The title insurance, real estate, and mortgage industries are similar in that they are all fiercely competitive and highly commoditized. For this reason, it’s difficult for companies and individuals working in these segments to differentiate themselves, which can muddle brand identity, diminish the customer experience, and undercut customer loyalty.
The customer experience, however, is critical to building consumer loyalty. And delivering an exceptional customer experience is essential for growth and enduring success.
But how can organizations know whether or not the experience they are providing consumers is a positive one? And how can they position themselves to effectively respond when a consumer’s experience is not entirely positive, then put processes into place to ensure it doesn’t happen again?
To optimize the customer experience -- or CX -- organizations must have a process in place to gather, assess, and respond to consumer satisfaction data quickly and to act on this information to improve future CX.
The Importance of Measuring the Customer Experience
WFG National Title Insurance Company (WFG) is unique in that its leadership doesn’t view the organization as purely a title insurance or a technology company, but rather as a customer experience or CX company. For this reason, measuring and tracking customer sentiment and gauging the quality of their experience is imperative. And if that experience falls short, it’s critical to assess why it did so and to learn from those shortcomings.
WFG’s leaders realized that if they expected their real estate and mortgage clients to refer their friends, relatives, and coworkers to them, they needed to create and consistently deliver the best possible customer experience. Not only would this ensure happier customers and consumers, it would also net more repeat and referral business for both WFG and its clients.
Founded in 2010 by visionary Patrick F. Stone, WFG has been able to do what others in the title insurance industry could not: create a company from the ground up based on the team’s extensive knowledge and Stone’s own forward-thinking vision for the industry. WFG’s EVP, Director of Strategic Initiatives Justin Tucker explains what this meant from his perspective.
“I was one of the first employees at WFG, and we had this blank slate to create a different type of title company,” Tucker said. “We were so excited to be able to do all the things we’d always wanted to do and knew the industry needed, but were unable to do at legacy companies. Pat Stone’s longtime vision has been to take time and cost out of the real estate transaction and to put the customer at the heart of it, so we set out to do just that from the get-go at WFG. This vision led to the development of our award-winning MyHome® consumer collaboration portal in 2015, among other things.”
Implementing Customer Satisfaction Ratings
WFG’s leaders recognized that consumers aren’t comparing their experience with WFG to their experiences with other title insurance companies. They are comparing it to their experiences with all of the companies with which they do business, including best-in-class companies like Nordstrom, Amazon, Costco, Marriott, and Apple.
In 2017, with the consumer as their North Star, WFG set out to find a way to measure their customer experience and discovered Net Promoter ScoreSM (NPS®)[1] in the process. What WFG’s leadership team loved most about the NPS model is that it offered them a baseline for comparing the experience they were providing to consumers against that of leading companies in other industries.
Why Measuring the Customer Experience Matters
Here are some statistics that illustrate the importance of customer satisfaction and the overall customer experience (CX)[2]:
- 89% of businesses compete primarily based on CX
- 73% of consumers say that CX is a deciding factor before making a purchase
- 72% of consumers who have a positive CX share it with at least six people in their circle of influence
- Organizations that have high CX ratings can experience resulting revenue increases of up to 15%
- 74% of customers are likely to buy a product or select a provider based only on a favorable CX
- Providing a high-quality CX can save companies up to 33% of customer service costs
What WFG Has Learned From Implementing Consumer Satisfaction Ratings
Since deploying the rating program in 2017, WFG’s NPS ratings have continually increased year over year, with a current year-to-date rating of 87, or “World Class.” The company analyzes this data to identify trends, themes, and areas of concern. In addition to monitoring and managing customer satisfaction, NPS review data is also helping WFG prioritize and map the course for future product development and operational enhancements.
By putting the consumer first and focusing on creating the best possible experience for them, WFG has been able to create happier customers who drive repeat and referral business to the company’s real estate and lender clients.
WFG’s focus on CX is so essential to its corporate philosophy that the company’s leadership recently added a fifth cornerstone to its original four: “Reimage the Customer Experience.” WFG views this fifth cornerstone as its ultimate objective, while the other four serve as the ideals they must embrace and execute upon in order to achieve it.
While WFG continues to make strides to elevate the customer experience, they recognize that it’s a never-ending journey.
“We are enthusiastic about the future and also welcome and embrace the journey,” Tucker. “We look forward to continually improving and providing an exceptional experience for our partners and their customers.”
About WFG National Title Insurance Company
Portland, Oregon-based WFG National Title Insurance Company (WFG), a Williston Financial Group company, is a leading provider of title insurance and real estate settlement services for commercial and residential transactions nationwide. One of just six truly national title underwriters, WFG accomplished its national footprint faster than any other underwriter in history.
Built around the directive to “communicate, collaborate, coexist,” WFG strives to improve the real estate process through the creation and delivery of comprehensive, innovative services and technology solutions that empower and increase transaction transparency for the title agents, real estate professionals, lenders, and consumers it serves. The company enjoys a Financial Stability Rating of A’ (A prime), as assigned by Demotech, Inc. For more information, visit www.wfgtitle.com.
[1] [1] Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.