MPA's latest survey shows personal recommendations are especially important to younger and wealthier buyers
Top brokers have been saying it for years; a referral network is the most powerful tool to get clients in the door.
We asked consumers a simple question: ‘How did you choose your mortgage broker?’, and 60% of respondents answered ‘recommendations’; with 35% for personal recommendations and 25% for professional recommendations.
There were other options available; 19% acted on advertising, whilst 14% of respondents were encouraged by their broker being based locally, and 7% answered ‘other’.
Again, it should be noted that respondents could select more than one option, however, personal and professional recommendations still figured heavily.
Young people (the 18-35 age bracket) take personal recommendations more seriously than any other group, whilst the perceived importance
We asked consumers a simple question: ‘How did you choose your mortgage broker?’, and 60% of respondents answered ‘recommendations’; with 35% for personal recommendations and 25% for professional recommendations.
There were other options available; 19% acted on advertising, whilst 14% of respondents were encouraged by their broker being based locally, and 7% answered ‘other’.
Again, it should be noted that respondents could select more than one option, however, personal and professional recommendations still figured heavily.
Young people (the 18-35 age bracket) take personal recommendations more seriously than any other group, whilst the perceived importance
of advertising and location rises with age, and falls with wealth. And if you’re going for the wealthiest clients – those earning $180,000+ p.a. – recommendations are more important than ever, comprising a majority 78% of responses.
Perhaps brokers need to be more vocal about their Cert IV, and perhaps those brokers with more easily-understandable university-level qualifi cations have the most to gain.
Despite a number of high-profi le marketing campaigns, being a franchise doesn’t seem to sway our respondents. Only 30% were encouraged by their broker being part of a franchise – 40% opted for independent brokers and 24% didn’t care. Nor does being a member of the MFAA or FBAA seem to help that much; two out of three respondents didn’t care about industry association. It seems consumers are yet to be convinced by the industry’s various attempts to create a ‘badge of quality’, and instead resort to personal recommendations.
And consumers do care about your qualifications. Only 6% of respondents said they ‘don’t care’ about their broker’s qualifications, although 41% said they weren’t aware of those qualifications (the remaining 51% were aware).
Perhaps brokers need to be more vocal about their Cert IV, and perhaps those brokers with more easily-understandable university-level qualifi cations have the most to gain.
Despite a number of high-profi le marketing campaigns, being a franchise doesn’t seem to sway our respondents. Only 30% were encouraged by their broker being part of a franchise – 40% opted for independent brokers and 24% didn’t care. Nor does being a member of the MFAA or FBAA seem to help that much; two out of three respondents didn’t care about industry association. It seems consumers are yet to be convinced by the industry’s various attempts to create a ‘badge of quality’, and instead resort to personal recommendations.
