The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s 2024 Marketing Leaders Leaders award are open now through April 30th, 2024. Click here to nominate someone.
In the midst of a higher-for-longer mortgage rate environment that is reshaping the landscape of the mortgage industry, the role of a chief marketing officer (CMO) becomes increasingly pivotal as mortgage companies navigate market fluctuations and changing consumer behaviors. Savvy marketing leaders like Coleen Bogle, CMO at New Jersey-based mortgage lender The Money Store have become critical to the industry.
Bogle was recognized as a 2023 HousingWire Marketing Leader for her more than 20 years of financial services marketing experience. Prior to joining The Money Store, Bogle served as chief marketing and growth officer at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. where she led the company’s team of marketing professionals while also contributing to recruiting, compliance, event planning, vendor management and strategic planning.
HousingWire caught up with Bogle to learn more about her new role at The Money Store and find out the secret to her success as an executive marketing leader in the industry.
HousingWire: Congratulations on your new role at The Money Store. Can you share with us some of the key initiatives or strategies you’ve implemented in your first three months as CMO?
Coleen Bogle: I’m thrilled to be part of The Money Store team. In my first three months as CMO, my primary focus has been on aligning our marketing efforts with our growth objectives. One of our key initiatives has been to revitalize The Money Store brand, giving it a fresh, modern appeal. To support this, we’ve assembled a team of experienced marketers structured like an in-house agency, enhancing our internal capabilities. We’ve also implemented project management technologies and streamlined processes to improve workflow and turnaround times for loan officer requests, effectively halving the time it takes to fulfill them. Content plays a crucial role in our strategy, and we’ve significantly expanded our marketing collateral library with over 100 new items.
Furthermore, we’re actively developing new email campaigns to engage with prospects, past clients, and business partners, ensuring we stay top of mind. Our website redevelopment project is well underway, with new sites set to launch this summer. While we have many projects on our plate, the response from our sales team has been overwhelmingly positive, which is incredibly rewarding. We’re excited about the progress we’ve made and the opportunities ahead.
HousingWire: The Money Store prides itself on providing easy, efficient, and affordable home financing. How does your marketing team ensure that these values are effectively communicated to customers, and how do you differentiate The Money Store from other mortgage lenders in the market?
Coleen Bogle: At The Money Store, our core focus is on facilitating seamless and affordable home financing solutions. Our marketing approach is centered around transparently communicating this commitment to our customers. Unlike other mortgage lenders, we prioritize substance over style. We don’t indulge in flashy sponsorships or extravagant events. Instead, we invest heavily in empowering our loan officers. Our marketing team ensures that our values of ease, efficiency, and affordability are effectively communicated by equipping our loan officers with competitive rates, a smooth and high-tech loan process, and a diverse array of marketing collateral. This collateral serves to educate both clients and professional partners about the distinct advantages of choosing The Money Store for their residential mortgage needs.
By focusing on delivering tangible value and empowering our team to provide exceptional service, we differentiate ourselves in the market as a trusted partner committed to making the home financing process as straightforward and affordable as possible.
HousingWire: In a constantly evolving mortgage industry, how do you plan to leverage digital marketing trends and emerging technologies to streamline customer experiences and stay ahead of the competition at The Money Store?
Coleen Bogle: We’re a smaller independent mortgage banker, and yet I’m continually impressed by the robustness of our technological infrastructure. We’ve strategically adopted advanced lender technologies while maintaining a personalized, small-lender approach to effectively support our loan officers, operations team, and borrowers.
To ensure we stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving mortgage industry, we consistently evaluate and enhance our tech stack. Recently, we’ve upgraded our loan pricing engine to a more modern and efficient system. Additionally, we’re actively collaborating with our CRM and mobile app vendors to integrate additional features that enhance the customer experience.
Our dedication to leveraging digital marketing trends and emerging technologies is evident in our impressive 96% customer satisfaction rating. This high level of satisfaction is a testament to our commitment to providing streamlined customer experiences and fostering lifelong relationships with our clients.
HousingWire: As an executive leader, what is one habit you swear by?
Coleen Bogle: One habit I firmly stand by is the practice of overcommunication. I believe in being both thoughtful and direct in my approach, while maintaining transparency in my feedback. By openly addressing deficiencies and transforming them into efficiencies, we continuously improve as a team.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, swift reaction to challenges is essential to staying ahead of the competition. Effective communication facilitates rapid problem-solving and ensures that solutions are promptly implemented. At The Money Store, our organizational structure is nimble, devoid of layers of management. This agility enables us to act quickly and decisively, providing us with a significant advantage.
