Advisers must focus on retention and nurturing their existing client bank in 2022, according to SimplyBiz Mortgages.

The mortgage club also suggested that a wider adoption of criteria sourcing will be needed from advisers in the technology space across the mortgage market.

Speaking exclusively to MoneyAge, head of strategic development at SimplyBiz Mortgages, Richard Merrett, said that the mortgage market is still coming to terms with a “few years worth of activity in the space of three months” during the pandemic.

“Pre-COVID, we were told the narrative in the market was that the technology nirvana for everybody was going to be lender integration, and that it was going to be the most important thing,” Merrett said.

“During COVID, what actually became most important was having a customer portal and being able to engage with a consumer at all times of day, not having to fill in paperwork, and get around the lack of face-to-face interaction.

“The other most important aspect has been criteria and research, because criteria changed so much. LTV bandings were slipping away by the day, while affordability assessments, bonus criteria, and self-employed criteria were all changing. It was a few years worth of activity in the space of three months. That then took a long time to come back and I still don’t think we’re quite at the full level.”

Merrett said that advisers must now consider where their business can come from this year without the stamp duty holiday, and suggested that the most important thing for them will be their “existing customers and client bank”.

“This importance cannot be understated, and firms will need to focus more on not just retention but also nurturing their client bank,” he commented.

“Because so many people are starting their journey online, the importance of customer advocacy and five-star ratings has become massive. This is something that will become increasingly important currency for intermediaries, because it drives more lead flow, but also if people are starting their journey online it will also boost your online ranking.”

Merrett also suggested the mortgage technology space is now seeing “overwhelming improvement, adoption and articulation” of the importance of criteria and affordability sourcing products.

“What they have, which the world seems to be crying out for, is swathes of consumer data where people are doing searches all the time,” he said. “On affordability, we’ve seen different trends with lenders being used because you can get a better outcome with certain ones than others.

“On criteria, we’ve seen that the things that have been most searched for has been all over the place and it’s come in waves to a certain extent. The importance of being able to narrow the funnel in terms of your research as an adviser cannot be underestimated either.”

Merrett added: “The adoption of criteria sourcing will become increasingly important, because both lenders and tech companies have put a lot of money behind it. However, adoption at the moment is pretty poor. I think a lot of that comes from the clarity that brokers have, and I think this is something we need to watch in the technology space.”

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