How five companies put the concept of eCRM into practice by meshing live service over the phone and over the Internet. They don't know when they'll be responded to. The mortgage lender used to devote a daily average of six hours per loan to let customers know about the status of their applications. That was until October 2000, when the company introduced a service that lets customers sign up to receive calls that play automated messages about their loans. At press time, more than 7,000 customers were receiving the notification service, from which only four customers unsubscribed.
Customers hear another recorded message when the mortgage lender receives their signed applications.
Customers then hear prompts to press another digit to forward the message, with their own recorded comments, to others like family members or real estate agents. Quicken Loans recognized the demand for this service based on surveys the client relations team conducts by phone with customers after they close on loans. In a manner analogous to an e-mail newsletter, the service lets subscribers know about changes in interest rates or opportunities to refinance their home loans, and customers can opt to receive information that interests them. Quicken Loans' customers appreciate the updates. In January 2001, TRD Frameworks, a market research firm based in Seattle, WA, conducted a phone survey of 100 of the mortgage lender's customers who received the notification service.