Change Sciences releases Online Mortgage Customer Acquisition study
By MortgageDaily.com staff
9/30/2004

With more prospective borrowers applying for a mortgage over the phone or in person than online, a new study provides insight about what industry players need to do in order to turn more online visitors into mortgage customers.

Change Sciences Group Inc.'s study, entitled Online Mortgage Customer Acquisition, analyzed the Web sites of 11 top lenders to see where they ranked on meeting customer goals. The report pointed out that as more people than ever are looking to the Internet for guidance in the mortgage process, some lenders have not simplified their presentation of such information on their sites.

"Lenders with clumsy web sites make it too hard for potential customers to find what they are looking for, and to do what they want to do," the report said. "When Web site visitors become frustrated, they take their business elsewhere."

Lenders must focus on guiding visitors from the initial inquiry to a completed transaction by helping them understand the mortgage process, terminology, product types and rates, the report said.

Change Sciences highlighted the top five ways in which successful mortgage-lending sites guide visitors through the whole mortgage process. They are making it easy to get the mortgage process started; making it easy to see the differences across loan options; making it easy to understand the advantages of refinancing and how to obtain a rate quote; and helping them understand closing costs.

Ultimately, lenders that anticipate visitors' questions and answer them in a simplified way are likely to attract applicants, whether they complete the application or not. "Subtle differences in the way lenders answer key consumer questions can make a huge difference to a customer considering a mortgage," Change Sciences partner Steve Ellis said in a prepared statement.

National City, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo earned the top three spots in the report's customer experience rankings as their sites required the least effort for visitors to reach their goals. These lenders were followed by E* Trade, Chase, Citibank, ABN AMRO and Washington Mutual.

The lenders offering the most frustrating experiences to users were reportedly Wachovia, SunTrust and U.S. Bank.

"Web sites that provide a compelling customer experience and project a positive brand image attract and retain more customers," the announcement concluded.

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