NMP - December 2016 - 91
not have to be difficult or even prohibitively expensive. Here are some tips for putting together a digital mortgage strategy tailored to the needs of your organization: 1. Don't try to do everything at once. Even if budget is not a significant constraint, the best results usually come from putting together a good plan upfront and executing it in phases. This way you can go live sooner, collect feedback from multiple users-and different types of users (not just consumers but loan officers, processors, etc.)-and then iterate your plan based on that feedback. There is, of course, overlap between different channels and your digital mortgage solution must adapt to whatever the situation may be. But regardless of the channel, the consumer experience must leave a great impression on your borrowers and referral partners alike to ensure they will continue referring their friends, family and customers to you. After all, there is no marketing like word-of-mouth marketing and that applies as much in today's digital world as it did decades ago-perhaps even more now because reviews, good or bad, are easily accessible and significantly impact your ability to acquire customers. Valentin Saportas is co-founder and chief executive officer of MortgageHippo, a mortgage platform provider that works with lenders to devise and implement their digital mortgage strategies. Before starting MortgageHippo, Valentin was a finance attorney at the bank lending group of a large Chicago-based law firm. He may be reached by e-mail at Valentin@MortgageHippo.com. 91 www.LykkenOnLending.com n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n DECEMBER 2016 3. Put together a crossfunctional team to work on the project. In addition to any tech employees, you should consider having a project manager to be the main point person with the platform provider and make sure things are getting done (the platform provider will have their hands tied with respect to many tasks that only an insider can do, like requesting an integration with a third party with whom they have not yet integrated). Furthermore, depending on your digital mortgage strategy, you should also ask 4. Different loan origination channels must be addressed differently. A direct-to-consumer division operates very differently from a branch or a loan officer. As a result, the user flow and experience of your platform should adjust to the channel, not the other way around. Let's take a look at two common origination channels for many lenders: l Direct-to-consumer: In a direct-to-consumer channel, a borrower is more likely to come directly from an online source to a lender landing page or Web site. The main focus of your digital mortgage strategy for such a borrower is to capture and convert him into a qualified lead, without forcing him to speak with a person right away (online consumers are more likely to bounce if they don't get what they're looking for on your Web site). The new borrower onboarding experience is very important, making sure, among other things, that there is a smooth handoff from your lead source- whether a search engine like Google or a lead generator like Bankrate or LendingTree-into your digital platform. l Loan officer: A loan officer will probably have a conversation with the borrower first (whether over the phone or in person) and therefore that borrower is much more likely to stick with you than an online consumer who doesn't have any loyalty towards your company. The focus of your digital mortgage strategy for LOinitiated borrowers should be to help the LO complete the 1003 application as seamlessly and accurately as possible and facilitate the interaction between the LO, the borrower and other parties involved throughout the process. NationalMortgageProfessional.com 2. Work with a technology provider that will take the time to understand your needs. Presumably you will be working with an outside technology company that will provide a solid foundation for your platform-as opposed to building a platform yourself (a feat not every lender will be able to successfully achieve). Make sure that this company's platform can be customized and configured to your needs and is not a one-sizefits-all solution. Take the time to discuss your current workflows and processes with your provider and understand how the platform fits into the current flow and/or what adjustments will be necessary. a loan officer and a loan processor to provide feedback to the team at various points in the process.