Customer reviews are growing in importance. Adopted well, they can have a significant impact in Financial Services.

1. The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services
v1

2. The Power of Reviews
Introduction
Customer
reviews
have
become
critical
across
a
number
of
industries.
Now
the
review
category
is
growing
!
within
the
Financial
Services
industry.
One
of
the
earliest
adopters
of
reviews
was
the
travel
industry.
Research
by
TripAdvisor
shows
that
some
53%
of
travellers
won’t
book
a
hotel
if
it
doesn’t
have
any
reviews.
Some
78%
say
reviews
help
them
to
feel
more
confident
in
making
a
booking
decision.
In
summary,
reviews
have
had
a
revolutionary
impact
on
the
travel
industry.
!!
Online
consumer
reviews
are
a
trusted
form
of
earned
advertising
surveyed
online
indicating
they
trust
this
platform
!T
with
70%
of
global
consumers
Nielsen
he
Financial
Services
industry
is
not
the
travel
industry,
and
while
the
review
category
can
be
described
as
emerging
in
Financial
Services,
the
rate
of
adoption
is
increasing
significantly.
!S
ome
stakeholders
may
perceive
reviews
as
being
disruptive,
or
even
something
to
avoid.
However,
it
is
precisely
the
Financial
Services
industry
that
has
the
most
to
gain
given
the
brand,
marketing,
customer
experience
and
customer
insight
value
that
can
be
earned
from
reviews.
But
for
reviews
to
work
in
Financial
Services,
they
need
to
work
differently.
They
need
to
tackle
the
underlying
trust
and
transparency
deficit.
Most
customers
ranked
the
Financial
Services
industry
as
the
least
trustworthy
industry.
!
The
power
of
reviews
The
trust
deficit
is
a
real
issue
in
Financial
Services,
and
there
is
significant
scope
to
use
independent
customer
reviews
to
transform
this.
Those
organisations
that
adopt
and
appropriately
integrate
reviews
appropriately
can
take
the
lead
in
remaking
the
industry
and
building
a
stronger
b!usiness.
Now
is
the
time
to
unlock
the
power
of
reviews
in
Financial
Services.
Customer
reviews
can
help
consumers
discover
the
best
of
Financial
Services,
and
to
help
increase
trust
and
transparency.
Done
well,
this
can
be
a
2
–
The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services
win-­‐win
scenario
for
both
customers
and
Financial
Services
organisations
SmartMoneyPeople
However
86%
of
UK
customers
were
satisfied
with
their
bank
and
around
three-­‐quarters
of
those
asked
would
rank
their
own
bank
a
7
or
higher
out
of
10
–
suggesting
that
many
trust
their
own
banks
but
not
banks
in
general.
Customer
reviews
can
help
to
breakthrough
the
trust
deficit
fastMAP

3. Build
trust
through
great
customer
experiences
Make
trust
the
new
brand
differentiator
in
SmartMoneyPeople
The Business Benefits
1
Increase
trust
and
transparency
Reviews
help
to
attract
consumers
that
haven’t
experienced
you
before.
When
apathy
and
the
‘they’re
all
the
same’
sentiment
is
prevalent
across
Financial
Services,
reviews
can
be
quite
valuable
as
they
allow
you
do
differentiate
based
on
trust
and
transparency
Promote
engagement
and
build
brand
advocates
Customers
like
to
see
that
you
care
about
their
feedback.
By
feeling
more
valued,
and
being
better
engaged
they
can
become
brand
advocates.
Engaging
with
negative
feedback
gives
you
the
ability
to
better
understand
how
to
improve,
and
provides
an
opportunity
to
recover
your
relationship
with
the
customer
4
Higher
wallet
share;
more
happy
customers
Customers
that
can
see
you
engaging,
become
your
brand
advocates
and
are
more
likely
to
increase
their
wallet
share
with
you.
They
also
attract
more
customers
3
Harness
and
share
user
generated
content
Reviews
provide
a
rich
stream
of
material
ready
for
sharing
across
social
media.
Creating
a
level
of
advocacy
about
your
brand
5
Intelligent
customer
insight
Reviews
can
provide
actionable
customer
insight
focused
on
performance
and
regulatory
measures.
Discover
a
new
level
of
insight
that
can
be
used
across
your
organisation
2
Financial
Services
3
–
The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services

