In its July Insights Report, mortgage advisory firm STRATMOR Group offers an in-depth analysis of customer experience in the mortgage industry and how lenders are measuring and managing it. In “The Customer Experience (CX): Create Business Success Through a Culture of Excellent,” Sue Woodard, Total Expert’s chief evangelist who is consulting with STRATMOR to provide expert CX strategy advice, discusses the importance of the customer experience.

“Search the phrase ‘mortgage customer experience’ online and over 178 million results pop up. No wonder ‘the customer experience’ is seen as the critical differentiator, even though it is often missed or misunderstood,” Woodard wrote. “Defining, understanding and improving the customer experience is definitely the hot topic du jour for lenders, particularly as the signs of rising interest rates foreshadow the dawn of a renewed focus on purchase transactions. It’s time for lenders to unlearn the reactive muscle memory of the refinance market and prepare for the purchase driven climate ahead.”

Additionally, Woodard said most are already customer experience experts.

“We surely know what a great customer experience is...and what it is not,” she added. “The key is to change your vantage point and honestly look at your own customer experience from the outside in.”

 To start with, she said, lenders should define their existing customer experience, something that a surprisingly small subset of lenders have taken the time to do. Woodward points to research that showed that while 82 percent of organizations agree that CX offers a competitive edge and 58 percent say it is their primary differentiator, only 14 percent are intentionally applying ongoing focus to CX as a crucial part of organizational strategy.

 While many lenders have adopted various digital technologies to help create an easier and more seamless digital process, there remain many gaps in the overall customer experience.

“Technology is a part of the CX story, but digital technology is simply a tool in your arsenal,” Woodard said. “Technology on its own cannot create an optimal experience for your customers or employees. Your tech stack is there to help ensure the execution of your well-designed CX strategy.

“Every lender already has a customer experience, that’s a fact,” she added. “But whether you intentionally created an outstanding experience and are consistently working to ‘up-level’ it is another question. Does your process have gaps? Is it consistent? Measurable? Does your team understand, embrace and embody the strategy? Is your CX living up to the standards of excellence you want and expect for your customers?”

And to lenders who aren’t satisfied with their answers to these questions, Woodard has one suggestion--take action.

“With the market shifting quickly from refinance to purchase, and competition set to become even more fierce by Q4, now is the time to focus on creating or strengthening your customer and employee experience,” she said.