The STRATMOR Group, a team of consultants that specialize in all aspects of mortgage lending, in conjunction with CFI Group, have launched MortgageSAT, a customer survey and analytics application that captures consumer feedback and allows lenders to measure and respond to borrower satisfaction. The program uses the patented technology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which was developed at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and gauges satisfaction across over 50 industries. The MortgageSAT program is the first time such science has been applied widely to the mortgage industry.
“Customer satisfaction is a dangerous blind spot for the lender because it has become a focal point for our new regulator,” said STRATMOR Group senior partner Dr. Matt Lind. “The result has been a trend in the industry toward more responsiveness and transparency regarding the consumer's experience in the mortgage process. Until MortgageSAT, lenders have largely been guessing because they didn’t have the data or the analytics to know how satisfied their customers were and what they should do about it.. They were working in the dark. We’ve changed that.”
STRATMOR has built a reputation for providing this type of peer-based mechanism for effective benchmarking. MortgageSAT will allow lenders to easily compare their customer satisfaction performance both internally—across their production and back office operations—and externally in comparison to other lenders. This data enables lenders to determine, in advance, the impact that changes will have on consumer satisfaction ratings, allowing them to spend resources where it will have the most meaningful impact.
MortgageSAT offers a way for lenders to know how borrowers feel about the mortgage transaction, giving the institution an opportunity to track experience across a wide array of transactions and react immediately to issues.
“MortgageSAT is a great tool for risk mitigation, because if you measure satisfaction consistently and quickly react to issues, then consumers are far less likely to seek help from regulators regarding these issues” said STRATMOR Managing Director Garth Graham. “But it also helps drive more business, because MortgageSAT helps you predict how increases in satisfaction help you increase your bottom line.”
According to the Harvard Business Review, a one-point change in ACSI is associated with a 4.6 percent change in market value.
“This is critical for the mortgage industry because as the refinance business falls away, making sure customers are satisfied is how lenders will gain market share through greater referrals and customer cross sell opportunities,” said Graham.
