How Personalization Leads to a Better Borrower Experience

Welcome to the personalization revolution. Generic campaigns and mass-market offers are approaching obsolescence as marketers in all industries, including financial services, find that highly targeted and customized content based on sophisticated data analytics and tailored to a prospect’s demographics, preferences, and past behavior are the keys to success.

Now, 85% of customers expect personalized content tailored to their interests and habits — and become frustrated if they don’t get it. According to data by Accenture, 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name, recommends options based on past purchases or preferences, or remembers their purchase history. Companies see the benefits, too. In fact, in a recent study by software company Evergage, 87% of marketers reported a measurable lift in results.

The Times Are Changing

Just a few years ago, people were complaining about how “creepy” it was to shop online and immediately get ads for the same product from Google and Facebook. Now, 79% of consumers say they are only likely to engage with an offer if it has been personalized to reflect their previous interactions with the brand, according to statistics gathered by communications firm RR Donnelley.

So, clearly, bumping up personalization efforts should be at the top of your marketing priority list.

Software Innovations Make it Easy for Borrowers to Say ‘Yes’

Today’s software applications can obtain and analyze data-driven criteria (income, age, employer, credit score, etc.) and almost instantly evaluate an individual’s loan application to determine a customized interest rate, loan amount, and loan length. Data tools can also combine individuals’ financial profiles with lenders’ specific product offerings and underwriting guidelines to generate loan preapprovals — and then send shoppers a reminder when they are geolocated near an auto dealer or when they’re researching car models on their phone. Other software products can prescreen account holders quarterly and proactively offer them multiple products, including home equity, auto, credit card, and debt consolidation loans, and give them the ability to accept offers instantly.

Less Stress and Uncertainty Equals More Satisfied and Loyal Customers 

Data-driven outputs are not only quick and convenient; they improve the customer experience by removing anxiety about being rejected for a loan, according to a study by CUneXus.

Borrowers can walk into a showroom or enter into an online transaction knowing they’re already approved and what their rate and loan terms will be. All these advances remove work, time, and hassle from your borrowers’ lives — and make them much more likely to choose your institution in the future.

Lynn Hess is a content specialist at State National Companies in Bedford, Texas, and writes on a variety of financial topics relating to banking, credit unions, and insurance. State National, a division of Markel Corp., has been in business for more than 45 years and is a specialty provider of collateral protection insurance. In its lender services segment, the company specializes in providing portfolio protection solutions including automobile and mortgage insurance for loans made by credit unions, banks, and specialty finance companies. State National is the Customer Experience Partner of Auto Finance Excellence (AutoFinanceExcellence.org), a sister service of Auto Finance News.