All too often, we find ourselves trying to put together a marketing campaign and wind up at a road block called compliance. The mail pieces need to be compliant, the data needs to be compliant, your call script needs to be compliant, and the list just keeps going. If you don’t know the regulations you could find yourself in hot water and ignorance won’t hold up in court.
In order to produce an effective marketing campaign, the target audience needs to be qualified. The best way to find these prospects is by using credit bureau data or pre-screened credit data. In order to obtain this data you must apply and be accepted by one of the three major credit bureaus and your marketing efforts must comply with their regulations. These regulations are set forth by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and monitored by both the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). These agencies have recently become proactive in their efforts to find and stop predatory lending, mal-used credit data and marketing campaigns that are non-compliant.
While having a qualified prospect is important, so is keeping your business operating and functional. Penalties for non-compliant marketing can be costly. The good news is that you have other very compliant options for marketing. The most common is Internet leads. These are people who go online and ask to be contacted by a mortgage professional about purchasing or refinancing a home. Another way to effectively acquire new business is the use of live transfer leads. The people have been verbally qualified and have expressed their interest in a purchase or refinance.
The benefits of using this type of marketing when compared to traditional direct mail or telemarketing is that it alleviates most of your risk in terms of compliance. No credit data is used, all calls are made to people who have opted in to receiving a phone call and no interest rates or any loan specific information is given until they get on the phone with a licensed loan originator (YOU). This keeps you, your company, and your reputation in good standing.
Compliance in getting more and more stringent so be sure to check with your compliance department BEFORE you begin your next marketing campaign … especially if you’re using credit data. If you don’t have a compliance department, check with your colleagues or your marketing firm. These aren’t legal counsel, but they know the rules and should be able to point you in the right direction to get your questions answered and keep you out of harm’s way.
TagQuest customer spotlight
Each month, we like to talk with our clients and find out how their campaigns are going. Here’s what we heard from one of our mortgage professionals in Illinois on the results of their live transfer lead campaign.
►100 live transfers
►Live transfer type: Refinance
►Received calls Jan. 1-17
►35 applications
►12 closing now
►14 more to close over the next six weeks (pipeline)
Highlights of the campaign that work well for you: “Being able to specify the call volume allows us to market ourselves aggressively and still have enough time to process the loans.”
Highlights for growth that could appeal to other loan officers or offices: “Being able to start a campaign and get an immediate return allows us to better plan our growth.”
—Chris S., Chicago, Mortgage banker
Medford, Ore.-based TagQuest is a full-service marketing firm created specifically for the ever-changing business world. TagQuest assists companies with their direct marketing, advertising and branding needs, and knows what it takes to generate quality customers and, most importantly, how to retain those customers for years to come. TagQuest brings forth a unique opportunity to utilize our experience and expertise in varying consumer sales and marketing environments. For more information, call (866) 376-5540 or visit Tagquest.com.
