As highlighted recently in research conducted by Smart Money People, the majority of consumers will always research a market, company or product before making a decision to purchase goods and services, and the financial services sector is no different. In fact, the research found that over 40% of consumers seek reviews if the product or service they’re considering is new to them.

In addition, 84% of consumers trust reviews from other consumers, compared to 67% who trust reviews from professionals within the industry.

Let’s be honest, without customers, we have no purpose, no income and therefore no business and so at Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS), we feel that investing time and effort in how we support them is critical to the success and growth of our business.

In a world where information and reviews are easily accessible 24/7 at the touch of a button and as highlighted by Smart Money People, customers rely on reviews to assess the credibility and trustworthiness of a business and its service track record. Positive reviews and high Net Promoter Scores (NPS) signify that the business is reliable and provides high-quality products and services.

In our experience, all reviews are important and allow you to see first-hand the feedback on what customers like about your business, as well as areas where you need to improve. We use NPS and Feefo and feel they are really helpful in this regard, as they help you understand how likely your customers are to recommend your business to others and how satisfied they are with their experience. They help you build your reputation, positive reviews and high scores help attract new customers and build trust, while negative reviews and low scores can harm your reputation and lead to a loss of business.

That said, if a customer has not had a good experience or expectations have not been managed, then as a business you have an opportunity to put that right. Understanding and acting upon the feedback provided in customer reviews can help you identify areas where you can most improve and arguably negative reviews are the ones you can usually learn the most from.

In today’s world, we all find ourselves turning to Google (other search engines are available), or social media for advice on who to use for a particular service. When trying to attract new customers, good reviews and a good NPS score can have a significant impact on your search engine rankings and influence prospective customer choices when choosing services and suppliers. Positive reviews and high scores can boost your visibility in search results and make it easier for potential customers to find your business online.

Customers are more likely to choose a business with a higher score, even if there is a differential on price. At Countrywide, we pride ourselves in customer excellence and whilst we may not always get it right, we do know how to make it better. Our NPS score for 2022 averaged at +67 for the year and we remained above a 4.5 Feefo rating for the same period.

Don’t just take our word for it, see what our customers have said about us here.

Kharla Mullen is chief operating officer at Countrywide Surveying Services