Mark Heckels – regional director for YBS Commercial Mortgages - discusses why clarity and consistency are the cornerstones of a meaningful customer journey.

In today’s competitive commercial lending landscape, the customer journey is more than a transactional pathway - it’s a reflection of how much a business values its clients. Yet, too often, organisations define customer journeys through the lens of their own internal processes, overlooking the reality that the journey should be shaped by the customer’s own experience.

The best customer journeys are agnostic to internal structures. They begin long before a form is filled out and continue well beyond the drawdown of a loan. They’re shaped by the customer’s need for finance, the steps they take to seek solutions, and the interactions they have along the way. Importantly, it doesn’t end when the loan is approved either - it extends throughout the lifetime of the product. Re-engaging a customer only at the point of maturity, after years of silence, is not a successful strategy - it’s a missed opportunity.

At YBS Commercial Mortgages, we’ve taken deliberate steps to improve our customer journey by focusing on clarity, consistency and responsiveness. While having the right product mix is essential, the real differentiator lies in how those products are delivered. The experience must make sense to the customer, not just satisfy internal metrics.

Getting this right has meant scrutinising every step of the process. Regulatory and credit requirements inevitably put pressure on all parties involved in the deal, but the opportunity lies in designing journeys that guide customers through those check points in joyful ways, and - following key feedback from our broker partners - is our objective. 

Communication plays a pivotal role here. Above all, customers need to understand what’s happening, why it’s necessary and what comes next. This transparency builds trust and confidence.

There’s no doubt that commercial lending presents unique challenges compared to its residential counterpart. In residential markets, data is readily available, and properties change hands frequently, making decisions more straightforward. In contrast, commercial loans often involve complex ownership structures, trading businesses and portfolios with performance data that isn’t immediately accessible. This complexity means that critical information can emerge at various stages, potentially disrupting the progress of the deal.

The key is to gather as many relevant details as early as possible - without overwhelming brokers or customers. This enables lenders to make decisions that are not only fast, but reliable. Brokers play a vital role in this process too, with their longstanding relationships with their clients, and manage much of the heavy lifting, guiding customers through intricate transactions and acting as a bridge between lender and borrower.

Technology is also transforming customer journeys. Digital platforms now allow lenders to access all the relevant deal information in one place, accelerating their decision-making. But we believe that technology should enhance - not replace - the human touch, and should be designed to give our people more time to engage meaningfully with brokers and customers.

Armed with this insight, we’ve made significant strides in this area. Our broker portal re-platforming earlier this year has made us more agile, improved efficiencies and is making the application journey quicker, easier and more flexible for brokers and their clients, and there’s more to come.

Other impactful changes have been the recent introduction of a 24-hour decision in principle (DIP) along with providing offer letters within a defined 30-day service level agreement. These steps will provide brokers and customers with early certainty around terms, conditions and interest rates - subject to valuation - making the customer journey more predictable and less stressful. We’ve also streamlined our customer due diligence process, tailoring it to perceived risk levels, and simplified our lending standards, making it easier for customers and colleagues to understand what’s in scope. These changes have enabled us to deliver clearer, faster decisions.

And we’re not stopping there. We’re committed to continuous improvement, guided by broker feedback and customer needs. Every change we make is aimed at enhancing our interactions - making them smoother, more transparent and more consistent for brokers and customers every step of the way. By focusing on clarity, consistency and communication, we can create customer journeys that not only meet expectations but exceed them, building trust, loyalty, and long-term value.