The industry must question the reasons behind the purchasers' preference to shop direct and bypass t...
The industry must question the reasons behind the purchasers' preference to shop direct and bypass the services of a broker.
We can easily identify some of the main areas of conflict for the purchaser, including perhaps inertia, the fear of costs associated with the use of a specialist intermediary and sometimes even the disclosure of specific lifestyle information.
There is much the broker can do to fill this void. However, as long as the broker continues to perceive this to be a non-profitable area, the success of the direct market will continue.
Intermediaries would be well placed to take a holistic approach to lifestyle services. Further development within this area, in partnership with providers, would produce the opportunity for intermediaries to enhance the added value of their overall proposition.
A bespoke online system specific to each intermediary would go some way to reducing labour intensive administrative costs and overheads. This, coupled with a dedicated team of contacts for the day-to-day support of all transactions, would further reduce the burden and ultimately fulfil the intermediaries' financial objectives.
Presently, some providers offer an extensive range of products via the direct channel but limit the range available when selling through the intermediary. Providers could do more to recognise the opportunities in utilising the intermediary resource by working in partnership to increase the overall PMI market penetration.
