Concerns

There are many concerns prevalent about online strategies and the internet but one argument stands out logically in general advocating that the internet is not an end in itself but merely a tool to help implement a Mortgage Brokerage firm’s overall business and business development plans. Putting it simply, the emphasis is upon the creation of a joined-up, rather than a semi-detached, business strategy.

Unfortunately, in far too many firms, the online strategy proves to be a stand-alone and a one-off initiative commenced by the marketing department, the IT department or even a couple of forceful mortgage advisors within the firm; thus proving its semi-detached existence! You may ask, What if anything, is wrong with this? Good question but our experience dictates that leaving aside the more general issue of the importance of ensuring a company-wide commitment and enterprise wide strategy and buy-in to any online strategy, the inherent risks associated with the semi-detached approach include:

	Inability to integrate technology - so the IT systems supporting the website cannot talk to other property management systems or CRM a firm may use, without a data conversion and/or re-keying exercise.
	Incompatibility of data - so client and matter records generated by the website cannot be integrated with other data. Along with the loss of marketing and data storage management & inadequate processing of information, it could also expose a firm to conflict of interest and case handling risks.