Customer happiness
Customer satisfaction is an often-overlooked part of running a successful P2P platform. LandlordInvest’s chief executive Filip Karadaghi explains why he makes it a priority…
THERE IS NOT ONE typical type of LandlordInvest customer. Thanks to its low investment threshold of just £100, the property-backed peer-to-peer platform attracts both retail investors and sophisticated lenders alike. This means that millionaires and low-income investors could conceivably find themselves investing in the same loans and earning the same amount of interest. And this is exactly the way LandlordInvest likes it.
“It doesn’t matter if they are investing £100 or £100,000 – all of our customers are treated the same way,” says LandlordInvest’s chief executive Filip Karadaghi. “We always go the extra mile and our approach is very personal in terms of our customers – both our borrowers and our lenders.”
By focusing on customer happiness, LandlordInvest has been able to build a business that is about to celebrate its five-year anniversary having funded almost £6.5m in loans, and nearly £2m on its secondary market. At the time of writing, £481,594 had been returned to investors in interest, with the average rate of return clocking in at an impressive 11.3 per cent.
This is the result of Karadaghi’s insistence that customer happiness is prioritised at all times.
“We depend on our customers being happy,” he says. “Our customers want to know how the platform works, how certain loans are treated, and what updates are coming along. We welcome questions on any aspect of our operations.”
According to Karadaghi, the UK’s P2P sector has a communication problem. Over the years, he has noticed that many platforms leave their customers wanting when it comes to explaining loan structures and offering timely and detailed updates. “There is a lot of room for improvement,” he says.
“There are a lot of investors out there who are unsatisfied with the communication they’re getting from their platforms because they want to discuss service issues with their accounts, roll-up dates on their loans, and the level of risk on their capital investment. They just like to know what’s going on.”
By contrast, LandlordInvest is incredibly pro-active in terms of its client communication. Any news or updates are publicised directly on the LandlordInvest platform, and additional information will take the form of a blog post. The firm is also very active on the P2P Independent Forum, where it will post updates and engage directly with investor comments and feedback.
While Karadaghi admits that “it will be a challenge” to continue this level of engagement as the platform grows, he is confident that LandlordInvest will rise to the occasion.
“We frequently update our Q&A section,” he says. “We will answer any question which comes from our clients, positive or negative. We want our clients to ask questions.”
This attitude even extends to criticism, which LandlordInvest prefers to handle head-on. “We have no issues publicising or addressing criticism on the website,” he says. The most common complaint? “A lack of active loans,” says Karadaghi.
“It’s a good problem to have but any complaint means that you’re not meeting people’s needs and it’s something you have to address.”