I just returned from spending a few days at the Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver. The event is organized by the Canadian Association of Mortgage Professionals or CAAMP. Before I left for the conference I told all my clients and friends that my mom lets me go to CAAMP. Gotta love bad mortgage humor…
CAAMP stage for the marketing & customer service panel
This Forum is held annually and herds mortgage brokers, banks and other
service providers all in the same conference center from across Canada.
This year several panels were created that discussed the direction of
the mortgage industry, the direction of the Canadian economy, mortgage
client customer service and marketing. First and foremost the economist
panel pretty much all agreed that they do not foresee rates going up
anytime soon and if they do it would be a small increase. So everyone
out there don’t worry about rates going up especially if you are looking
to buy for next summer or refinance.
In previous blog entries, I raised concern about Canadian household debt. After his panel,
I informally chatted with Carlos Leitao from Laurentian Bank,
more about debt and income levels. Carlos mentioned that unsecured debt
was not a problem in Canada yet he did not mention about secured debt. I
also asked Carlos about Canadian wages which he agreed wages have not
increased accordingly.
Bank economists discussing the state of Canadian Economy (hosted by Amanda Land; economists: Warren Jestin from Scotiabank, Carlos Leitao from Laurentian Bank, & Stephane Marion from National Bank)
What was most remarkable about the conference was the panel on public
perception and customer service quality. Based on stats presented by Rob
Daniel from Maritz Canada, only about 44% of Canadians use a
mortgage broker. This tells us that we as an industry are still not
getting the word out about our role and the value we provide. Clients
that do use a mortgage broker statistically appear to be pleased with
our work but we need to continue to communicate with our clients after
they have received their mortgage.
Host Amanda Land asking a question to Rob Daniel
The last part of the Forum focused
on marketing, customer service and role of technology in business.
David Usher launched the discussion speaking about creativity, virtually
everything is learn-able and that in every business fear is what drives
our personal limits.
David Usher speaking and later singing
Randi Zuckerberg speaking about her experience building Facebook with her brother
Biz Stone sharing his experience building Twitter and role of philanthropy in marketing
The discussion was quarterbacked by Scott Stratten who spoke about social media being a conversation and communication vehicle.
Overall, the event was well worth attending but also
eye-opening. The experiences shared by Biz Stone, Randi Zuckerberg,
David Usher, Mitch Joel, and Scott Stratten have helped me realize a few
things in terms how to cultivate better customer service and
relationships.