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Industry profile

Mortgage Broking & Lending marketing benchmarks

Strongest on Digital Maturity, weakest on Retention & Loyalty. Mortgage Broking & Lending sits below the national average, and that tension shapes how the whole industry markets.

64
Marketing Score, six dimensions
49th
national percentile
Lower half
of its sector
-0
vs national average

Score signature

Digital69
Acquisition64
Conversion68
Retention55
Brand59
Data61

Bars are this industry. Ticks are the national average.

Biggest strength

Digital Maturity

69 out of 100. The engine carrying the whole score.

Biggest gap

Retention & Loyalty

55 out of 100. The dimension dragging the industry down.

Where to start

Retention & Loyalty

The most upside per point of effort: 15% of the score and 8 points below the field.

The map

Where this industry sits

Every dot is an industry we measure. Choose any two dimensions for the axes. Mortgage Broking & Lending is the red mark.

Retention & Loyalty
High Retention / low Acquisition
High Retention / high Acquisition
Low Retention / low Acquisition
Low Retention / high Acquisition
Mortgage Broking & Lending

Acquisition Performance

DevelopingAverageAbove averageHighThis industry

Mortgage Broking & Lending sits below average on Retention & Loyalty and above average on Acquisition Performance. That tension defines the industry.

The spread inside the industry

Weakest · 48Midpoint · 64Strongest · 80

Every number is a Marketing Score out of 100. It rolls six dimensions into one figure, so 48 is a business doing the basics and 80 is one that markets like a business twice its size.

Developing, under 50Average, 50 to 59Above average, 60 to 69High, 70 plus

The distance between the strongest and weakest performer here is wide. A small cluster is genuinely good. A long tail sits well behind. The bar to lead this industry is lower than the reputation suggests. So where would you land?

The breakdown

How far above or below the field

Each row plots this industry against the whole field. The dot is where Mortgage Broking & Lending sits, the line is the national average and the faint marks are every other industry. Tap a row for what the dimension means.

Field lowNational avg 66Field high
26% of the field scores higherTap for what it means
Field lowNational avg 63Field high
41% of the field scores higherTap for what it means
Field lowNational avg 63Field high
19% of the field scores higherTap for what it means
Field lowNational avg 62Field high
87% of the field scores higherTap for what it means
Field lowNational avg 64Field high
77% of the field scores higherTap for what it means
Field lowNational avg 58Field high
29% of the field scores higherTap for what it means

The read

What the numbers say about Mortgage Broking & Lending

On the whole, Mortgage Broking & Lending is a middle-of-the-pack industry. It leads on digital maturity and trails on retention & loyalty, and the fastest gains sit in retention & loyalty.

What is strong

Digital Maturity

Sits in the upper half of every industry we measure. This is the engine carrying the score.

What holds it back

Retention & Loyalty

Sits near the back of the field. The soft spot that drags the whole number down.

Where the upside is

Retention & Loyalty

Carries the most weight in the score and sits below the field. Move this and the whole number moves with it.

A digital maturity-led industry with a retention & loyalty problem. The reputation says one thing. The pipeline says another.

87%of industries score higher on Retention & Loyalty, the dimension carrying the most weight in this score. That gap is where the money is, and where most operators are not looking.

Go deeper

The trail commission trap and the marketing that escapes it+

Mortgage broking in Australia is a $300+ billion annual origination market served by over 17,000 brokers. The composite reflects a sector that is digitally mature but struggling with the fundamentals of client relationships.

Digital maturity is the strongest dimension, driven by CRM adoption, digital application tools and comparison technology. The infrastructure is there. The question is whether brokers are using it for marketing or just for processing.

Retention with 15% weight is the hidden cost. Trail commission, the ongoing payment brokers receive on active loans, means every client who refinances away is a permanent income loss. Yet most brokers have no systematic retention program. They originate, settle and move to the next deal.

The brokers winning on retention treat their loan book as a marketing asset. Annual reviews, rate monitoring alerts and proactive contact before fixed rate expiry dates keep the relationship alive. These brokers retain 70-80% of their book. The industry average is below 50%.

Acquisition with 30% weight is dominated by Google (search and ads) and referral networks. The brokers diversifying into content marketing, particularly first home buyer education and investment property analysis, build organic acquisition channels that reduce reliance on expensive paid leads.

Acquisition-heavy in a transactional category+

Acquisition carries 30%. Every mortgage broker needs a constant pipeline of new clients. The average client refinances every 3-4 years, which means the pipeline needs continuous replenishment.

Conversion at 25% and 67.8 is the second-highest dimension. Mortgage conversion is the application-to-settlement process. The brokers who simplify documentation, communicate proactively and manage lender timelines convert more applications.

Retention at 15% and 54.5 is structurally low. Mortgage clients are loyal to rates, not brokers. The ones who build ongoing relationships through annual reviews and proactive refinance recommendations retain better.

Where mortgage brokers should invest+

Retention is the biggest opportunity. A retained mortgage client represents ongoing trail commission and referral potential. Annual home loan reviews, proactive rate monitoring and life-event triggered communications (property value changes, interest rate movements) build the relationship that survives refinancing cycles.

Acquisition can diversify beyond Google Ads. Content marketing targeting first home buyer questions, investment property guides and refinancing calculators builds organic traffic that reduces cost per lead.

Brand with 10% weight differentiates in a crowded market. The brokers with clear specialisation (first home buyers, investment property, commercial lending) attract better-matched clients than generalists.

Highlighted terms link through to the marketing dictionary.

Frequently asked

Common questions about Mortgage Broking & Lending

How do mortgage brokers compare on marketing?+
The sector scores 64 composite. Digital maturity leads, reflecting strong CRM and tool adoption. Retention is the biggest weakness, with most brokers underinvesting in client retention despite trail commission economics that reward long-term relationships.
What marketing works for mortgage brokers?+
Google Ads on mortgage-intent keywords and content marketing targeting first home buyer and refinancing questions. The acquisition score of 64 rewards brokers visible during the research phase. Referral programs from real estate agents and financial planners supplement digital channels.
How can mortgage brokers retain more clients?+
Annual home loan reviews, proactive rate monitoring and fixed-rate expiry communications. Retention scores just 55. Brokers who systematically contact clients before key events (rate changes, fixed term expiry, property value shifts) retain 70-80% of their book versus the sub-50% industry average.
How important is specialisation for mortgage brokers?+
Increasingly important. Brand scores 59 with 10% weight. Brokers specialising in specific segments (first home buyers, investment property, commercial, self-employed) differentiate in a market with 17,000+ competitors. Specialisation enables targeted content marketing and clearer value propositions.

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