Channel 2: Traditional media
This channel includes old-school media such as billboard, newspaper, television and radio advertisements, as well as your Web site, online videos, blogs
and Facebook pages themselves. It also includes your
LinkedIn profile, which crosses into the third channel.
Here’s what the second channel does well:
• Branding. Nothing brands as well as big media.
You can establish your brand with your Web site,
but consistent advertising in traditional media
outlets can yield bigger results.
• Deliver visual messages. This channel relies on
appearances. Your logos, color schemes and
design matter.
• Broadcast widely. This channel is perhaps the
best way to reach many people. For example, everyone won’t read a freeway billboard, but many
people will notice it and remember it.
• Prospect. Blogs and Facebook pages can quickly
collect dozens of followers, aka clients in-waiting.
Here’s what this channel doesn’t do well:
• Sell. Billboards don’t sell. They intrigue. The same
goes for other elements in this channel. Selling is
what you do.
• Convert. Web sites, Facebook pages, LinkedIn and
other professional networking sites are engagement
tools. But digital media will only get you so far. They
rarely turn prospects into clients by themselves.
• Conserve money. Advertisements cost money.
Web pages, blogs, Facebook and other online avenues require Web-hosting services, domain registration and Internet access, all of which also come
at a cost, plus require your time.
Channel 3: Targeted digital media
This channel includes e-mail, direct messages on
Twitter, recipient-specific Facebook messages, instant messaging, texting and much more.
The main distinction between this channel and the
first is that this one reaches a specific audience, often one person at a time.
Here’s what this channel does well:
• Communicate information. E-mails, text messages and instant messages deliver data faster
and more efficiently than phone calls or short letters. They allow you to skip the preamble and ask
for or deliver raw information effectively.
• Advertise. E-mail advertising can work well, especially preceded by a Channel 1 icebreaker. But
don’t spam. Develop prospect e-mail lists for regular updates and deliver worthwhile content.
Here’s what this channel doesn’t do well:
• Develop relationships. It’s difficult to develop a
relationship through digital-only communication.
• Communicate emotion. Misread e-mails and text
messages can lead to misunderstandings and
hurt feelings. Do not rely on this channel to convey subtleties.
• Preserve free time. If you allow it, people will expect you to be connected at all times. Set boundaries, or this channel can consume your life.
Channel 4: Targeted print media
This channel includes newsletters, postcards and
other material directed at specific recipients. It delivers traditional touch points to your database and can
be powerful when used properly.
Here’s what this channel does well:
• Remind people about you. Your clients only will
remember you if you make them. This channel provides that reminder at a reasonable cost.
• Deepen relationships. You can create a powerful
bond with clients by writing your own material and
personalizing your messages. Generic messages
can work against you, though.
• Make the phone ring. This channel lays the foundation of database marketing.
Here’s what this channel doesn’t do well:
• Reach people outside your database. Although this
channel can lead to referrals, other channels are
much better at prospecting to wider audiences.
• • • • ••
• • • • ••
Channel 5: The phone
Telephone marketing still represents the most-ef-fective, cheapest and highest-returning activity in
the mortgage business. There is a direct correlation
between phone contact and closed loans. The more
people you call, the more business you will have.
Here’s what this channel does well:
• Sell. Sales typically requires a personal connection.
• Communicate emotion. Phone calls allow you to
express yourself intimately through tone of voice
and more.
• Turn customers into clients. The personal nature
of phone calls can be the difference for prospects
when choosing a mortgage broker. Your outgoing
voice mail plays into this; make sure people feel
good about you after they leave a message.
Here’s what this channel doesn’t do well:
• Save time: Even a short call often takes at least two
minutes. The average call can take much longer.
• Communicate data: Calls require writing down
names and contact information. You can save time
by e-mailing this info.
Channel 6: Face-to-face contact
It’s unlikely you’d marry someone you never met.
Many people, if not most, won’t take out a mortgage
without meeting their mortgage broker, either.
Here’s what this channel does well:
• Nearly everything. It’s excellent for prospecting
and a wonderful sales tool. Nothing closes a deal
like a handshake. This channel also is great for
data transmission.
Here’s what this channel doesn’t do well:
• Hide selfishness. If you don’t put clients’ interests first, don’t meet them.
• Advertise widely. You’re only one person. Use a
combination of the other channels to spread your
message to a wider audience.
• Make you seem hip. In-person meetings just aren’t
as trendy as Twitter. They might, however, help you
reach your goals.
••••••
Working in unison
As you apply the six channels, consider how they
work together.
For example, tweet about a blog post — with a link
to the blog and your e-mail address — and respond
to reader comments. Reply to e-mails and ask for
phone numbers from prospects who show increased
interest. Call to discuss loan options, set up a meeting and finalize the deal.
Your likelihood of closing a loan increases with
each step prospects take through the process.
Although all six marketing channels have the potential to work alone, they work best when used together.
Mastering these channels helps you fine-tune your
marketing efforts and achieve success. •
• • • • • •
Chris Jones, branch manager with City
1st Mortgage Services, is a seven-year
industry professional in brokering and
banking. With a background in financial
services, national politics and Main
Street entrepreneurialism, Jones unites
local-community perspective with
national understanding. Raised outside Washington, D.C.,
he lives in Lehi, Utah, with his wife, Jeanette, and their
eight children. He blogs for Zillo w.com and can be found
at www.thechrisjonesgroup.com, chris@lehilender.com
or (801) 787-2162.
