Also expect Utilities, Equity Release and some exciting
Voice products in the coming months!
We always like to hear suggestions for any potential
products, so do feel free to send me an email at nic.ingram@leadpoint.com. I
lookforward to hearing from you all.
If you are attending ad:tech do come by and see
us at stand 146, where not only will you meet our charming selves but you can
try our delicious LeadPoint-baked cupcakes.
Nick Chapman (LeadPoint UK MD) and Alain Desmier (Head of
Business Development) will also be hosting a seminar at 11.50 am on Thursday, giving you
invaluable insights on how to beat the credit crunch with Lead Generation.
"Persona based what?" I hear you cry. What on earth does that mean? It's a term I came across in very interesting blog article by Bryan Eisenberg. He outlines a very interesting theory about how different types of customers interact with a website and looking at navigation paths etc. can tell you some very interesting information about your customers.
The world of lead generation can be hectic to
say the least. If we’re not replying to emails on our Blackberry phones at some
godforsaken hour then we’re probably still in the office! At LeadPoint we are
big believers in a healthy work/life balance so here are a few pointers to help
you work out when you are in need of a long weekend or two to recharge your
batteries. If you answer “yes” to any of the following then it’s time to submit
that holiday request form.
You sent
out this year’s birthday party invitations via Outlook
You wish you could Ctrl+F lost keys in the mornings
The thought of actually speaking to someone rather than instant-messaging them
terrifies you
Your emotional range extends to smiley and sad faces
You start to develop strong opinions about biscuits
You get really excited when a new font is brought out
You attempt to recall drunken text messages
You have succumbed to ‘LOL’ or even worse ‘ROFL’
Your thoughts automatically fit into 140 characters to make using Twitter
easier
Wikipedia is the font of all knowledge
You have started entering the competitions in the industry magazines
The only communication you have with your friends is trading buy-one-get-one
free vouchers for noodle bars
You have a favourite highlighter
Email- Email marketing has
a number of different strands attached that make up an overall email campaign.
The success of an email campaign depends on the purchase of good quality data,
that is to say data that has been used properly and hasn’t been spammed/fished
in to the extent where a consumer has activated a spam filter. The best email
marketers target lead campaigns to relevant lists that they have acquired from
list managers, for example homeowner lists for a remortgage campaign. Crucial
to the success of an email campaign is the ability to beat spam filters and to
be able to design eye catching creative that draws a consumer in whilst
sticking within the boundaries that our Business Development team sets for all Sellers.
As with other marketing methods, all the leads are generated in real-time as
the consumer receives an email and if they are interested in the product or
service on offer, they click through to a website where they will submit their
information to be contacted. Our Business Development team is copied on every
email sent out by our Sellers as part of our evaluation process.
Display Advertising – This type of marketing involves buying inventory
(banner/advertising space) on popular websites (e.g. Facebook, MSN, AOL). The Seller
designs marketing banners that attract the attention of the consumer. If the
consumer clicks on the banner advert they are taken to the Sellers website
where they can submit their information if they want to be contacted. The
advantage of this type of campaign is the guarantee that traffic can be
driven to a site, the disadvantage is the cost. A week’s inventory will cost
anything from £5000. The Business Development team has to balance supply and
demand before they can ask a Seller to commit to this type of marketing given
the obvious financial danger of a dip in price point.
Today we have a guest post from Mark Roberts, Head of Financial Regulations at the ifs School of Finance which provides financial education to financial services professionals the world over.
The credit crunch continues to have a significant impact on the mortgage advice community and adverse market conditions are rapidly becoming the accepted status quo.
The effects of the crunch are self-evident. For example, the most recent Council of Mortgage Lending (CML) figures show that mortgage lending in July 2008 declined to £24.8 billion in July, down 27% from July 2007.
Furthermore, only 22,448 new loans were approved for people moving home during July. This represents an astronomical 65% drop on the figures for July 200.7
Lending levels are likely to remain subdued for the remainder of 2008 and probably well beyond.
In such a climate mortgage advisers need to increasingly consider ways of diversifying their business models.
With tougher times ahead, those brokers who distinguish themselves from their competition are likely to reap the rewards, not simply of maintaining business volumes but of actually increasing them.
Attainment of specialised qualifications is a good way not only to gain knowledge of new areas but of demonstrating additional technical expertise and professionalism to both customers and peers alike.
Take one area of particular growth, Equity Release. Chris Cummings, Director-General of the AMI, recently said, "Equity release is one of the most interesting areas of the mortgage market. It is certainly a growing sector and it is also growing in national importance as well as slowly beginning to gain recognition in the political arena."
The fact Equity Release has been regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) since April 2007, requiring practitioners to have an appropriate qualification, means this is an area where consumers can now have greater reassurance that they are receiving knowledgeable advice from a competent adviser.
This, coupled with the fact that most Equity Release providers are now signed up to SHIP and abide by their reassuring and rigorous code of practice, means ever greater numbers of consumers are viewing this as a mainstream financial option. This is borne out by figures which suggest £1.4bn of equity was released in 2007 – a 24% increase on the previous year.
This trend has continued into 2008 as times have got tougher, with business volumes produced by SHIP members in the second quarter of the 2008 increasing to over £275m.
Recent survey results from Hodge Equity Release showed that over 50% of mortgage advisers were looking to diversify their advice offering with many considering a move into advising on Equity Release products.
However, the choices extend to far more than just Equity Release, as the thousands of advisers specialising in other areas will know!
Commercial Mortgages are another good example. Although commercial mortgage lending is perceived as higher risk by lenders - hence the higher lending charges - it is also an area that many lenders, particularly Barclays, are keen to increase in 2008. Commercial mortgages therefore represent another opportunity for mortgage advisers to maximise their potential.
The past few months have also seen an encouraging commitment to TCF as firms and individuals seek to clearly demonstrate that they have adequate awareness and procedures in place to test whether they are treating their customers fairly.
Mortgage professionals do appear to be taking control of their personal development and long may this continue. Providing the trend continues, the vibrancy and health of the industry will not only be maintained during these challenging times, but enhanced.
