Suburb-specific market updates to drive client engagement
In the hyper-competitive world of mortgage broking, having access to the latest data is a crucial selling point when you are trying to attract new customers or add value for your existing client base.
Now Domain Insight, a provider of property data and insights within the Domain Group, is offering 50 brokers the chance to sign up to a six-month beta pilot, involving dynamic monthly property market update videos sent out to their customers.
The videos will feature specific finance and real estate data, tailored to each suburb, which will display the broker’s brand and be personalised with a call to action. Some of the data could include price trends, rental yields, loan interest rates and repayment amounts.
Trea Scott, commercial growth director of Domain Insight, said competition in the mortgage intensified in 2023 due to cashback offers and clawbacks “which really hurt brokers”.
Scott said Domain’s chief of research, Dr Nicola Powell (pictured above left), recently spoke at a broker conference to share an update on the property landscape.
“After Nicola’s talk, we were approached by multiple brokers wanting access to these insights. We realised then that there was an unmet market need,” said Scott.
Domain’s property data solution for brokers
Scott said the Domain Insight team had invested in specialist technology that automates content and data visualisation for customer retention and client engagement.
“It serves as a scalable solution for brokers, offering them relevant content to reach audiences regardless of where they sit in the marketing funnel,” Scott said.
“More and more brokers are seeking ways to distinguish themselves and establish authority in the market, effectively connecting with the right customers at the right time.”
However, Scott said the challenge lay in how they could do this easily.
“Content creation demands both time and money, and not all brokers have access to marketing options through their aggregator or are inclined to invest in digital marketing.
“Additionally, most brokers’ CRMs require data hygiene before successful marketing campaigns can be executed.”
Scott said Domain Insight’s solution (pictured below) enabled brokers to engage potential and existing customers in a light-touch, scalable manner, whether through their social media platforms, their CRM, their website, or as part of a broader digital marketing strategy.
“The primary need is to build referrals by generating value to a new audience or potential customer base, as well as to nurture their existing clientele,” Scott said. “Brokers need relevant content that helps start the conversation. This solution empowers them to do exactly that.”
Powell said Domain Insight was proud of “our wealth of property data, which empowers our customers”.
“We aim to simplify the complex by harnessing this abundance of information at our fingertips to deliver tangible value,” Powell said. “For a broker's client they need a quick view on what is happening with interest rates and property prices in their area that can impact them.
“This solution keeps our clients at the forefront of property data for everyday Australians while also catering to their on-the-go needs with consumable content.
“By presenting complex information in a digestible format, we aim to help brokers connect and engage with potential clients, both old and new.”
How broker uses Domain report
Steve Donnell (pictured above right), the director of Brisbane brokerage ClearPath Financial Management, said audience engagement was changing at a geometric rate.
“Our ability as brokers to reach these audiences across the entire funnel is now largely predicated on content that is meaningful, relevant and educational,” Donnell said.
“The demands and expectations on the industry highlights the need to be more sophisticated by approaching automated stimulus in various formats, including video to reach all the different channels across which our audiences reside.”
Donnell highlighted the Domain Broker Report, which was automated and scheduled, providing industry data to audiences via backbook EDMs, socials and web “with minimal effort on our part whilst not having to worry about the heavy lift of content generation”.
“Our approach is taking aim at innovative solutions that connect us with existing and new customers with agility and purpose, and this first iteration of automated multi-format content from Domain excites us,” he said.
How can brokers get involved in the pilot?
Domain Insight is seeking up to 50 brokers for the beta phase, which is due to start in the first week of March.
Scott said the pilot would be a paid commercial opportunity for six months at a reduced rate.
“This beta phase is an opportunity to elicit further market feedback by tapping into a broader cross-section of participants that engage their audiences in different ways, in different geographies and with varying starting points in their marketing journeys,” Scott said.
Scott said Domain had a wealth of data that was available and easily accessible.
“The key for us was to identify the data that matters and how we create actionable insight from this data that will deliver real value to brokers and their clients,” Scott said.
“We are seeing video as a solution gaining powerful cut-through in other verticals, so why not for brokers. We are bringing together the power of the Domain brand and data with the latest tech capabilities of our specialist partner to bring this solution to life.”
Scott said the pilot’s success would be judged on how the video solution performed for the participating brokers, the engagement it drove and the value it delivered during this engagement.
“We will be actively collecting broker feedback throughout the beta phase to keep a gauge on this.”
Brokers who are interested in joining the beta pilot can click on this link.