Up Your Game: Strategies for Lenders to Modernize Prospecting

The pressure is on for lenders. You need to ensure that your acquisition strategies are competitive. But that can be quite the conundrum when you are faced with tight budgets and aggressive ROI expectations.

In the first blog in this series, we discussed a number of specific acquisition challenges that lenders are experiencing. Everything from disjointed datasets, to finding new audiences, to slow model builds, to understanding campaign performance. The list is long. And it can be difficult to determine which challenges to prioritize.

In fact, we recently heard from one of our clients that they are concerned that their acquisition efforts are missing the mark. They are converting fewer consumers. Missing growth targets. Expenses are up.  This lender wants advice and new ideas.

It’s time for this lender - and all lenders - to seek out fresh strategies to advance prospecting. Lenders need to find new ways to reach more consumers that are a good fit for their offers. And take a critical look at how acquisition efforts compare to their peer set.

The first blog in this series introduced lenders to the first three of six tips to modernize your prospecting. Here are three more tips that you can put in place to boost your Prescreen and ITA efforts.

Tip 4: Reach consumers that are in-market for new credit

Let’s say a consumer is browsing the market for a new bank card, auto loan, or mortgage. How quickly would you know?

This consumer might have filled out a prequalification to check their eligibility for new credit. Or they might have completed a credit application. Either way, this consumer is interested in acquiring new credit. 

You need to get your own offer in front of this consumer fast - while they are still in the decision-making process. But to get your offer in the consideration set, you would need to know that the consumer is actively in-market for new credit.

You can identify consumers that are looking  for new credit with daily inquiry-based alerts. Here’s how that works.

John applies or prequalifies for a new credit card. An inquiry is generated. You get a list that includes John - and all of the other consumers that are in-market for a new credit card that meet your lending criteria. Now, you can deliver your own firm offer and get your terms in the consideration set as John makes his decision. 

Don’t miss out on these in-market credit seekers! You can further refine your targeting by layering on data that indicates a consumer’s propensity to acquire new credit in the next few months. This is a great way to capture business from consumers that may be shopping for an auto loan, mortgage, or home equity line. Especially to those that are taking their time in their decision-making process.

Tip 5: Prospect for new credit audiences via digital channels

Which do you spend more time on? Reading the mail that arrives in your mailbox? Or reading your email, checking social media, and surfing online? I will bet that it is the latter.

Let’s consider Amy who meets your criteria for a new auto loan. You send her a Prescreen or ITA direct mail piece. Then you send her an email. Then you serve up a few auto loan ads that she might see as she is browsing on her social media and various apps on her phone. You have likely increased your chances that Amy will consider your brand when she is ready to take action for an auto loan.

Digital devices are capturing more of our attention every day. If you are not delivering your Presecreen and ITA offers and messages digitally, then you could be missing out on opportunities to capture new business - like from Amy. 

Incorporating digital into your acquisition strategies is not as complicated as you might think. Email addresses can easily be appended to Prescreen and ITA lists. And prospect lists can be converted to a digital format so you can get your messages where your target audience is likely to see them. Including on consumers’ social platforms, ads on their mobile phone apps, and more.

How about your digital ITA campaigns? Are you reaching online audiences that are likely to respond? Take advantage of financially-driven digital targeting segments to reach prime audiences for your offers - such as: 

• 25.3% of households likely to respond to a credit card offer

• 13.5% of households that are very likely in market for an auto loan with good credit

• 15.3% of households that are highly likely new mortgage customers

Bottom line is, you can get more eyeballs on your acquisition efforts with digital.

Tip 6: Use campaign result insights to optimize future efforts

Your previous acquisition campaigns yield a lot of insights. How easily can you dig into the data and analyze them? Can you apply learnings to your next campaign?

In today’s competitive landscape, lenders need to take every opportunity to understand the performance of their previous campaigns. And then use that knowledge to fine-tune future efforts. Here are some factors that can help direct future acquisition decisions:

• What is the conversion rate for our campaigns? How does it compare to the competition?

• Where are we winning and where are we losing? In which consumer segments, which products, which offers, which markets?

• Which criteria are driving response?

• What’s the profile of converters? And non-converters? 

The goal here is not just to access all of these insights, but to also integrate them into your next campaign. For example, fine-tune criteria for your existing prospecting models. Develop new models. Shift target audience - such as Gen X instead of Boomers. Modify geographic focus. 

Lenders can take advantage of these insights (and more!) via our Campaign Insights Dashboard. The dashboard is a great way to quickly visualize campaign results, glean learnings, and apply winning criteria and acquisition tactics to future efforts. Lenders can also integrate learnings mid-campaign with a results feedback loop. This unique capability can help you alter criteria mid-stream to give you a competitive advantage during active campaigns.  

There is so much to learn from your previous campaigns. And now there are easier ways to make sense of it all. That’s a key thing to act on for your future acquisition success.

Advance your prospecting. Attract more new customers. Deliver on your ROI goals.

To stay competitive, lenders need to make the leap and explore new ways to modernize their prospecting. Which tips are you ready to act on? Take advantage of these tips with a free consultation with our risk advisor experts by emailing riskadvisors@equifax.com. Review all of the tips to modernize your prescreen in our ebook and brochure.