If you’re a mortgage loan officer and not nurturing your existing customers through database marketing, you’re missing out on the benefits of client retention. Using your current customer base to boost your bottom line is a surefire strategy for success.

A client who has had an outstanding customer experience with you could become a loyal customer who will give you repeat business and referrals. That’s why it’s essential to nurture those relationships through customer retention strategies on a consistent, long-term basis.

Learn more about the financial potential of your database and the lifetime value of a mortgage customer here.

Every mortgage company knows that it’s faster and more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Client retention starts with providing superior customer service to improve customer satisfaction, but it doesn’t stop there. This is where database marketing for mortgage clients comes in, to make them repeat customers and referral sources for life.

Why Do Database Marketing?

Here are some more reasons why database marketing is a must for every mortgage loan officer.

Everyone else is doing it

Even if you aren’t nurturing your past and prospective clients, we can guarantee that every other mortgage lending company, bank, and credit union is. But you can be better at it by approaching database marketing in a more personal, helpful, and customized manner.

For many customers, it all comes down to whose name they remember when it’s time to take action. Whether it’s the customer you’re reaching out to or one of their friends needing a recommendation, make sure the name they remember is yours.

You worked hard to earn that business

You’ve already done the hard work to earn the business of your past clients. You nurtured them, established rapport, provided customer support, and led them through the loan process. That’s the difficult part, done and dusted. However, database marketing allows you to continue to reap the rewards of building a relationship with that retained customer over the long-term.

Chasing after cold leads is time-consuming. It takes significantly less time and expense to earn repeat business than it does to acquire a new customer.

Customize marketing for customer loyalty

You can use AI automation tools to manage your database marketing. This includes triggering messages around important milestones in your clients’ lives, as well as creating personalized videos, emails, and social media content to capture their attention.

You can divide your database into segments to send information that meets their specific needs and interests. When you provide value to them, you build their loyalty and trust, making it harder for your competition to lure them away.

Ask for referrals

Even if a past client never transacts with you again, it’s still worth staying in contact. Do you know why? Referrals! 

If your existing customers feel good about their experience working with you, why wouldn’t they refer you to their family and friends? But they can’t if they don’t know how to get in touch with you or don’t remember your name.

Use your database marketing to occasionally ask for referrals. Let people know you’re still in business and how they can reach you. A referral benefits both sides because people like to connect others with someone who can help them.

How to Nurture Your Mortgage Database

Now that you know why you should market to your database, let’s dive into the how. Here are some more strategies to help you build, nurture, and retain client relationships.

Segment your audience

When you understand your audience, you can create content that best meets their needs. For example, you may keep it simple by separating refinance from purchase customers. Or you can divide your database into categories like “likely to purchase in two years” or “most likely to refer business.”

Use consistent messaging

Once you have an effective nurturing system in place, it really does work for you. But be sure to stay connected with your customer base consistently. 

If you’re getting a positive response to emails, text messages, videos, or social media posts, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. But if your click rates are low, you need to change up your content.

If certain people in your database are showing more interest in some of your content (like homebuying, for instance), you may want to follow up with them more frequently. Watching your data allows you to know who to contact more often and what they’re interested in.

Remember important occasions

Part of nurturing a relationship is having a pulse on what’s important to that person. So the content you send should be all about the customer.

For example, remember a past client’s one-year anniversary of their first home purchase and send a video message via email or a card in the mail. Nothing will wow your customers more than remembering their personal events and milestones, like birthdays, or anniversaries tied to their property.

CRM tools allow you to set up template emails to send out on certain dates for specific occasions. You can also use your CRM to send a video or text, or to remind yourself to get a physical card into the mail.

Use different platforms

There are a lot of ways to connect with those in your book of business, and you should utilize as many of them as you can. Just be sure to be where your customers are.

What’s most effective is a multichannel nurturing approach that combines some or all of the following:

• Emails: Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to consistently reach people with valuable information they actually want to pay attention to. This can include newsletters and automated drip email campaigns.
• Texts: It’s hard to ignore a text message, and this is an outreach method that feels personal and often has a good response rate.
• Phone calls: A good old-fashioned phone call can still be a great way to reach some demographics and build a connection.
• Videos: Video is a way to replicate face-to-face interaction without having to meet with everyone in your database one on one.
• Social media: People often appear more human and relatable on social media, so give followers a glimpse of your life to build connections. Brand awareness and retargeting ads are also good strategies for reaching more people.
• Webinars: A webinar is an excellent way to provide an in-person-type experience to a large number of people at once.
• In-person events: Of course, nothing beats an in-person interaction for nurturing a relationship. Consider hosting a client appreciation event.

Decide what methods make the most sense for you and your audience, and then stick to doing them. Patience and consistency are the keys to success with database marketing for mortgage customers.

Provide tangible value

We’ve already talked about providing value, but how can you consistently provide value in this industry? After all, people don’t get mortgages or refinance their homes that often. With that in mind, your interactions should:

• Build familiarity
• State the purpose of getting in touch
• Provide value
• End with action steps (if applicable)

Your interactions don’t always have to be about mortgages. You can talk about financial planning and building wealth, topics that most people welcome advice on. For example, you can offer an annual mortgage review to discuss their financial goals and how they might be able to better leverage their biggest assets.

You can also collaborate with financial advisors or other strategic partners to provide even more financial help and guidance.

Make yourself the go-to for all things finance and real estate

People love having a go-to person they can count on when they need advice or help, especially when it comes to difficult topics like finance. When you nurture your mortgage database, you can become their go-to person for all things related to finance and real estate.

That kind of loyalty takes time to build, but those customers are yours forever. They won’t be swayed by a competitor because their long-term relationship with you has given them so much value over the years. 

And even if they don’t need a mortgage, they’ll tell their friends and family who may be in the market to buy or refinance a home.

Keep a clean database

Finally, make sure you keep a clean database. Ask for updated information and show that you care about staying in touch with your clients. A huge database list with outdated email addresses and phone numbers only drains your time and resources.

A Powerful Tool for Client Retention

Database marketing for mortgage client retention is a cost-effective way to nurture existing relationships and encourage repeat business and referrals. By consistently providing value and personalized content, mortgage loan officers can foster long-term loyalty, making themselves indispensable to their clients.