The lead generation market is becoming more and more competitive, mortgage advisers and brokers are competing to gain new business in the ailing property market of 2008. The internet has had a revolutionary impact on the mortgage lead market over the past couple of years, making it a sophisticated and potentially very profitable business, if it is conducted cleverly and correctly.
A great deal of business is carried out online, and it seems the key to successful lead generation relies upon clever marketing across the internet. These marketing techniques will generate the leads in the long term, so they need to not only initially draw the customer in, but extract the required information as easily and quickly as possible.
The internet has made it easy for consumers to quickly compare products online, meaning that people will generally research their options this way. If the lead is passed quickly and efficiently on to the broker or adviser while it is ‘hot’ it is more likely to convert into a sale. Mortgage leads unfortunately ‘cool down’ very quickly and if the customer can be contacted while still browsing for deals a sale is much more likely.
External factors greatly influence the mortgage leads market, the boom of early 2007 is well and truly over and 2008 had brought with it a decline in property prices and demand for new mortgages with better terms and lower interest rates. Alongside this trend the credit crunch has, however, made it harder for people to take mortgages out, which is reflecting negatively on the mortgage lead industry.
A broker needs to ensure they properly check out a lead generation company before getting tied in, as there are some less than reputable companies around.
However, research by E-consultancy and Clash-Media revealed that less than half of companies effectively use online lead generation to improve and expand their business. 47% admitted that they do not use lead generation as a way of increasing revenue.
The survey was based on 400 marketers and revealed that 61% of respondents use the press to generate consumer leads. These methods are no longer as popular, or as fruitful, as they once were and it’s time for companies to get up to scratch with the way online trading works or lose money and business to other more technology focussed companies.
Only Leads is a relatively new lead generation company, from clever technology it has managed to keep up with the competition and is competing with long established companies.
The company is also a fan of the aforementioned clever marketing techniques, offering a 25% for all new business in January and February as well as the unique promise that any useless leads will be refunded, that is if the contact details supplied are not correct or the customer is not looking for a mortgage.
Only Leads offers its brokers the opportunity to manager their accounts 365 days a year, and offer a pause function on the account which is free for any periods customers do not wish to receive leads. Brokers are automatically invoiced four days after a lead is sent to them, so they only pay for the business they get.
It seems Only Leads is keen to keep ahead of the competition and using clever marketing techniques is perhaps the smart way to do this. Lead generators need to adapt to the ever-changing market to keep up with the property market, although brokers also need to keep on top of their game to convert the leads they buy into sales.
Banks are also beginning to branch into the lead generation market, proving strong competition for the existing companies as they increase advertising rates and lead prices.
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