WHAT CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT
Many Internet mortgage companies view their web site as another vehicle for advertising. It is not. And because of this erroneous belief, their corporate web site does not perform as well as it could.
It's Not Your Web Site
The Internet is different from other mass mediums, in that the web is interactive, and the customer controls how the interaction occurs. The customer is in charge of what they want to read; not the web site owner.
Here Is What Customers Want
The most successful web sites give the customer 'what they want'. Your web site is for your customer, so design your site to please your customer (not your webmaster or yourself).
Customers want what you want. When customers go to web sites: they want content, they want information they are seeking, they want information that they were not seeking but is beneficial to them, they want pricing, they want it easy to find and they want it fast and on their terms.
Give It To Me, Now!
If customers generally are coming to your web site for one thing - interest rates - be sure to display your rates and terms on the top on your main page. Don't put a picture of your corporate headquarters or staff there. Your customers will get to that information, if they want. But first things first, they want to know your rates.
Customers Know Fluff
Web site owners cannot just add a couple of flashy graphics and expect to conduct commerce. That is like taking a '68 VW bug and painting racing flames on the body, thinking that will make it go faster; it won't. And your site won't produce more customers with extra fluff.
You Tell Me, I Won't Tell You
Potential mortgage customers want to easily find information on rates and plans. They do not want to have to register or submit their email in order to access the material they seek.
My Name Is Mine, Not Yours
Your customers demand privacy and want full disclosure to any and all information you have stored on them. This includes any historical, proprietary, transactional, or confidential information. And don't sell your customer's information to any outside source.
I Like My Browser, It Should Work On Your Site
Mortgage companies should do their best and test their web site on as many different browsers as possible. The current browser war can cause major differences in how web pages appear. Often a site can look great in Netscape 6.0, but have problems with Netscape 4.7. Your web developer needs to make sure your site views correctly in all different browsers.
Zoom, Zoom
Web developers like to use cutting edge technology. But often, in order for your customer to view your site in all its glory, your customer may be asked to download and install a plug-in component of software. Customers don't like this.
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