Subprime Mortgage Marketing Tips

Thirteen is an unlucky number for the subprime mortgage market. This market reached a level of 13.5 percent of overall mortgages in 2006, according to the Mortgage Brokers Association. Unfortunately, its delinquency rate jumped to 13 percent by the end of that same year. This has led to an increasingly competitive environment in which only the smartest marketers will survive.

Like a prospector arriving late at the California gold rush of '49, lenders new to the subprime market are going to face immense challenges. This is because the subprime market, which experienced meteoric growth through 2006, has tightened. Significant increases in delinquency have caused lenders to tighten their loan guidelines.

As a result, more lenders than ever are trying to tap into an increasingly shrinking market. Here are some tactics that you can use to make every subprime mortgage marketing effort count.

Intelligent targeting

Because the size of your market is dwindling, the quality of your leads is more important than ever before. There are plenty of lead generation companies that can help you fine-tune your selection process and access quality prospects. It's worth spending money to get quality customers. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Be visible-online and off

A proven way to increase response is to provide multiple access points for your product. For subprime mortgages, this translates into having both a website and a bricks-and-mortar presence. It makes good 20th Century marketing sense to provide your customers with whatever shopping options make them happy.

Make your materials a cut above the rest

Your marketing materials are the ideal place to set yourself apart from the competition. Make sure that the material you develop is designed to generate responses. It doesn't make sense to advertise unless you're going to see results. This is a difficult skill, and you'll probably want to employ the talents of a good direct marketing agency to help you develop these subprime marketing tools. The upfront dollars will be worth it in the long run.

As you follow these tips, remember to keep your business inline with current direct mail ethics standards, and honor the do-not-call and do-not-mail list. These may prove challenging, but they'll ultimately add integrity and staying power to your business. Your customers will appreciate it, and it just might give you the advantage over all those newly-arrived subprime prospectors. The results could be golden.