During the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage companies are offering their customers several loan forbearance options to provide temporary relief to those who have suffered financial hardship during this time.
Unfortunately, customers don’t understand how forbearance works – namely, if, when, and how mortgage payments that were suspended are meant to be repaid. This has resulted in confusion for the customer… and an overwhelming number of calls to customer service departments for explanations on how to proceed. And this phenomenon has just begun; there is likely to be an even bigger spike in calls as the first wave of forbearances come due in the coming months. Fortunately, Idomoo’s Interactive Personalised Video can help relieve the pressure on customer service.
While you probably already are communicating proactively with your customers before the end of their forbearance period to explain options, the way you communicate will make or break this effort.
Written communications – especially long documents detailing complicated financial matters – have proven to be largely ineffective for the layman. This phenomenon will be even more pronounced now, when people are feeling anxious and overwhelmed and are being inundated with information about health, work, and education – resulting in limited focus and patience.
How can you get customers the information they need to understand their forbearance options in a way that will grab their attention, is easy to understand, and motivates them to focus on the details and plan accordingly — and make sure your customer service department doesn’t become overwhelmed? The answer is Interactive Personalised Video.
People look to manage information in a way that takes the least amount of effort. Biologically and evolutionarily, we are wired to process and retain audio-visual data much more readily than writing. In fact, our brains process visuals 60,000x faster than text! In addition, action is driven by emotion, and audio-video stimulation elicits the strongest emotional response by appealing to the limbic system, the fast-thinking brain system responsible for intuitive, emotional and unconscious thoughts.
But not all video is created equal. Broadcast video to wide audiences – historically the only option – certainly does a better job of conveying information and eliciting emotion than written communication, but it can’t be customised; this means a particular video’s message will be exactly the same for every viewer, no matter his or her unique situation. In certain circumstances – let’s say a marketing explainer video that presents a company’s main mission or explains how a particular product works – a broadcast video with a universal message is perfect. But for transactional purposes, it is not ideal.
Luckily, advancements in technology now allow for real-time, dynamic videos that are customisable and scalable. Using Idomoo’s video personalisation platform, mortgage companies can create Interactive Personalised Videos with individual messages to each forbearance customer, quickly and efficiently. Not only can you explain the various options a particular customer has at the end of his or her specific forbearance period (which may be different than another customer’s options), but the customer can skip through the video in chapters and focus on the options he or she is most interested in, making the content more accessible and useful.
Even more important, each customer’s actual figures can be used to explain repayment alternatives, making options more relevant and less complicated, and the best approach more obvious. In short, personalised video means that the message is targeted specifically to each individual customer, using his or her real data to explain, illustrate and elicit an emotional response that will lead to action. Another way to look at it: Interactive Personalised Videos essentially serve as a “video FAQ” — your customers ask questions and receive personalised video responses that speak to their particular situation in a format that makes it easy for them to understand. It’s like calling customer service, only better!
Idomoo’s video personalisation platform provides another advantage: time-to-market with Interactive Personalised Video is fast. We can launch a campaign in as short as a few weeks from the time a company approaches us to delivery to customers. This responsiveness and agility is always important, but it is invaluable in the rapidly-changing COVID-19 environment.
We are living through a historic event that is shaking the foundation of our modern world. People are overwhelmed, anxious, and distracted, making it especially hard to communicate with them and drive action. When it comes to mortgage forbearance, there can be serious financial consequences for customers who don’t understand how forbearance works and what their options are for repayment. By utilising Idomoo’s personalised video platform, you can grab your customers’ attention, help them understand their unique situation clearly and in a way their brain will best process, and ensure they will take steps to resolve their forbearance… all without overwhelming your customer service department.
To find out more about Idomoo’s easy-to-use Idomoo’s video personalisation platform and how we can help you reach your customers and drive action, contact us below.
