Using all three credit bureaus is best, as it will provide 75 percent more coverage. 9 Sixty percent of all loan shoppers will commit to a loan within a week of a credit bureau inquiry. 10 Monitoring these inqui- ries and then countering with a quick, preapproved offer via the channel to which shoppers are most likely to respond — whether mail, email, or phone — will help you stay one step ahead of the competition and win market share. Stephenie Williams is the director, market strategist for Lending Solutions at Harland Clarke. Stephenie leads the company’s team of Lending Engineers who are focused on helping clients understand and maximize the value of their loan portfolio 2. Adopt a turnkey program that sends multiple loan offers for home equity, auto, credit card, personal, and other loans through multiple channels — online, direct mail, mobile, email, branch and phone -- to account holders and prospects who meet specific underwriting criteria to access anytime, anywhere. 3. Create seamless, convenient experiences. Put loan offers at consumers’ fingertips to accept anytime, anywhere. Quickly send offers via direct mail, email, and phone while they’re shopping for loans. You will be creating quality customer ex- periences that can strengthen account holder loyalty, reduce attrition, and extend your brand. In a perfect world, your account holders would never even think to inquire about a loan from a competing institution and you’d have the resources to get in front of every prospect. But economic and technological times have changed across multiple channels with myriad borrowing options now available. You can, howev- er, effectively compete for your share of consumer loans with a three-part strategy that includes reactive alerts, proactive engage- ment, and quality customer experiences. n 1 Consumers and the Economic Outlook – US – January 2018 2 Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Household Debt and Credit Quarterly Report, August 2015 3 Creditcards.com, Household Debt Report: Credit Card Balances Highest Since 2010, August 13, 2015 4 Consumer Attitudes toward Debt – US – November 2017 5 2018 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions, Digital Banking Report 6 Ibid. 7 Gartner, Five Event-Triggered Marketing Steps Marketers Aren’t Doing, Feb- ruary 5, 2013 8 Harland Clarke Client Data, 2018 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. That’s why a holistic loan marketing strategy -- one that both actively reacts to individuals currently shopping for loans, as well as proactively creates interest among those who are not -- makes so much sense in today’s wide- open economic climate. An “always on” approach makes it possible to reach consumers in all stages of the decision-making process, increasing the likelihood of acquisition and sustained loan growth.