Customers ahead of dollars in new Loan Market recognition program

Multi-award-winning 100% family-owned aggregator Loan Market has completed the biggest overhaul of its Awards and Recognition Program in more than 25 years.

The number of customers settled and their subsequent satisfaction now determines who’s admitted into Loan Market’s respective Premier, Elite, Platinum Elite and Chairman’s Club rankings.

The criteria replaces the former Awards and Recognition metric – the value of business generated – in deciding admission for residential mortgage brokers and their support teams.

Making customers the measurement of performance for brokers complements Loan Market’s holistic preparations for the Best Interests Duty. 

The aggregator has already introduced a sophisticated Risk Assessment Report that incorporates AI and machine learning in compliance, introduced a BID-Bundle of tech tools to heighten the customer experience and save brokers time, and increased 1-on-1 training and support for businesses making the transition.  

The change to Award and Recognition comes at a time when the industry’s focus on customers is never higher, according to Andrea McNaughton, Loan Market Group’s Executive Director of Network Success.

“In readiness for the Best Interests Duty (BID) we’ve introduced The Loan Market Way to set standards for compliance, business efficiencies and customer service,” said Ms McNaughton.

“It’s enabled us to measure customer outcomes with our Awards and Recognition; a focus we’ve always held highly but haven’t celebrated within our rewards system.”

In addition to the number of customers serviced and their accompanying satisfaction, brokers must meet minimum audit standards to be admitted to the esteemed rankings  – a key focus of The Loan Market Way.

Importantly, deals are assessed separately, meaning a home loan and a car loan for the same customer are counted separately in the tally system for brokers; repricing and additional services such as insurance, utility connections and wealth planning are treated the same way.  In this way, Ms McNaughton said the program would recognise the multi-level relationships brokers forge with their customers.

Ms McNaughton said: “I’ve always thought we had the best rewards program in the industry, but we’ve now made it even better, reflecting the reason why our brokers get out of bed in the morning – their customers.

“Admission isn’t meant to be easy – Premiers need to settle 75 loans for customers in 12 months, while Platinum Elite need 175.

“Ultimately, it’s about rewarding our brokers for the number of customers they help, not the size of the loans. As a family-owned business, we’re all about people, first.” 

Loan Market’s commercial brokers will continue to be recognised on the existing dollar format in recognition of the unique nuances of commercial finance.

In addition to the overhauled Awards and Recognition program, Loan Market recently unveiled its BID Risk Assessment Report. It supports broker compliance by homing-in on the group’s file processes, lender spreads, interest-only owner-occupier loans, accreditations and other potential risk indicators. It also assesses the data at an individual broker level.

Loan Market’s suite of digital tools such as the Hello Book, Online Fact Find and Goal Setter, enables the customer experience and establishes stronger broker-client relationships.

PUBLISHED September 18th, 2020 IN Stories and insights

Angela Tracey

Angela is obsessed with marketing solutions that heighten brokers’ online visibility, build their profile in their local marketplace and ensure potential clients are knocking on their door (so to speak). With over a decade of experience leading her own digital marketing agency, helping SMEs win local area market share through the strategic integration of online, social and database marketing, Angela has the know-how to support brokers with solutions that help them find and keep clients.