Blend
Today’s consumers have seemingly endless opportunities to benefit from satisfying experiences through digital means. From same-day shopping delivery to instant flight bookings with real-time updates, they are pursuing digital experiences that connect to real-life experiences in a way that’s easy, seamless, and fast. A cross-channel digital mortgage platform may be the solution to bring this experience into mortgage lending.
How a seamless banking experience across channels helps customers
These global experiences have initiated a tidal wave of change that’s shifting the financial industry away from “the way things have been done” to a fully transparent, digital-first approach across touchpoints: online, in-app, and in-person. As more consumers begin to expect a seamless customer experience across channels, the challenge is to bridge digital and physical domains. Delivering on this challenge is what omnichannel lending is all about.
Omnichannel versus multichannel mortgage lending
The difference between omnichannel and multichannel comes down to focus. Multichannel lending is a traditional approach that focuses on separate, siloed transactions. Omnichannel lending focuses on providing a single, unified platform for every channel, giving customers a consistent experience across digital and human touchpoints.
Here’s a look at how they differ:
Multichannel lending
With multichannel, processes are siloed and disconnected, leading to a differentiated customer experience across channels. Multichannel systems are often a patchwork of legacy systems that don’t talk to each other. These older technologies inhibit integrated omnichannel delivery and digital agility in the organization, due to restrictions in functionality, speed, and cost.
Omnichannel lending
With omnichannel, systems are connected by a single digital platform, providing a consistent brand experience across all channels and points of interaction. Omnichannel lending caters to customers throughout the mortgage journey, creating opportunities for targeted interactions at every stage of the sales funnel.
Why omnichannel provides a better experience than multichannel
Unlike multichannel, omnichannel lending seamlessly ties together three key consumer touchpoints, sometimes enabled by a digital mortgage platform: in-branch meetings, phone calls, and in-app applications.
Here’s an example of omnichannel in action:
- While using his laptop at the airport, Jared sees an offer for a low-rate refinance mortgage from his local bank. He clicks the link and starts the application, but doesn’t have time to finish it before boarding.
- After he returns from his trip, Jared stops by the branch to talk to a loan officer about his application. Because the data he entered was saved as part of a temporary profile earlier, the officer can quickly retrieve the application information at the branch and doesn’t need to ask Jared to repeat data.
- After visiting the bank, Jared decides he wants to think about the refinance a bit more, and does not sign any paperwork.
- The next day, the loan officer emails Jared, following up on their meeting and inviting him to complete his application online.
- After speaking with his partner, Jared decides to complete the application. He opens the email link from his smartphone and completes the application remotely.
With omnichannel as the basis of your customer interactions, everything is connected. Customers don’t have to re-enter information or repeat an interaction, regardless of where they started. Whether the touchpoint is a mobile app, a phone call, or a visit to the branch, customers and loan teams are in sync at all times.
Benefits of omnichannel lending with a digital mortgage platform
An omnichannel digital mortgage platform provides a consistent experience across digital and human touchpoints. It allows you to meet your customers how, where, and when they want across a variety of channels, whether online or off.
Here are some important customer benefits of Blend’s omnichannel approach:
Puts the customer first. Blend’s omnichannel capabilities allow your organization to provide customers with a supported and guided digital experience designed to be the same as if a person walked into a branch. This thoughtful approach replaces the manual and often disconnected transactions associated with traditional multichannel banking.
Provides a seamless experience across all channels. Blend’s omnichannel lending allows consumers to start an application on whatever channel is convenient and finish on a different channel, whether online or offline. This ability to complete an application without interruption results in happier customers and a higher completion rate.
Millions of customers prefer digital interactions. Not only do consumers appreciate the flexibility of being able to lend digitally, studies show this preference is increasing. About 60% of mortgage customers say that they are comfortable with an application entirely online and another roughly 30% are comfortable with online applications that include a combination of phone and/or in-person support.
Blend’s omnichannel approach gives you more opportunities to provide a superior experience. Our customer testimonials show that using Blend can significantly increase application and approval rates, helping to grow revenues in a competitive space.
Is it time to create a fully integrated omnichannel experience for your banking customers?
Explore Blend’s omnichannel mortgage offering