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Moneysupermarket.com vs.the broker market
11 August 2010
You'd never poke an angry snake with a stick, unless you're very bored or a little reckless. That is unless you're moneysupermarket.com, which did the equivalent with a harassed and crotchety mortgage industry. To recap, the consumer finance site moneysupermarket.com, which arguably knew what it was doing, released a story to the financial press at the end of July stating nine out of ten best rate deals are only available direct from the lender. (See here for story) Moneysupermarket.com has since retracted its figures admitting "a few broker-only deals weren't on it" and denied it ever tried to downplay the value of brokers in the advice process. But the whole issue of how consumers find mortgage deals is key. The latest Mortgage Solutions poll asks brokers if they feel threatened by comparison sites. The results showed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that 57% of MS readers are threatened by sites like Go compare and Comparethe market.com. With their mammoth advertising spend, brokers feel like David to the comparison site's Goliath. But, Foolproof, an expert in consumer buying behaviour online has some crumbs of comfort. The firm says consumers look for more than just the cheapest price when they look for a mortgage and weigh up plenty of factors before they buy. Reviews from other customers and basic reading material on websites are also key decision-drivers because customers want background and don't want to look stupid in front of an adviser when they talk about their mortgage options. All of this pushes customers away from buying mortgages, if not insurance, which is inexplicably seen as simpler on comparison sites. Foolproof, co-founding partner, Peter Ballard says: "Money supermarket sites offer too little information and are too quick to try to capture customer leads to sell. Mortgages remain the last "unclaimed prize online." So, perhaps brokers could offer more of what the consumer wants - information and customer reviews on their own websites - and then a contact number for advice to add value at every stage? Hard to compare the incomparable, surely. Published by Mortgage Solutions
