Ah, the wonders of snail mail. Seems to me that the only stuff that arrives in the non-electronic mailbox these days is magazines, bills, and junk. Oh sure, the occasional birthday or holiday card at the appropriate times of the year, but mostly it’s crap or bills.
That’s why it was pretty obvious that since the official looking “Refinance Notice” from the US Fannie Mae Relief Program wasn’t a bill, it was probably junk, at least to my eyes. The problem is that neither you or I, who wouldn’t be fooled by this, are there to explain it to the folks who won’t know any better. So let’s ask a business question.What are you thinking? This official-looking notice has my mortgage loan information (incorrect, I might add) and informs me that I can refinance for 105% of my current home value. It isn’t until one reads all the way to the micro-type at the bottom that it states it’s not a government agency and this isn’t from my current lender who, in fact, has nothing to do with this. It’s a smarmy offering from Nationwide Mortgage Concepts, a company from Georgia that actually has an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau. So they’re not complete scumbags. They’re just stupid.
So I’ll ask again – what are you thinking? Why send out something that’s deceptive? This is obviously designed to make someone believe that this is from the government and is a government program designed to help. I get that a huge piece of direct mail is getting the piece opened but there has to be a way that is better than this. The article this morning in the Times on how a huge percentage of refinanced loans aren’t getting paid back shows that confused people make bad decisions. This is exactly what’s caused the economic turmoil we’re all living through – deceptive lending practices preying on ignorance, greed, or desperation. So another question: what if your grandmother got this? What if she got in over her head financially because of your deceptive mailing?
These folks and others like them have an absolute right to be in business. This can be a great time to improve your mortgage situation given where interest rates are. But as marketers and business people we need to be honest. We can’t deceive. One would think that’s common sense, and all the folks screaming for less regulation on many industries would have a stronger case if everyone was thinking of their grandmothers or parents. But that’s just not the case, obviously.
This mailing was deceptive and dumb in my opinion. Behavior like this should be rewarded with failure. Unfortunately, as the Times piece shows, it’s more often rewarded with heartbreak. Now ask yourself a question – is my business doing the same thing somehow?
Thoughts?
Consult Keith 