Industry Focus: The Enduring Value of SMS in Mortgage Brokering

Insights from Puca.com

As anyone who has bought property knows, applying for a mortgage can be a lengthy and complex process, with multiple forms to fill out and documents to submit. In this article we explore why SMS is still indispensible for mortgage providers and brokers.

We’ll examine 3 drivers and statistics which underscore SMS’s role in streamlining and improving customer communications throughout the mortgage application process.

Customer Engagement

Recent studies in the banking sector show that SMS messages have an open rate of over 98%, far surpassing email and other digital communication methods (ref: ResearchGate) This remarkable statistic has also been cited widely in other industries.

SMS is perfect for keeping customers engaged, reminding them of deadlines to submit documents, and returning them to “dropped applications”.

Courtesy messages acknowledging receipt of documents or letting customers know where they are in the approval process provide the important added benefit of heading off unnecessary calls or emails to the mortgage broker’s contact centre.

Appointment Management

Missed calls and appointments can be problematic, costly, and adversely affect customer satisfaction in any industry.

For example, studies in the healthare sector indicate that tailored SMS appointment reminders can reduce no-show rates by 34% which is equivalent to phone call reminders, but at just a fraction of the cost (ref Gov.ie report).

“There is every reason to assume that the reductions in no-show rates in the healthcare setting as a result of using SMS reminders should translate to other service industries”.

Eileen Carroll, Púca CEO

At Púca we always recommend that our clients experiment with the most effective content and timing of messages, and consider harmonising their SMS reminders and calls for maximum impact.

Versatility, Impact, Security

In the competitive mortgage space, time is of the essence and personalized engagement and efficiency are crucial. 90% of SMS messages are opened and read in under 3 minutes. Combined with its widespread availability and ease of use, this makes SMS highly valuable as a communication channel.

Additionally, SMS can be deployed for vulnerable customer support (e.g. interacting with the hearing impaired), customer validation, and for sending one-time passwords. These measures are all crucial for financial services to enhance the security of their online offerings.

Conclusions

As underlined by the three statistics above, SMS remains a highly effective way to capture people’s attention and speed up the mortgage application process. Which is exactly why it is such an enduring communication channel for mortgage brokers looking to enhance their customer engagement.

Read more here about our solutions for the Banking industry.