New research carried out in the UK has found that 3 of the top mortgage providers in the UK are failing miserably in ranking when it comes to overall online user experience. Lets face it, digital marketing for mortgage companies doesn’t sound very exciting – sexy or not, it’s a necessity and something large mortgage providers need to address before it’s too late. This new report looks at nineteen of the leading mortgage lenders in the UK, analysing the best and worst user experiences online. Surprisingly, Santander finished paddy last with NatWest & Nationwide following closely behind. So, why are these massive companies failing so miserably when it comes to online user experience? To start, a whopping 53% of mortgage companies are failing to adapt their websites for mobile and tablet technology. One reason for this is the fact that a large proportion of mortgage deals are done through mortgage brokers or intermediary websites – thus leading end mortgage providers to neglect their website as they typically won’t deal with the end customer…big mistake!

Putting Digital Marketing For Mortgage Companies Into Context

Consider this – when booking a holiday, travel consumers on average will carry out 20 Google searches and visit 38 websites before making an online booking. No surprising to me –Britons spend on average £1,300 on their summer holidays! A relatively big purchase that takes a lot of research and planning. As such, travel companies have realised this and with an ever increasing competitive digital landscape, they have invested large proportions of marketing budget to their online user experience with the customers needs and desires in mind. If £1300 sounds like a lot, how about the average mortgage in the UK? Coming in at £207,308 , you can imagine how long a consumer will spend researching their mortgage options, scouring the finer details on every website before making an informed decision about who they contact. Yet, the largest mortgage providers are neglecting digital UI? Failing to address the customer experience on your website across desktop, mobile and tablet devices is leading to missed opportunities – especially when targeting a younger, tech savvy demographic who are constantly on the go.

Tesco Bank – Doing It Right!

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According to this report, Tesco Bank has received full marks for the user experience on their intermediary mortgage provider website. Having viewed this across multiple devices, I can understand why; simple, clean navigation that is 100% responsive and utilises modern UI trends putting the customers desires and needs at the forefront. We understand the mortgage landscape is extremely complex and highly congested in both Ireland and the UK. However, this is no excuse to shy away from your digital marketing communications – if anything, it’s time to face the beast head on and address your internal marketing issues before they become major problems. We see digital marketing for mortgage companies as an exciting, underused tactic in Ireland and the UK. There is a huge gap in this industry for mortgage providers to invest big in digital experience  and adopt new technologies to grow business and awareness online. We’re not asking for you to reinvent the wheel – but you must start by ensuring your website is responsive, easy to navigate and accessible from various devices. From here, larger providers may want to look at app development, digital campaigns and the use of new technologies to create deeper brand communications for the end user.    

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