When Good Web Sites Go Bad

This really isn't breaking news, but there are a substantial number of web sites that while they look great, the sites just don't generate much income for mortgage companies. Sometimes the owner will say, "This Internet thing, it just doesn't work." Generally the owner is wrong in their assumption.

We have been online since 1996. We have made our share of mistakes and most certainly we have marveled at mistakes that occur on other sites.  Here is a list of mistakes "good" web sites can make.

Getting To "No"

Too often seemingly good web sites want to concentrate on getting a "Yes" out of the customer.  Great web sites utilize a technique where the goal is learning how to get the customer to say "No."

As you are aware, a successful loan is a long series of steps, each of which must be completed perfectly, or the loan doesn't close.

You Prequalify the Customer, Why Not Prequalify the Visitor

Make your web site really work for you. Make your web site screen out potential inquiries that you can't service.  In example, maybe you can only provide loans in California. Unless you have a mechanism for servicing loans from other states, do you really want your staff spending time on the phone with someone only to ultimately learn they are outside your service area?  If you don't provide loans for land, co-ops or retail shopping centers, you should have a list of the loans you can provide, followed by a list that you can't offer.

Your goal is that if you are going to have a customer say "No," you want that to occur before you expend energy in processing.  You want to find out if you are going to have problems up front, not 3 weeks into the adventure.  You can word your web site to tactfully allow people who don't qualify, not to contact you. This allows you to receive inquiries from customers that you can help.

I Want! I Want! I Want!

One of the secrets to a successful business is often overlooked when having a web site: Give the customer what they want, and you will get what you want. 

Seems simple, but so often we only look at our own site, through our own eyes, and not the customers. In example, if you are a provider of "sub prime loans" that term may accurately describe your business, but your customers are NOT typing in that term, because they don't know what that is and so they type "bad credit loan."

In effect you could have a good looking web site, that doesn't perform.

Here are a few common mistakes with regards to web sites: 

* Looking good? Always view your site on another machine. You will be surprised at how different your site looks on a machine with a bigger monitor or with an older version of Internet Explorer or with AOL or with an alternative browser such as Opera or Mozilla Firefox will make your site look.

* A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand pictures is not worth a million words. Some sites seems to add too many graphics in order to look nice, but they can be a hindrance to your site. Graphics should be like perfume; it should augment, not overpower.

* Perform the hardest test on your site. Have your mother-in-law go to your site and listen to her feedback.  You will discover how many obvious features to you, are not obvious to her. 

* Pay attention to the little stuff.  Does your site still say "Copyright 2005" (or earlier)?

* Your customer wants to know how they can benefit and save money by using your company instead of one of the thousands of other companies online.

* Is your site consistent and easy to navigate?