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Bill Rice is the CEO of Kaleidico, a leader in lead management systems. Prior to founding Kaleidico he was the VP of National Home Equity and the Home Loan Benefit program at Quicken Loans and one of the founding executives of DeepGreen Bank, an Internet-only bank that was one of the first and (at that time) largest buyers of LendingTree leads in early 2000.

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Qtopia Takes Mortgage Clients to Another World

March 26th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
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Client loyalty takes on a whole new reality with Quicken Loans’ Qtopia. Developed using synergies with ePrize (another Dan Gilbert investment)
Stepping outside the mundane paradigm of email blasts, online newsletters, and birthday cards Qtopia creates, quite literally, a new world of possibilities for client loyalty and retention:

Qtopia is designed as an entertaining way for users to access sensible financial planning tools and maintain ties between Quicken and its customers during periods between loans, said Todd Lunsford, client chief marketing officer.

“It’s a site we can create some stickiness to,” he said. “In the past, our client loyalty campaign was like any other company’s, like signing up for newsletters.”

Lunsford noted that it costs five times more to acquire a customer than retain one. Quicken spent close to $25 million in online advertising in the first 11 months of 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

I think there are two important themes here:

  1. Focusing on clients you have helped in the past and should be helping again
  2. Shifting from mathematical advertising to conversational loyalty

Would you Qtopia?

There Are 3 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by LeadCritic on 26 March 2008:

    I like the theory Bill, but I really don’t think this is going to work. I think you ask the most important question, “Would you Qtopia?”
    I wouldn’t…why would I? For the tools? Come on, I have way more important things to do. I think this will fail just like many of the other virtual marketing ideas.
    Although, I think QL should be proud, as a company, to take such initiatives. Most companies don’t have the guts to even discuss such an idea.

  2. Pingback by Are You Creating a Customer Army? : Lead Marketwatch on 27 March 2008:

    […] and innovative. It certainly went beyond the mundane of typical mortgage marketing, reflected in my commentary: Stepping outside the mundane paradigm of email blasts, online newsletters, and birthday cards […]

  3. Comment by Bill Rice on 28 March 2008:

    Why would I? Why Qtopia? Maybe a Quicken Loans person will stop by and give us their thoughts?

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