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Special Reports
Lead Generation: Bringing
in Business
HomeBanc Partners With Website Provider
By Amilda Dymi
ATLANTA -- When talking about the best approach to lead generation, many in the
industry are praising the long-term value and strategic importance of relationship marketing, which is why HomeBanc
Mortgage Corp. here said it has partnered with Connecting Neighbors of Walled Lake, Mich.
HMC and an HMC network of "select preferred real estate agents" from
Atlanta have joined forces with Connecting Neighbors to enable communities around Atlanta and other areas throughout
Georgia to get access to various CN-operated interactive neighborhood websites.
"In marketing you want your message to be where the customers are, and by
sponsoring these websites, we are reaching out to people who own homes and are going to eventually refinance, buy
another house, or get an equity line," said Mark Scott, a spokesperson for HomeBanc. "So you better have
your name in front of them until they are ready for their next transaction."
These websites represent a new tool, besides the traditional personal marketing
through loan officers who work with Realtors, connecting with Realtors, or the general brand public relations advertising.
"Usually people get a mortgage every couple of years. It's not like a Coke,
or a book you keep buying over and over again, so this partnership is more of a longer-term strategy to lead generation,"
said Mr. Scott. "We do not expect it to turn into any business tomorrow, it is more of way to keep alive our
relationship with customers, especially now that the rates are not as low as they have been in the last couple
of years."
The strategy behind the partnership is a grass-roots approach to marketing.
CN, a provider of neighborhood websites operating over 5,000 local websites in
44 states and in Canada, offers unique opportunities to mortgage and real estate professionals interested in building
direct contact and long-term relationships with residents of specific neighborhoods.
"We have primarily worked with real estate agents," said CN president
Sean Fox. "Now we have found that mortgage professionals, such as loan officers, also want to create direct
ties with the community though Internet-based customer relationships are very interested.
"Now, as we started to penetrate the mortgage industry, often times what
you see developing are partnerships between loan officers and real estate agents who share a special interest in
a particular neighborhood," Mr. Fox said. "HomeBanc is one of the largest and well respected lenders
in the Southeast that does a lot of business in Atlanta, and they are differentiating themselves from the other
companies."
In times when "everyone is promoting direct marketing," he noted, lenders
looking for ways how to differentiate themselves "know that relationship marketing is the future." The
main reason, Mr. Fox argues, is growing customer resentment towards direct marketing, as is shown by the number
of those who signed up for the do-not-call lists.
Connecting Neighbors' recent partnership with HMC and its network of real estate
agents also is a first, and the appeal is in HMC's strategic approach to marketing.
"HomeBanc is saying that it is of strategic importance for the company to
get out there and promote and deliver these websites into the neighborhoods," Mr. Fox said. "First, they
get in front of the customers, become familiar to them, and second, they build a relationship with the real estate
agents who were introduced to the program and then get integrated into the partnership as co-sponsors."
As to CN's primary benefit, Mr. Fox finds it in the fact that HomeBanc does not
need to be convinced about "the strategic importance of relationship marketing." The partnership helps
execute that strategy through CN websites, as well as to increase the bank's local presence in the aforementioned
communities.
"HomeBanc has committed to several hundred sites this year," he said.
"It's one of their large purchases which shows a commitment to these markets."
Mr. Fox believes that building strong relationships with the real estate industry
and reaching out to customers locally is a very important investment on the long-term sustainability of the business
for both CN and the bank.
"It pays off over time as HomeBanc builds these relationships," Mr.
Fox explained. "Because it means building a brand and positioning yourself in the community in a way that
is unique."
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