Changing times - How brokers can engage with clients and create opportunities

Added 08/12/22 - 2 min read

Your clients will be facing many financial pressures at the moment, as interest rates creep up and rising inflation increases the cost of living.

As a result, many will now be worrying about the affordability of property and whether they should go ahead with that purchase or house move they had in mind.

Amid all this uncertainty and volatility, your clients will be turning to you for support and stability, so the customer experience you offer is perhaps more important now than ever before.

So what steps could you take to add extra value to your clients during this difficult time

Don't pause protection

You can help clients make the right decisions, so while finances are tight, they prioritise the most important expenses such as health protection.

You’re in a position where you can communicate the need for protection, and why clients should be extremely careful before they cancel any policies.

Share your expertise and viewpoints

You’re an expert in your field, with unique knowledge, insights and firsthand experiences. So share what you’ve learned, perhaps in a blog on your website or maybe in the local press.

This can not only help you generate new leads, but also gives you a chance to show how you can add value to your clients and help to establish you as a trusted, authoritative thought leader in your field.

Think about next mortgage renewal date now

Often brokers will engage with clients three months before their mortgage renewal. With the amount of uncertainty in the market, it will benefit you to reach out earlier than that - perhaps six or seven months before renewal.

This could have tangible benefits for your client. With mortgage offers generally being valid for six months, you’ll be giving them more time to plan and consider their options.

Embrace CRM technology

If you’re not using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, now is the time to invest in one.

CRM helps you manage your business relations and customer interactions, nurture leads and streamline elements of your marketing activity, all of which can help to improve customer retention and the client experience you offer. Find out more here.

Add a FAQs section to website

As a broker, you’ll have to answer many of the same client questions day after day. So why not compile a list of the questions you’re most frequently asked, write answers and publish them online?

Perhaps you could add a FAQ section to your website, publish the questions and answers as a blog, or run through each question one by one on your social media channel as a series of posts?

Alternatively, you could send your questions and answers to a local journalist, ask them to run it in their newspaper, and perhaps ask if they can interview you on the topics raised.

These are quick wins that, again, help to position you as a thought leader, and could have the added benefit of freeing up your time so you can devote more resources and attention to difficult, complex cases.

For more on customer experience, check out these blogs and search for more in the Growth Series Hub.