When you’re looking for a specific product or service, from someone to care for your garden to a new web development agency for your business, what factors do you consider?

For most people, the business or businessperson’s reputation is one of the most critical contributors to their decision. If a company is known for providing quality work, you’re going to be more inclined to choose them over one that you’ve never heard of, or that has a sub-par reputation.

The same goes for your financial services businesses. If you want to attract and retain clients, you need to make sure your company is well-received by your target audience.

How do you make this happen? Below are four practical tips you can use to improve your financial services company’s reputation.

1. Ask for and Respond to Online Reviews

An astounding 85 per cent of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

If your company has few online reviews, or if the majority of them aren’t positive, you will have a hard time gaining new clients and getting people interested in working with you.

What can you do to get more online reviews? Start with these techniques:

• Don’t be afraid to ask. Send follow-up emails or texts after meeting with people and ask them to leave a review. Provide a link to the platform where you want to receive reviews to make it even easier.
• Add review links to your customer surveys. They’re already providing feedback, so they might be willing to take one extra step to leave a review as well.
• Post a call for reviews on social media. Again, share the review link and provide basic instructions to make it as simple as possible.

Don’t forget to respond to all reviews, too. Whether the review is positive or negative, responding shows that you care about your customers and want to provide outstanding service.

If you receive a positive review, thank the customer for their kind words and tell them you’re excited to work with them again soon. If you receive a negative review, apologise and invite the reviewer to connect with you on another platform (leave a phone number, email address, etc.).

2. Listen to and Act on Customer Feedback

How do you typically respond when people give you feedback about your business — the services you offer, the quality of assistance you provide, etc.? Do you thank them and never think about what they said again?

Getting this type of criticism might feel overwhelming when you have so many other things to worry about. However, if you just ignore it, you could end up hurting your company’s reputation (and your bottom line).

Always thank people for sharing feedback. Then, take things a step further and look for ways to implement their suggestions or make positive changes so they don’t go through the same experience again.

For example, say someone comes to you with a complaint about your online appointment scheduling system and how difficult it is to use. That’s an excellent opportunity to look at your current setup and figure out how to make it more user-friendly.

After you’ve made a change based on someone’s feedback, reach back out to them and let them know. That way, they’ll see that you took their message seriously and will likely be impressed (and more likely to stick with you).

3. Shout People Out on Social Media

Use positive reinforcement to get more of what you want — in this case, positive reviews and attention on social media.

When someone tags your business in a social media post or leaves a positive review online, give them a shout-out and thank them. If you’re on Instagram or Facebook, you can do this by sharing their post to your Stories and tagging them.

Most people love to get attention online, and this is an easy way to let them know you appreciate them taking the time to talk about your company and tag you. It also encourages other people to follow suit so they can get the same treatment.

You can also screenshot reviews left on Google or other platforms and share them on social media or your website as well.

Not only does this get people excited about receiving some positive online attention, but it also provides social proof for your business. If potential clients can easily see positive reviews from other people, they’ll be more inclined to think positively of your services and check them out for themselves.

4. Provide an Unparalleled Customer Experience

Finally, make sure you’re providing a customer experience that people want to talk about (in a positive way, of course). In addition to acting on the feedback you receive from others, try these tactics to make your customer experience better:

• Offer multiple communication methods, such as phone, email, chat, etc., so people can get in touch in the way they prefer.
• Use AI-powered chatbots to answer frequently asked questions and provide instant information as soon as people ask for it.
• Prioritise security and be transparent about what you’re doing to keep people’s sensitive financial data safe.
• Send surveys regularly to collect feedback from your customers or clients and determine what you can do differently moving forward.
• Offer ongoing training so that all team members understand what it means to provide an impressive customer experience.

Above all else, whenever you make a decision, think about how it will affect your customers or clients. You’ll always come out on top when you act in their best interests.

Boost Your Company’s Reputation Today

Your financial services business’s reputation is critical to its long-term success.

Even if your company is doing alright in the reputation department currently, there’s always room for improvement. You can never have too many people saying nice things about you, right?

Use the tips shared above to improve your reputation and attract more clients.

Do you want to learn more about building your brand and expanding your online reach? If so, Fintech Content Marketing has the tools and experience to help.

Contact us today to learn more about our services or set up a consultation.