Using The Internet To Market Your Business

If for some reason you’ve been living in a shell for the past 10 years, here’s the most significant change that you’ve missed in the past decade - THE INTERNET. There is a staggering statistic that says that about 8 out of every 10 people will begin their research or shopping at home on their own PC. It’s a lot more convenient than going out to the store, there’s no sales rep bugging you, and since everyone chooses their own path on the web, you get a custom tailored shopping experience…As a business, if you don’t have a web site to represent yourself or your product, you are way behind the times.

Let me give you an example of how quickly things can become outdated…just a few years ago, all research was done using encyclopedias, (20 volumes that weighed about a ton, and took 5 trips to move from one place to the other so you could use them). But now, these books, (and the backaches that come with them), are a thing of the past, a mere artifact of what research used to be. Now, I have wireless internet on my Palm Treo that I use to access the entire internet so that I can find any information, anywhere. The web is a powerful tool, and if you don’t know how to harness it’s power, you need to catch up with the times. You have a choice…stick with the encyclopedias, or hop on board with the advancement of technology.

So how does a website benefit you, the mortgage professional…

1. Presence

These days, every company needs a website for validation. One of the first things a consumer will do to determine if your business is “legit” is to try to find you on the internet. Creating a presence on the web gives you a greater sense of legitimacy. It’s become one of those things like the business card that is almost a requirement for doing business these days. In a sense, a website is an “online business card”. Even if all it does is match your company name to a dot com address on the web, it does wonders for your image. Having a mortgage web site that looks and feels professional is a huge bonus in this department.

2. A website works when you aren’t

This is the #1 most common thing that people overlook when they’re deciding whether or not a web site is a good idea. A website is going to work for you even after you’ve gone to sleep! I assume that you work 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM, give or take. if you’re highly motivated and/or insane, we’ll say anywhere from 7:00 AM -7:00 PM. At best, (or worst, depending on your perspective), you’re putting in about 40-60 hours in a week. Your web site, on the other hand, puts in 168 work hours a week, without missing a single day of work. If you’ve set your web site up properly, and you’re using the right web site marketing, you can keep your business up and running for potential customers 24 hours a day. From this point of view, you can see how having a web site is a huge advantage that you can’t afford to pass up.

When do you personally get to surf the web looking for things that are of interest to you? My guess is between 5:30 PM - 1:00 AM when you leave work and are at home. So don’t you think this is also when most people start their research for a new mortgage or refi - when they have some free time after work to sit down and find out more info? Hey, I’m just throwing this out there…

3. Exclusive Lead Generation

I’ll get into more detail on this topic later since it will take a few posts to completely explain. But the idea of a mortgage website is that it should also be generating new business for you. If your website isn’t doing this for you or you want more new business (duh!), keep checking back and I’ll give you my insight.

4. Automation

A website should also automate what you do on a daily basis. For instance, if you are constantly faxing 1003’s, deciphering handwriting, and doing data entry into your LOS, think of all the time that could be saved if your website can collect the 1003 info and drop it right into your LOS for you.

The reality of websites…

1. Be realistic

A website is a great idea, but you aren’t the only person to have this idea. You will not be the first person to try and generate leads with a website. Just like everything else in life, what your website does for you is 100% dependent on YOU - how you market the site, how you integrate it into your daily operations, etc. Just know, that the internet is just as competitive, if not more, than the real world.

2. Marketing is VERY important

Throwing a website together and putting it on the web does not equal instant leads. If it were so, everyone and their mom would have a mortgage website and be selling mortgages, living in mansions, and driving Ferrari’s. Marketing is just as important on the web as it is in the real world. A first page Google listing for a highly searched keyword is like a store on main street where everyone that drives into town passes by it. A great looking and functional website, is like a huge neon sign that grabs everyone’s attention as they drive by on main street. Catch my drift? It’s very important to realize this - there is no “get rich scheme” with online marketing, it is VERY close to marketing in the real world, in the sense that it takes 1) TIME 2) MONEY and 3) PATIENCE to succeed.

3. Know exactly why you want a website

If you are getting a website because you heard that’s what you need to do, then think again. Have an idea of what you want the site to do. Generally this will be along the lines of, “I want it to generate leads,” or “I want a professional looking site so clients can look me up on the web to be reassured my brokerage/company is legit.” The #1 reason people cancel their service with LenderHomePage is because they don’t know what to do with the website. If you want the web to work for you, then YOU need to invest time into learning how the web works, what you want the website to do, and how to use it to your benefit. OR if you don’t have the time, pay someone to do it for you. But NOT having a website these days, is like unleashing termites on your house’s foundation. While you may not see anything in the near future, in the long run, not having a website that works for you will only cripple your business.

4. Keep things in scale

Everyone would also like a site like LendingTree.com or Bankrate.com to generate tons of leads. However, these are both Fortune 500 companies with multi-million dollar advertising budgets and they will bankroll you every time in terms of marketing. Even with their huge pockets, its still NOT possible for them to monopolize the search engines. The search engines don’t care about brand names…they care about serving the best information related to what you are searching for. This lets you, THE SMALL BUSINESS, compete with the CORPORATE GIANT. So while you may not come up for every keyword on the search engines, you can find a niche that you can turn into a cash cow for generating new business. This is the most important part of internet marketing (SEO)! You need to find a niche! I’ll show you how this can be done in upcoming posts.