Wednesday, November 1, 2006

BRIGHT IDEAS Northeast Ohio is full of entrepreneurs hatching creative business ideas or developing innovative products. In this monthly feature, The Plain Dealer spotlights those pushing the brightest ones.

It's a gift!
Web-based business keeps cards, letters flowing to clients
by Emily Hamiln
Plain Dealer Reporter

Ryan Florio didn't have to be a serial entrepreneur to know that businesses need repeat customers to service.

But when he learned that most mortgage brokers spend little money - if any - on retaining clients, his experience helped him recognize his next business idea.

Florio, who has launched about 10 companies since high school, turned that idea into Specialclient.com, a client relationship service that opened in April.

Few of his previous ventures survived those tumultuous first years, but Florio said they are the reason Special Client is off to such a strong start.

"I learned something valuable from each of those companies that I used to create this one," he said. "Without all that, I wouldn't be here with this company."

Specialclient.com is an Internet-based company designed to keep mortgage brokers and other businesspeople connected with clients.

Brokers pay about $150 for each client they want to enroll in the program. Specialclient then sends the customer a personalized howsewarming gift after the loan closes and follows up with birthday and holiday cards, as well as surveys and notes about refinancing and referrals.

Specialclient notifies brokers when each mailing goes out, so they can follow up with a phone call.

The company serves about 30 mortgage companies and registers about 100 new clients from those companies each month said Florio, who hopes to expand his staff from 11 employees to more then 40 by 2007.

Marketing Director Claudia Vitulich sadid Specialclient helps mortgage companies build their referral base without the hassle fo tracking thousands of clients. "We're reintroducing a traditional business parctice using modern technology," Vitulich said.

Brokers at Nations Lending Corp. in Cleveland each close on morethen 100 loans a month said Chief Financial Officer William Osborne Jr. "There's no humanly way possible to keep up withall those clients," said Osborne, whose comany has been using Speciaclients since April. "If we tried, that'd be all we had time for, and the whole business would suffer."

While many business invest in client retention, Florio said the mortgage industry has bveen slow to recognize its importance. Some companies spend more then $200,000 a month finding leads for new business but put very little toward holding on to clients they have already served, he said.

The might explain why only about 7 percent of borrowers go back to their mortgage broker for refinancing or new loans, Florio said.

"Once they put that key int he door, I don't think they remember us at all," said Patty Esch, president of the Utah Association of Mortgage Brokers of Utah County. But she said Special Client helps the five brokers in her association keep their names fresh in customers' minds.

Esch said her group has recieved at least seven referrals since it started using Specialclient about seven month ago.

While Florio created the company with the mortgage industry in mind, he said he's looking to expand it into the real estate market and other areas.

Its simple purpose appeals to any business that wants to keep the customers it has, he said. "It might not seem like much," he said, "but a little really goes a long way."

SpecialClient.com

Location: Headquarters in Cleveland, Branch in New York City

Service: Customer retention program for mortgage brokers that sends clients a gift, cards, surveys and other follow-up materials.

Employees: 9 in Cleveland, 2 in New York

Inspiration: While working inthe mortgage industry, Ryan Florio saw how much money went toward attracting new clients and how little was spent retaining current ones. So he developed a program that encourages repeat business and referrals from customers whom mortgage brokers have already served.

For more information: Go to www.specialclient.com or call 216.598.0934