The Official MyLoanBiz Blog

Email Newsletter Syndication Launched

I often get asked if it is possible to set up an email campaign inside Salesforce? The answer is yes and this is done using time-based workflows. People then go onto explain that they want to create a client post close marketing campaign or a weekly campaign targeted toward new and existing business partners.

I understand the thought behind this request but my fundamental issue with it is that using an email campaign is not well suited for this purpose. The problems are twofold:

1) Email Campaigns are designed to run for a specific length of time, perhaps 12 or 24 months and then they end. What happens after this?

2) It is not possible to write meaningful content that spans a long time frame. Who knows what will be relevant and compelling 24 months from now?

Email Campaigns are very useful during specific parts the sales process, like during lead incubation or the pre-approved to home purchase phase. However, for long-term client and business partner marketing I do not believe they make sense because you need to stay in front of these people for years and possibly decades.

This is why I am excited to announce a new add-on and partnership for MyLoanBiz. We have partnered with Bring the Blog (www.bringtheblog.com) the preeminent blogging platform and content syndication provider for mortgage professionals. In conjunction with them we have developed an automated Email Newsletter Syndication system that plugs write into the MyLoanBiz for Salesforce.com service. You can now set up the look and feel of your newsletter template and fresh content will be delivered to specific contacts in your database that you have designated on a regular basis with out you having to do anything at all.

In my next post I will get into the specifics of how the system works. In the meantime you can sign up for a free trial and click on the MyLoanBiz tab and then the Email Newsletter icon to learn more. The new add-on will cost $300 a year and will include 70 plus unique email newsletters targeted toward a mix of customers and business partners.

2 Types of Contacts

As an originator, I have always felt it was important to track and categorize every contact I encountered. Large companies do it so why wouldn't I? These contacts typically fall into one of two categories and on occasion they span both. They are:

1. Consumer Contacts
2. Business Partner Contacts

From a marketing perspective there is great significance to these groups and you need to approach them both uniquely. 

The relationship that you have with a consumer is delicate and should not be abused. My personal rule of thumb is one marketing touch per month per medium when working with consumers. I might send an email newsletter at the beginning of the month and perhaps a physical post card or mailer in the middle of the month. 24 touches a year is probably adequate to make sure your information is always handy and they do not forget about you.

Business partners are the professional people that you work in your business network and are most likely to refer you. Typically they are Real Estate Agents, Attorneys, Financial Planners, CPAs and Appraisers. Most Business Partners are open to a weekly marketing touch as long as you are providing them something of value. I have found that a weekly email newsletter covering mortgage news works well because it is knowledge they can use to gain credibility with their own clients.

The key to building a strong mortgage practice is establishing business partners who will refer clients and then over time get those clients to refer their friends and family. If your business partners or clients forget about you the referrals will never come so marketing is the key to keep growing your business. In my next post I will talk about how you can further break contacts down by Group Membership to perform even more targeted marketing.

Salesforce and Google Apps

Salesforce.com recently announced that it has integrated its system with Google Apps (link to announcement). Not all of you may be familiar with Google Apps but basically it is a set of online applications that mimic the Microsoft Office suite. At MyloanBiz we have been using Google Apps for about 2 years and have been very happy with it. All our email communications run on Gmail, we us Google Calendar to coordinate schedules and Google Docs and Spreadsheets to collaborate on projects. We also find ourselves talking back and forth on Google chat when we have a quick question to ask a colleague.

Using both Salesforce and Google Apps has caused us to do some double entry between the two applications, for example we would have to update our Calendar in two places or copy and paste emails we sent from Gmail into the Activity History section of a Salesforce Contact record. With this new integration that will no longer be necessary and it will function much more like a combined solution.

I realize that most MyLoanBiz customers are still using Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) and this integration will not provide major new functionality, however I do suggest that if you have not already try taking a look at the Google Docs and Spreadsheets. I have used this extensively and have found the ability to access these documents from any computer very useful. Plus now you can link them to Deals and Contacts in Salesaforce and share them with clients.

If you are starting a new mortgage company I would suggest taking a serious look at Google Apps as an alternative to going the traditional Microsoft route. There is a very functional free version up to 25 users and a more advanced paid version that is $50 per user per year (edition comparison).