Industry Insights - Mortgage Brokers

9 July

Marketing to mortgage brokers in light of the 2021 ASIC guidelines on hawking requires a nuanced and compliant approach. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) introduced these guidelines to protect consumers from unsolicited and potentially exploitative financial products. Understanding these regulations is crucial for anyone aiming to effectively market to mortgage brokers while adhering to legal and ethical standards.

Understanding the 2021 ASIC Guidelines on Hawking

The 2021 ASIC guidelines on hawking prohibit the unsolicited offering of financial products. This includes cold calling, unexpected in-person approaches, and unsolicited emails or messages. The aim is to protect consumers from high-pressure sales tactics and ensure they have the time and space to make informed financial decisions. (Source)

For marketers like us, this means that any engagement with mortgage brokers must be carefully structured to avoid unsolicited contact. Instead, the focus should be on creating opportunities for brokers to seek out information and services voluntarily. So how do we get new clients with this new guidance? Glad you asked! Here are some tips from our work with brokers.

Strategies for Marketing to Mortgage Brokers

Content Marketing

I know I bang on about content marketing in almost every blog, but in this case, it's even more important than ever. By creating valuable, informative, and relevant content, you can attract your target customer to your brand without direct solicitation. This might include blog posts, white-papers, webinars, and case studies that address the challenges and opportunities your particular customers might face getting a loan.

Empathy is the key here. Understanding your specific target market's pain and speaking their language will create trust. This advice presumes you have already chosen a particular market to focus on and positioned yourself clearly for them.

For instance, we had one mortgage broker who only worked with mums in her local area. By being hyper focussed she wrapped up the local market and was referred by her clients as she dominated her community. You can imagine the mum's group having coffee at the local cafe, surrounded by prams discussing their new home and lamenting the interest rates. But also praising their broker who really 'got' them and bent over backwards to get the best deal.

SEO and Online Presence

SEO becomes more important if you can't be proactive. This reactive approach relies on content like blogs - see point 1. An effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that is my personal fav, is to publish these blogs on LinkedIn so you get a separate link in Google.

You can also get into Google snippets which is like being recommended. Although, it's not really like that. Writing your blogs to answer a question is the best way to get into snippets.

Networking online and offline

My mortgage for mum's client used Facebook groups to network and was exceedingly useful for her. Other clients have used webinars and others have run face-to-face events. It really depends on your target client and goals.

Even trade shows can be an effective way to connect with specific clients without breaching the ASIC guidelines. These events provide a platform for face-to-face interactions and allow you to get to know clients' pain points which is great for ongoing content production.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a viable option if done correctly. Instead of unsolicited emails, focus on building a robust email list through voluntary subscriptions. Offer valuable content, such as industry reports or exclusive insights, in exchange for contact information. An eBook download is a pretty standard exchange of IP for email. We have had quite good success with this process with several clients recently.

Ensure that all email communications are permission-based, with clear opt-in mechanisms and easy opt-out options. Using a quality email system such as Hubspot or Mailchimp to ensure this is built into the process.

Compliance and Ethical Considerations

While implementing these strategies, always prioritise compliance and ethical considerations. Regularly review your marketing practices to ensure they align with the latest ASIC guidelines and industry standards. Transparency, honesty, and respect for clients' needs should be at the forefront of your marketing efforts and if they are you will e-ttract enough referrals so you will not need the push marketing.

Interested in more marketing and branding advice? I'm offering free consultations and advice, book here.

https://www.andrewford.com.au/free-consultation

Industry InsightsMortgage BrokersMarketingPersonal brandingAndrew Forde-ttraction

Andrew Ford

Marketing expert Andrew Ford, the founder of Social Star, has discovered the secret of ‘Powerful Branding’. With a fire for unleashing people’s inner brand and developing business models to generate profit from an individual’s passions, Andrew leverages ground-breaking digital and social media marketing techniques to create digital strategies for clients to attract maximum opportunities. Having established a strong name for himself in the field, Andrew blends traditional business techniques with now-necessary tools for entrepreneurs to achieve scale, quality, and influence in their niche. Andrew’s comprehensive business background and qualifications consist of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) (RMIT 2003), a Graduate Certificate in Management (MBA Executive Program, University of Sydney 2005), and a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Swinburne University 2011). Continually on the cutting edge of his own education, Andrew has tested his marketing theories in forums such as the BCG Business Strategy Competition, which he won in 2005 against all Victorian MBA schools, and the Venture Cup Business Plan Competition (Swinburne University 2003), which he won in the Masters category. With experience working at Hewlett-Packard, Sensis (Telstra) and IBM, Andrew also has mentored dozens of junior staffs to help them achieve their professional goals. Meeting and influencing high-profile public figures helped Andrew to realise just how many professionals require more understanding and control of their public brands or appearance, and need help with the skills to use the many amazing free tools at their disposal to generate success. At Social Star, Andrew consults with clients to uncover their personal brand – both where it is today and where it can be tomorrow – and refine and define how that should be displayed in social media in order to attract their perfect target audience. Andrew mentors his clients to rapidly grow their business’ audiences, resulting in larger potential client bases and higher revenue. Applying formulas that integrate over twenty years of Andrew’s business experience and fifteen years of formal business education, Social Star specialises in building clarity and velocity for clients’ brands using the ‘Understand, Build and Leverage’ methodology. ‘Having a Personal Business enables people to have an authentic, congruent connection with their valued clients and partners, using their brand as the bridge,’ says Andrew. ‘I’m highly driven to work with the new breed of entrepreneurs and small business owners – people who have a passion for making the world a better place. Traditional business models are stepping aside as people follow their innermost dreams and my role is to see them operate within their values while creating wealth. Some people think you have to sacrifice what you love to be successful in your business, yet it is actually the opposite. Follow your passion and success will come.’ Lecturing at Swinburne University from 2009 to 2011 on brand dynamics and digital marketing, presenting at numerous conferences, and consulting to hundreds of clients, Andrew has seen his philosophy work that if you follow your unique path, based on your skills, experience, values and goals, you will automatically attract the opportunities you desire and achieve the success you deserve. Living his mantra, Andrew has created a successful business and attracts high-profile clients including musicians, athletes, authors, models, entrepreneurs, professionals and small business owners, helping them find their ‘why’ in their business and fulfilment in their lives. Business for Andrew is more than work, it’s personal. Running a personal business means that he is able to fulfil all of his values rather than separating his life from work. It supports his two boys while providing social opportunities, educational development, fitness opportunities, spiritual fulfilment and many valuable friendships. Social Star has now become the vehicle for Andrew to crystallise his mission in the world, to help people love what they do, supporting his ‘why’, that if more people loved what they did, the world would be a better place.

http://www.andrewford.com.au/