Strategy
Become a Trusted Advisor Beyond the Transaction
To make the strategic switch, the team had to disassemble their existing customer engagement strategy without affecting any active campaigns. With the visibility that Blueshift provides into each stage of the customer journey, the LendingTree team was able to get closer to the customer by understanding the distinct behaviors of their numerous segments. They used this insight to create intentional, connected journeys and target their campaigns more effectively — ultimately allowing them to better serve their customers.
Take the Customer-First Approach to the Next Level
The team began by auditing all communications through the lens of the customer and thought, “What should we be doing for the customer, and what does the customer expect from us?” They identified where customers needed guidance, where they could help customers find what they’re looking for faster, and where there was an opportunity to cross-sell. This process allowed them to redefine new buying paths and create intuitive journeys for each type of customer.
Guide Customers to Financial Success
With many different restrictions and mandates in finance, the team had to be intentional about how to provide the best experience and tailor it to each situation and product journey. For example, someone who just applied for a mortgage is not able to make financial changes during that time. LendingTree instead focused on providing these customers valuable information to guide them through the mortgage process.
Additionally, they recognized the opportunity to help customers who didn’t receive the product offers for which they were searching in order to reach their financial goals. Acknowledging these customers still needed a solution, the team identified different ways to help them by providing resources such as debt relief assistance and credit repair to help improve their credit standing.
Create Individualized Customer Journeys Beyond the Transaction
Not only did LendingTree continue to further personalize the journeys as they learned more about customer segments through their behaviors, but they also looked for opportunities to extend the life of the customer by growing engagement throughout the lifecycle. LendingTree took a more holistic engagement strategy that added value beyond the transaction.
Since establishing an account on the LendingTree platform is free, this was the natural place to engage customers and provide additional services tailored to customers’ credit standing. They also created educational, evergreen content to help customers improve their credit score, find additional savings, and help them make smarter financial choices. This helped grow brand loyalty and keep customers engaged with LendingTree’s ecosystem.
Extend First-Party Data to Improve Paid Media Channels
As the customer experience is taking place on an increasing number of channels, LendingTree saw an opportunity to use its rich first-party data and audiences to match the right messaging and offers to the right people across their digital acquisition channels, such as Facebook and Google. By using audiences built on actionable first-party data, LendingTree has been able to deliver more cohesive messaging across channels and focus their ad spend on higher-converting audiences.