We have data from over a dozen leading lender websites and tens of thousands of customer engagements each month and we’ve seen almost every type of mistake lenders are making. Uniquely with many successful clients we also have seen what works locally, so based on what we know works and what we know doesn’t work we’re ready to reveal the top 4 mistakes you could be making. 

Most lenders they want to know ‘How can I get more leads and new applications through our website?’ Many lenders don’t realise that they are already losing hundreds of potential new applications every month on their website and so our first response is ‘fix your website to ensure you’re capturing new business effectively and then start improving your marketing'. 

Fact: We’ve seen lenders grow new leads online by up to 411% with no additional marketing spend. Why is this? Because they were losing too many customers in the sales funnel and on their website. 

Fact: In January 2021 we compiled a study of more than 30 lending websites across the Caribbean and in fact only 9% of websites  are ‘fair’ or ‘good’ at converting website leads and only 5% being ‘excellent’.  

Fact: If your website is only converting 5% to 20% of potential clients to new business you could be literally wasting up to 90% of your digital advertising and social media marketing investment. 

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So how do you 'fix' your website? The key is to out the customer first and design around their needs. Most customers need information before they borrow in what we call the 50:5:1 rule: for every 50 customers researching, 5 are actively in-market for the loan and 1 is applying now. Does that mean the 44 customers just researching are not valuable? Of course not, after all they are researching so you need to design your site and processes for each of these three user groups we call 'Customer Journeys for groups 1, 2 and 3':

- Group 1 - Researchers - They want simple calculators and tools to see hw much they could borrow and monthly repayments.

- Group 2 - In-Marketing - They need the calculators and more detailed product information and channel to speak to or connect to an agent.

- Group 3 - Buyers - They need the above and an online application process.

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For more on 'What Customers Want' you can check out our guide here. In designing your customer experience for each here are the 4 key mistakes we see lenders making: 

1. Complexity 

So many lending websites in the region have two complexity flaws: (1) they have ‘text walls’ or pages of text that customers never read but the insurer assumes they need first and put this above getting affordability or repayment estimates or speaking to an agent, and (2) a lack of clear navigation and simple call to actions which makes is hard for customers to find what they want fast, especially on mobile. A good example is decide on the top 2 things users visiting your website need and put them one click away - this could be ‘See how much you could borrow’ or ‘Apply Online’ for example. 70% of customers could be looking for these so put them clearly at the top of your homepage and everything else below.  

2. Slow Journeys 

We’ve seen it all - lending websites with 11 steps to apply for a loan online and asking 40 or more questions without telling the customer if that are even eligible to apply. These are killers and guaranteed to lose a huge % of customers through the funnel. Customers need speed, quick access to eligibility and affordability questions , quick response times and also quick page load times and while you might love your process, almost certainly customers don’t unless it's lightning fast.  ‍

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3. Mobile 

Up to 87% of customers visits are made on mobile - despite this often we've seen mobile conversions rates 80% less than desktop because the application process and site works poorly on mobile. In fact we estimated one lender be loosing over 65% of applications this way which within 2 to 3 days works could have been fixed resulting in hundreds of new applications per week. Make your website ‘mobile first’ which is industry speak for making it mobile friendly by designing it for mobile first. Particularly on small smartphone screens customers need clarity with simple messages and intuitive customer journeys that avoid confusion and clutter to offer a good digital experience. On a small screen you can’t promote 10 products and features at once, so sit down with your marketing team and rank your priorities and select your top ones to promote those on your homepage.

4. No Online Calculators

This is the biggest mistake in generating new leads. If you can’t give your clients a quick and easy help customers calculate their leads you’ll lose up to 90% of customers out the door. 72% of customers aged 25-39 expect online pricing and won’t fill out ‘contact us forms’ or request a call-back. They are used to buying online and expect to be able to access product procing and information 'on their phone and in their home' expect it fast. Most lenders can offer accurate eligibility and affordability calculations and loan pre-approval within 6 to 10 questions and by doing this can grow the amount of new leads by 3x or 4x. 

Download our FREE UX/UI Design Guide here, or contact us speak to one of our experienced solution experts now to find out more

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