Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Small Business Administration developed the Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP), which provided loans to small firms in order to keep their employees. Lendio, a company dedicated to assisting small businesses, decided to make these loans available to qualified applicants. This choice resulted in an exponential increase in Lendio's database, with one million contacts added in just 12 months.
The Challenge
The Solution
The Results
A Successful Partnership with HubSpot
Initially, Lendio's database marketing team consisted of a single person sending out broadcast emails. With the sudden influx of new contacts, Lendio sought to refine its communication strategy. They aimed to segment customers for more targeted communication and employ automation to boost internal workflow and efficiency.
Moreover, Lendio aimed to better align its database marketing team with its sales team. The company realised that without better alignment, they would need to hire more salespeople to work these leads, which would increase their business costs. Instead, they needed the sales team to focus on leads who were close to closing a loan and spend less time on front-of-funnel nurturing.
Lendio already had the solution it needed to manage this influx of leads: the HubSpot CRM Platform. The company chose to implement the HubSpot CRM Platform and Marketing Hub well before the pandemic hit, as they needed a tool that could grow with them and was cost-efficient.
With Hubspot already enhancing the team's capabilities, Lendio started implementing automation and segmentation to manage their leads more efficiently. They identified where people were disengaging during the online application process and used automated email sequencing to address common pain points at each stage. Lendio also added a personal touch, by providing a contact number where an applicant could speak to an agent about their specific points of concern. This assisted in keeping the conversation going and moving the leads down the funnel.
With the help of Marketing Hub automation, Lendio closed 58% more deals from 2019 to 2022. They also experienced a 618% increase in the number of loan applications completed over the same period.
Lendio's database marketing team has grown from one person to seven, taking a greater role in warming up leads, which alleviates pressure on the sales team. They send out targeted, segmented emails that are relevant to each contact to keep them engaged.
Today, Lendio's database has over two million contacts—and it continues to grow. The company has also integrated the HubSpot CRM Platform with Twilio to market to its contacts via text messages in addition to email.
In conclusion, HubSpot has been instrumental in helping Lendio navigate issues as they've scaled. The platform has proven to be a valuable tool for the company, enabling it to manage exponential growth and enhance efficiency.
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