Brand Channel report
by Julie Casteel

As competition across all industries continues to increase and the market becomes saturated with products and services, building a positive brand identity is more important than ever before. Businesses are constantly trying to identify opportunities to create an affinity with customers and build their brands. One channel that can be particularly effective in this endeavor is the customer contact center.
The customer service contact center represents an essential communications link between an organization and its customers. Associates continuously interact with consumers, amassing tremendous quantities of information that can be used by the client to gauge brand awareness, customer satisfaction, and—ultimately—customer loyalty. Ideally, the contact center and the client will work together to analyze the customer data and optimize the customer experience.

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With recent changes in Legislation in Australia we thought it was time to get a better understanding of just what Money Laundering was.

In October 2005, U.S. congressman Tom DeLay was indicted on money laundering charges, forcing him to step down as House Majority Leader. Money laundering is a serious charge — in 2001, U.S. prosecutors obtained almost 900 money-laundering convictions with an average prison sentence of six years. The rise of global financial markets makes money laundering easier than ever — countries with bank-secrecy laws are directly connected to countries with bank-reporting laws, making it possible to anonymously deposit “dirty” money in one country and then have it transferred to any other country for use.

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Vodcast by Vicki Grey, Gadens - December 2006

After more than two years of waiting, the new Anti-Money Laundering/ Counter Terrorist Financing Act has finally commenced and will become operative over the next two years.  Gadens Lawyers will work with the mortgage industry to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime.

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Australian Broker Magazine provide some valuable tips.

1. Identify and approach potential referrers. These may include commercial real estate agents, buyer advocates, accountants, solicitors and financial planners. Commercial brokers often target residential mortgage brokers who are less experienced in commercial finance as potential sources of business.

2. Identify the needs of the referrer. In every case, they will want to ensure you can look after their clients, that you are knowledgeable, trustworthy, reliable and above all, professional. Always remember, they will want to know how you can benefit them, their business and their clients. Target your presentations accordingly.

3. Support your referrer. To help the referrer achieve their goals you do not have to pay referral fees on every occasion. A commercial real estate agent, as an example, may achieve an improved financial outcome through faster sales completion and higher conversion rates from enquiry to sales (improving productivity). This outcome can be supported by the broker through fast loan approvals and a high conversion rate for finance approval.

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