If your lending process was rated by your borrowers the way they would rate a restaurant, how high would your rating be? A five, the top number? A two, perhaps? Or maybe they wouldn’t even want to bless you with a rating at all.
That last option seems the most likely, according to research from the STRATMOR advisory group, which found that, among other things, mortgage borrowers give lower satisfaction scores than consumers of other financial products, such as auto loans and credit cards.
Repeat loyalty is also alarmingly low, the company found, with fewer than one in five borrowers returning to their original lender for their next loan.
To turn that around, STRATMOR believes the business needs to take a cue from the hospitality sector and, say Senior Partner Garth Graham and Advisor Will Ayer, “redesign the borrower journey around care, clarity, and confidence.”
Drawing inspiration from a recent conference in New York City — an event founded by Will Guidara, the restaurateur behind Unreasonable Hospitality — Graham and Ayer write in STRATMOR’s latest Insights Report that the mortgage industry is lagging behind when it comes to creating memorable customer experiences.
A change is sorely needed, they maintain. “Buying or refinancing a home is among life’s most emotional, stressful, and consequential financial experiences,” they write. “Yet the process is often transactional, confusing, or simply forgettable. Too often, borrowers walk away feeling stressed, confused, and frustrated instead of cared for.”
First, the consultants say, the mortgage process must be made “forgettable” by removing friction, eliminating redundant requests, clarifying timelines, and preventing silent gaps. After that, lenders can “make it unforgettable” by elevating key moments such as the celebratory clear-to-close call, the warm handoff to servicing, and the thoughtful thank-you note at the finish.
To help the business address the issue, STRATMOR has created the Hospitality Experience Advisory, which works with leadership teams to redesign the borrower journey around systematized hospitality.
In another article in the new Insights Report, STRATMOR’s Customer Experience Director, Mike Seminari, strikes a similar chord. “There’s a reason some companies consistently outperform their peers in loyalty and growth,” he writes. “They’ve figured out how to translate vision into behavior.”
Seminari says customers who experience no miscues “are raving fans who return and refer” at far higher rates than those who have issues.
“What changes outcomes are daily habits: employees consistently doing the small things right, guided by standardized expectations, measured feedback, and a culture that celebrates doing the unexpected for customers,” he says.
