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There’s no question the mortgage industry has faced marketing challenges amidst an uncertain economy and continued talk of recession. And while housing rates are expected to drop in 2023, it may continue to be a slightly uphill battle as builders put on the brakes in response to buyers doing the same, while sellers sit on their wallets and coast along on the great mortgage rates of years gone by.

But that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. In fact, many experts believe the worst is behind us and that new opportunities abound as inflation begins to cool.

Here are just three marketing tips for loan officers to tackle this new year in style:

• Ramp-up efforts: Just like we said back when COVID hit – the best marketing decision loan officers can make when times are tough is to maintain or – better yet – increase their direct mail efforts. Connecting with prospects and dampening hysteria by demonstrating the process your office takes to assist homebuyers is, in a word, invaluable. Your role in this economy is a clear and critical one. Easing economic fears is a great way to preserve customer loyalty. The financial climate will eventually regulate, and you will want to have fostered healthy and helpful communication with your borrowers when it does.
• Don’t make millennials work too hard for your attention: Because, well, they won’t. Which isn’t in any way commentary on their ethic. The truth is, this age group’s initiative is through the roof. They’re going places, and you want to be along for the ride. Millennials get a bad rap for being Instagram-addicted, Starbucks-fueled hipsters, but it’s a broad Believe it or not, many individuals in this age bracket prefer an analog marketing bid for their attention – i.e. direct mail. According to the United States Postal Service, a whopping 84% of these prospects make a habit of sifting through their mail, and many more are convinced that direct mail marketing is more reliable. Target your mortgage campaigns to these 20 and 30-somethings directly, and start enjoying new, profitable leads.
• Make sure you’re delivering the right message: Relevance, brevity, and clarity are a loan officer’s best friends when trying to reach out to new and existing clients. By workshopping a direct mail message with real consumers, you can create targeted content that connects and compels house hunters to call This inbound approach eliminates the awkwardness and irritation of cold calls while showcasing (in the very best way) the convenience and customization your company can offer. As your customer base and bottom line grow, you can also scale your direct mail frequency to match your burgeoning needs – tapping into new markets and meeting new prospects in the process.

Remember: your existing customers are one of your greatest resources when it comes to marketing your business, particularly during an economic downturn. Reach out to them regularly, ask for their feedback, and showcase your expertise in the process. Future borrowers will appreciate this personal touch and will be far more likely to recommend you to their friends and family who may need similar services.

Camber Marketing Group can help you devise strategies to optimize your existing book of business, whether launching a past client campaign or tapping into our 24/7 Monitoring Program, which alerts lenders the second a customer enters the market for a new loan. Reach out to us today to learn more.

We tend to underestimate the power of the mailbox during the holiday season.

Just think about how many times we raise that red flag to let our mail carrier know a fresh batch of cards is ready for dispatch (or how many times we peek inside the mailbox to see if that check from grandma has arrived).

Direct mail marketing solutions deliver during the holidays because the mailbox is almost as synonymous with the season as the tree – or better yet, a gift with a big bow on top.

There’s no doubt about it: direct mail marketing remains one of the most powerful tools available to mortgage companies and loan officers who are looking to increase their customer base. It’s more personal, more eye-catching, and more immediate, placing a physical message into the hands of potential leads.

Here are just four ways direct mail continues to make mortgage companies merry throughout the season and the New Year Beyond:

1. Personalization: Just like grandma writes your name above Hallmark’s “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hannukah” message inside the card, direct mail tailors your advertising message to your recipient. It may seem like a triviality but believe us when we say – it is not.

Leveraging data such as age, gender, income level, marital status, and location – you can identify specific target audiences who are most likely to benefit from your services. Then, by customizing your campaign to address a recipient’s individual needs and interests, you increase the likelihood that prospects will not only respond – but respond positively.

2. Respect: With direct mail marketing solutions, your customers are empowered to call you – which cannot be understated during the hustle and bustle and blizzard of activity that is the holiday season.

Direct mail is straightforward. It delivers a relevant, clear, and concise message to a targeted audience culled from a database of prospects. And because the message has already been tested on actual consumers, the result is an authentic and responsive connection with consumers.

Most importantly, by extending an invitation to customers to reach out to you, you put the ball in their court. It shows you value their time and want to make things more convenient for them while emphasizing your flexibility and eliminating the aggravation and interruption of cold-calling techniques.

In short, it shows you care more than the other guys.

3. Cost: Saving a few pennies here and there is always ideal, particularly during the holiday season (and as the year draws to a close). Compared to other forms of advertising, direct mail campaigns are incredibly cost-effective, thanks to minimal design and printing costs. Direct mail is also targeted to certain demographics or geographic areas, which reins in the number of pieces sent out while increasing your ROI. Once created, your compelling message continues to work for you as long as it is relevant, with little to no upkeep whatsoever.
4. Scalability: It’s simple – as you continue to do more and better business, your mailings can easily be boosted to fit your lenders’ growing needs, while attracting new customers and expanding into new markets. Because direct mail pieces are printed with a return address, recipients can easily contact you with questions or feedback about your offer. This, in turn, allows your loan officers to measure the success of their campaigns more accurately, and determine if any tweaks or adjustments are needed.

The holidays are about making connections. By using customized messages tailored specifically for each customer, your mortgage company has an excellent opportunity to not only reach more people but also build evergreen relationships.

Make no mistake: direct mail marketing is very much alive and well and has become one of the most effective strategies for mortgage companies and loan officers looking to reach new, welcoming leads.

Camber Marketing Group can help. Reach out to our team today to learn more.

The success or failure of a direct mail marketing campaign depends on several components. To start, if you are not sending the right message to the right people, you could be wasting your marketing dollars. You must have a fresh, well-targeted database of potential customers to match your ideal message in order for a mortgage marketing campaign to work.

The second component of an effective direct mail marketing campaign is Read more

The market is slowly but surely shifting. Now more than ever, mortgage professionals are realizing a need for highly targeted campaigns.

In an ever-advancing industry driven by innovation, the biggest differentiator between a successful direct mail campaign and an unsuccessful one is leveraging data to inform strategy. Read more

The entire mortgage industry can agree – 2020 was one of the most successful years in history for those offering mortgage products and services.  Loan officers used the historic low rates to help their current clients refinance home mortgages, saving them money and in-turn earning referrals from happy customers. Now, however, with referral bases drying up and experts predicting rising rates in 2021, it’s time for mortgage companies to start thinking about how they will keep the momentum of 2020 going throughout this new year. Read more