4. Reviews + Financial Services:
Everyone can be a winner
What
you
can
achieve
with
a
customer
experience
platform
Better
engagement
▪ Better
informed
choices
▪ Better
customer
insight
(data)
▪ Brand
differentiation
▪ Increased
customer
loyalty
/
more
customers
What
reviews
can
achieve
immediately
Show
customers
that
you
care
about
their
feedback
!▪
▪ Better
engagement
▪ Increased
trust
/
“halo
effect”
Tod!ay
!▪
▪ Common
view
that
“all
FS
companies
are
the
same”
▪ Limited
trust
/
transparency
▪ Rate
or
premium
sensitive
An
evolving
landscape
The
relationship
between
Financial
Services
(FS)
organisations
and
their
customers
is
in
flux.
The
credit
crisis,
new
market
entrants,
new
business
models,
increased
regulation
and
the
growth
of
digital
channels
are
stimulating
large
scale
transformation.
Each
organisation
will
react
differently.
There
will
be
winners
and
losers.
!Perhaps
more
fundamentally,
the
way
customers
engage
and
consume
information
is
changing.
!Powered
by
the
growth
of
digital
channels
within
a
multichannel
environment,
customers
have
become
sophisticated
assimilators
of
information.
For
example,
when
buying
car
insurance
many
customers
will
browse
at
least
two
aggregators
and
then
may
choose
to
go
direct.
Throughout
this
customer
journey,
reviews
are
becoming
an
important
and
trusted
part
of
the
information
e!cosystem.
Customers
want
reviews;
you
should
too
In
practice,
customers
are
already
looking
for
reviews.
Those
with
particularly
strong
feelings
are
reviewing
you
today.
Partnering
with
a
customer
experience
platform
allows
companies
to
better
harness
these
reviews
and
achieve
more
rounded
f!eedback.
In
an
industry
were
it
is
tough
to
differentiate,
authentic
customer
reviews
can
make
a
difference
and
strengthen
trust
and
loyalty.
!A
customer
experience
platform
that
focuses
exclusively
on
FS
can
better
meet
the
needs
of
FS
companies.
It
sounds
obvious,
but
by
targeting
some
of
the
root
issues
in
FS,
customer
reviews
can
generate
a
win-­‐win
for
both
customer
and
brand
alike.
!!
Why
customer
reviews
work
4
–
The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services

5. Summary
With
the
right
platform,
customer
reviews
can
really
work
in
Financial
Services.
Key
takeaways:
Will
your
customer
experience
partner
help
you
to
get
the
full
brand,
marketing,
customer
experience
and
data
value
of
reviews?
Will
you
have
dedicated
account
support
during
the
lifetime
of
your
engagement?
SmartMoneyPeople
1
2
Your
Platform
Checklist
Does
your
customer
experience
partner
truly
understand
the
Financial
Services
ecosystem?
Are
you
working
with
a
partner
that
knows
how
to
make
reviews
a
win-­‐win?
Are
all
the
verification
and
security
safe
guards
that
you
would
expect
in
place?
3
4
Take
hold
of
your
customer
reviews
and
proactively
encourage
more
reviews
Respond
to
your
reviews
to
increase
engagement
and
brand
advocacy
Promote
your
reviews
through
your
marketing
channels
Enjoy
the
benefits
customer
reviews
can
bring
5
–
The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services

6. Connect & Engage With Us
SmartMoneyPeople
Author
Michael
Fotis
CEO,
SmartMoneyPeople
+44
(0)203
627
7229
michael@smartmoneypeople.com
www.smartmoneypeople.com
About
SmartMoneyPeople
SmartMoneyPeople
is
a
customer
experience
and
engagement
platform.
Our
mission
is
to
work
with
great
companies
to
unlock
the
power
of
customer
reviews
in
Financial
Services.
By
doing
this,
we
can
help
to
i!ncrease
trust
and
transparency
across
the
industry.
We
know
Financial
Services.
Our
in
depth
knowledge
of
the
industry
and
the
customer
journey
means
that
we
are
best
placed
to
help
make
reviews
an
asset
for
you.
We’ll
work
with
you
to
unlock
the
power
of
customer
reviews
and
to
deliver
a
sustainable,
win-­‐win
solution.
6
–
The
Power
of
Reviews:
Why
customer
reviews
are
essential
in
Financial
Services