3 Things Consumers Demand for an Optimal Signing Experience

In every person’s life there are significant moments that will stick with them forever--graduating high school, moving out of Mom and Dad’s house, purchasing their first car and of course buying their first house. While the process of buying a home can be one of the most exciting times in a person’s life, today’s complicated home buying process can quickly put a damper on the situation.

Because lenders themselves are plagued with a vast array of investor and government regulations related to the loan process, providing a simple, streamlined experience for the consumer has historically fallen by the wayside. However, with recent advancements in technology, lenders now have better tools to meet consumer needs and put the keys to their dream home in their hands faster than ever before.

So what is it exactly that consumers are looking for when it comes to finally signing on the dotted line?

Based on existing consumer habits and behaviors, as well as the widespread adoption of advanced technologies, we know that consumer satisfaction is best achieved by providing a streamlined process that can be completed easily and with no confusion. In addition, consumers want total transparency when it comes to the delivery and signing of documents for their new home. In other words, they want to know exactly what they are signing, what the status is and what needs to happen next.

Overall, the expectations and demands of consumers surrounding the signing experience can be broken down into three categories:

1. A Dynamic Document Solution

One of the keys to providing an optimal signing experience is (obviously) focusing on leveraging technology to help streamline the document process. In the year 2016, manual processes are no longer a viable option for today’s consumers based on the continued adoption of advanced technologies and integration of these technologies into nearly every facet of life.

For lenders, this dependence on technology means that they must think long and hard about the document management process they leverage in order to ensure total satisfaction from consumers. First and foremost, the technology needs to speed up the process. Consumers don’t want to be left waiting. In addition, the technology must promote greater accuracy and eliminate manual processes to avoid possible errors. As a result of adopting a more tech savvy document management process, lenders can free themselves up to have more hands-on interaction with consumers, which will result in greater satisfaction and a less stressful process for the borrower.

2. Solid User Interface

Taking a step beyond adopting a dynamic document management solution, consumers also expect an easy-to-use interface when it comes to interacting with the lender’s technology. The overall look and feel of the solution should be intuitive for consumers of every age and experience level. However, in instances where consumers may have minimal understanding of technology, lenders should take time to train the borrower on how to use the system to electronically sign documents in a timely manner.

3. Security

While today’s consumers are definitely concerned with speed and efficiency throughout the home buying process, they also want to feel assured that their information is being safely transferred and stored. Because of their frequent use and understanding of technology, millennials are most likely to demand an electronic process for reviewing and signing documents. However, millennials also expect (and demand) an extremely high level of security when it comes to their financial information. From the beginning of the process, lenders need to assure consumers their information is fully secured and put their minds at ease from the start. Data security also comes into play from a regulatory standpoint as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is continually keeping a watchful eye on lenders.

In the end, consumers need to feel in control and fully understand where they stand in the home buying process. While it is no surprise that today’s consumers want to get the signing process taken care of as quickly as possible, they also want to feel confident in the technology provided by their lender and be able to depend on them for help should a need arise.

For more information on meeting the needs of today’s technology-driven borrowers, download Docutech’s latest whitepaper: A New Home, A New Life - Improving the Borrower Experience.