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| Lead generation companies and lenders say spending for online leads, which perform better than those generated from traditional advertising according to a recent survey, will increase this year.
A national survey of 50 lenders by The Loan Page indicates lenders plan to increase spending for leads generated on the Internet. These findings are reportedly consistent with predictions last year by research and consulting firm Borrell Associates which forecasted a shift in marketing budgets to online channels by 2009. The positive outlook found in the Kirkland, Wash.-based company’s survey was shared by other lead companies. Marc Diana, CEO and cofounder of LeadPoint, told MortgageDaily.com that the Los Angeles-based company has seen an increase in lender lead sales volume this year due in part to “their (lenders’) determination that online lead generation is a viable and highly accountable source of customer acquisition.” LeadPoint, founded in 2004, generates leads for mortgage and debt relief financing and is the “world’s first lead exchange marketplace,” Diana said. “Buyers efficiently acquire customers and sellers easily increase profits through LeadPoint’s innovative trading platform and marketplace model,” Diana said in an e-mailed statement. LoanBright.com has also seen an increase in mortgage company and individual loan originator online marketing budgets, according to Mark Rodriguez, an executive for the seven-year-old company that provides loan comparison shopping services for consumers. Rodriguez attributes the budget increases to the additional avenues that Internet marketing and quality lead generation can offer a lender while allowing lenders to lessen their reliance on Realtor and builder referrals. “Historically, mortgage companies and loan originators have relied on Realtors and builders for the referral of business,” Rodriguez said in an e-mailed statement to MortgageDaily.com, “but today most real estate companies and builders own their own in-house mortgage companies and it is becoming more difficult for outside originators to develop business through the Realtor and Builder channels.“ Evergreen, Colo.-based LoanBright helps originators Internet offset this with lead generation and pay-per-click advertising, Rodriguez said. The Loan Page said its survey indicated “online leads overwhelmingly achieve a higher success rate with lenders than those which come directly from traditional marketing channels, such as broadcast and print advertising,” according to the announcement. |
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Paula Parisot is a MortgageDaily.com feature reporter and a blogger at CloserBlog.com who has also worked in the mortgage industry. e-mail Paula at: PaulaParisot@MortgageDaily.com |
