The home improvement business has been around for as long as there have been homes. So it makes sense that many veteran contractors have followed the same systems and processes for years, even decades! But technology and home improvement lending have become deeply intertwined in recent years.
For some contractors, this has been tough, requiring that they learn new technologies, adapt to changing expectations, and implement new sales techniques. But for the most part, the transition toward technology has been rewarding.
And there’s a pretty simple explanation for this movement: convenience. Home improvement lending technology allows contractors to immediately close a sale right inside the home. It also makes the purchase seamless and painless for the homeowner.
Before these advancements, homeowners would’ve had to find a bank or endure a manual and slow lending process. Now they can get their financing arranged while the contractor is still in the home with them.
Meeting Customer Expectations
In this day and age, the customers are highly educated before they make a planned purchase. Chances are, when a contractor arrives to bid a job, the customer already knows what they want and what it will cost. They may also have conducted research to find a contractor, which means they probably have some level of trust (and the high expectations that come with it) established at the outset.
So if the contractor doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations… it can be a difficult sell. Not only do customers expect to have financing options, but they also expect to have it done instantly.
Thus the need for advancements in technology.
Using a Mobile App
When home improvement contractors work with Medallion Bank, they get access to our innovative technology.
Here’s a quick overview of what home improvement contractors can expect with our mobile app, for example:
- It’s compatible with both Android and IOS devices
- You can submit applications and get instant approvals the majority of the time
- You can use the loan calculator to show your customers a variety of scenarios
- An application can be filled out in five minutes or less; scanning the customer’s driver’s license automatically pre-populates a lot of the required information
- You can check the status of applications you’ve already submitted
- You can sign documents electronically, then upload the remaining documentation to be ready for loan funding
Basically, the goal of technology is to make everyone’s lives easier. The contractor can easily explain the process and close a sale. The customer can easily understand the information and arrange the financing without leaving the kitchen table.
To further emphasize this trend, more than 55% of our home improvement applications are submitted through our mobile app. And since we developed the app in-house, we can always improve it to make the process more user-friendly and effective.