Rejected financial applications damaging customer relationships

The firm says that as the breadth of financial products on the market continues to grow, providers must ensure they implement the most accurate “know your customer” strategy possible in order to make sure that products are not marketed to people inappropriately and to avoid the risk of alienating customers.

Paul Birks, chief data and analytics officer at Equifax, said: “With the amount of data and insight currently available, it’s important that lenders use this information smartly in order to correctly target their products and maximise their marketing budgets. Companies genuinely want to build long-term relationships with customers and the fact that such a high number of respondents were unlikely to use a provider again after a rejection highlights how easily these relationships can be damaged.”

Birks pointed out that when a customer’s financial application is unsuccessful, this is usually because to take out a product that is unsuitable, usually because it is beyond their financial means.

“This is clearly the right thing to do but with more robust analysis, companies can be more accurate with their marketing, avoid unnecessary rejections and ensure their brand doesn’t push consumers away,” he explained.