Half of brokers are looking to acquire a CRM for the first time

Research from online broker forum cherryplc.co.uk has found that just under half (47%) of mortgage intermediaries are looking to acquire a customer relationship management (CRM) system for the first time.

In addition, 23% expressed their interest in purchasing an affordability calculator, 18% were looking to invest in criteria sourcing and 12% in product sourcing – all for the first time.

Among those already using these solutions, only 33% of respondents said they were happy with their current tech provider, while 28% highlighted CRM systems as a tech tool they were looking to replace, and 18% pointed to potentially upgrading their criteria sourcing.

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With regard to other tech resources that intermediaries were seeking to replace, product sourcing scored 12%, with an affordability calculator coming in at 9%.

Donna Hopton, director at cherry, said: “Technology is one of the most talked about subjects on our forum and we’ve seen elsewhere that a variety of tech providers are heavily involved in the same sorts of conversations.

“There is clearly much interest and competition in these areas and great opportunities exist for providers who act quickly, to provide the intermediary community with the answers, and the types of solutions, they need.

“This engagement process is vital in helping the wider mortgage market to continue making forward strides, and the correct understanding and implementation of technology will remain key to any positive momentum.”

Conor Murphy, CEO at Smartr365, added: “Much has been written in recent weeks on the acceleration of technology adoption among mortgage professionals in the UK, but what is particularly interesting about this survey is that it goes a step further and gets to the heart of brokers’ perceptions around the technology.

“Broadly speaking, what we are seeing is a real shift, away from single-issue, or ‘point’ solutions, towards end-to-end platforms that cater to a brokers’ whole business.

“Most mortgage brokers realise they need to change – rapidly – with the times and this is borne out by the responses to this survey.”