In a digital world, doing things the old-fashioned way isn’t always wise. This is especially true for lenders. To help secure the longevity of your business, it’s important to attract young borrowers. If you’re still relying on antiquated processes, younger professionals may choose to go elsewhere for their lending needs. From offering a digital application process to using video marketing, here are some ways to become a lender of choice for young borrowers.
Make Convenience a Top Priority
The traditional process of applying for a mortgage or any other large loan has always been somewhat cumbersome. It typically involves multiple in-person meetings with a mortgage lender. While older buyers may not see anything wrong with this process, younger buyers place a much higher emphasis on convenience. If your loan application process requires too much time or seems inconvenient, young professionals will look elsewhere for their lending needs.
If you want to appeal to younger buyers, you need to update your processes and make them more convenient. There are a variety of ways you can do this. From providing digital applications and verification of income options to offering educational resources online, here are ways to make your processes more convenient.
Digital Applications
If you don’t currently offer a digital mortgage application option, it’s time to do so. Unlike older buyers, young buyers often see in-person meetings as an unnecessary and extremely inconvenient application requirement. If you don’t give them the option to submit a digital application, they’ll probably look for a lender who will.
You can still offer physical applications in your office for borrowers who prefer to do things the traditional way. But if you want to appeal to a younger audience, the more you digitize, the better.
Self-Serve Options
You should always place a strong emphasis on customer service. But don’t underestimate young borrowers’ inclination to take initiative. Often, younger generations prefer to take the reins rather than wait for a customer service rep to help them. To appeal to these types of buyers, offer plenty of self-serve options on your website.
A well-developed customer portal is a must-have when it comes to appealing to a younger demographic. It can help borrowers sign forms, submit important documents, and send messages — all without stepping foot in your office.
Online Education and Guidance
According to the National Association of Realtors, 70% of younger millennials (ages 24-32) are first-time home buyers. As such, they often have a lot of questions regarding the home-buying process. But young buyers are used to finding information online and may not reach out to you for answers.
This is a great opportunity to earn the trust of younger borrowers by offering educational guidance and information online. Use engaging infographics and simplified terms to make an otherwise complicated or intimidating process seem much simpler and less stressful. It’s also a great way to improve your content marketing efforts.
Market to the Right Demographic
When attempting to attract young buyers, you need to analyze your marketing campaigns. If you’ve been using the same marketing methods for the past 30 years, it’s probably time for change. Make sure you’re marketing to the right demographics by using tactics and platforms that appeal to your target audience.
While magazine and radio ads have their place, they may not be the best marketing methods for targeting young adults. Here are a few examples of marketing strategies that are more effective for earning the attention of young audiences.
Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of the most powerful forms of advertising for younger audiences. The number of digital video viewers across the globe continues to increase year-over-year and is now in the billions. Many of these viewers are young people who may decide to take out a mortgage loan in the near future.
When creating marketing videos, make them engaging, informative, and brief. Your goal should be to hook your viewers’ attention and help them understand the borrowing process in a fun way. Include a call to action that guides young borrowers to you when they’re ready to take a loan.
Social Media Marketing
If there’s one thing you can guarantee about most young buyers, it’s that they have an active social media presence. Social media is a huge part of many young people’s lives. If you want to appeal to a young audience, make sure you’re marketing on social media platforms.
If you have limited time and don’t necessarily have the ability to market across all social media channels, that’s ok. Just choose one or two of the more popular social media platforms to include in your marketing campaigns to begin. You’ll still likely reach a much larger audience than you’re currently reaching using antiquated marketing efforts.
Mobile Marketing
If you aren’t ensuring your digital marketing materials are optimized for mobile devices, you could be making a costly mistake. Many people view marketing videos and read marketing materials from their mobile devices rather than their desktop computers. This is especially true for younger generations who like to instantly access information from any location.
If your website, blogs, or other types of content aren’t currently mobile-friendly, update them. You can do this on your own if you’re tech-savvy and know how to utilize responsive design. Or, you can hire a web development company to upgrade your site and help ensure your content is mobile-friendly.
Today’s young professionals are tomorrow’s home buyers. It’s important to appeal to them as much as possible if you want to remain in business years from now. If you’re used to catering to an older demographic, it’s time to expand your target audience. Use the advice above to help you become young borrowers’ lender of choice.