off target campaigns

Mistakes Loan Originators Need to Avoid With Direct Mail Campaigns

We’re going to review five common mistakes that mortgage originators need to never do using direct mail or you’ll miss your target and be throwing advertising dollars and time away.

1. Your Targeted Audience Is Flawed
Among the most crucial factors in terms of marketing your loan products is to target the right audience. All your time and effort will be wasted if you don’t identify the right set of borrowers.

Invest some time figuring out precisely which borrower you want to get and pick mailing lists that best zeros in on these households. Once you begin to do that, be sure that you have current mailing lists and current information.

2. Your Mail Lacks a Purpose
What is the reason you are sending out direct mail?  The whole purpose is to get individuals you targeted to call you. If your mailer simply highlights a list of your loan products, most people won’t be interested.

On the other hand if you send out mailers emphasizing the advantages of using you or how you stand out from other loan originators, this will likely provide them a reason to contact you.

3. Your Mailer Is Not Personalized
Close to 69% of people think direct mail is more personalized than an email or internet ad. This indicates you have considerable opportunity to really connect with your audience.

Some simple personalization tips are to use names and addresses instead of current resident, homeowner, or borrower.  An example would be, “(insert first name), check out these fantastic rates for Veterans!”

4. You Failed to Test Your Direct Mail
If you are not getting many responses from your direct mail campaign, you need to make some changes. Some people are not seeking to buy a home, they are thinking about refinancing. 

Send out mailer campaigns to the right audience. Down payment mailers should not go out to existing homeowners.  That segment should receive refinance mailers.

You may have to start the campaign over from scratch if your response rate is horrible. Look closely at how well your numerous campaigns perform — whether it’s targeting new prospects or past clients — and make adjustments based on that to get the desired response rate.

5. It’s Easily Forgettable
Even if your mailer has terrific content, the appearance of your mailer is very important too. Research has shown that people only remember 10% of the information that they hear and 20% of the information that they read, but they will remember as much as 80% of the information they saw. It needs to be visually aesthetic and grab their attention in a good way.

Because of this, your goal should be to make sure that each of your mailers are visual, interesting, and professional. Seek out professionals to help you create a mailer with these traits if you aren’t good with design and creativity. 

For many buyers buying a home is a complicated and daunting process.  It is crucial for borrowers to seek advice from a mortgage company that they trust, and demonstrates they have the most competitive interest rates and terms.

The reason is they will have a mortgage payment for many years. By not making the previously mentioned mistakes above, you can demonstrate to these individuals what separates you from other local lenders.