Look, bear with us here. What does the World Cup have to do with financial services reviews? Well, more than you think actually!
This summer, millions of us professed to be experts. We all had our opinions about who should’ve started, who should’ve been dropped, or why the ref was conspiring against us. And let’s not even get started on VAR…
Millions and millions of contrasting views. We all watched the same games, but we all saw different things. Take the World Cup final. One person was talking about Ferran Torres’ winning goal, while someone else was focused on Argentina’s tactics. And another was still wondering how England (again) couldn’t make this final hurdle…
The point is, you can watch the same experience and come away with completely different opinions. The same is true for your customers.
THE SCORE ONLY TELLS YOU SO MUCH
The final finished 1–0 to Spain. Useful? Yes. But does that really tell you everything you need to know?
You don’t know who played well. You don’t know where the game was won or lost. You don’t know whether Spain’s manager got their tactics right or whether the team got lucky (for the record, Spain were worthy winners).
You need to understand what happened behind the score. Customer reviews are much the same. A star rating is useful. It gives you a quick sense of how customers feel about your business. But on its own, it only tells you part of the story – the real value comes from understanding why.
Why are customers giving you four stars instead of five? Why are people praising your service but criticising your value for money? Why are customers saying they understood their product, but struggled with the claims process? That’s where specialist financial services review data becomes really powerful.
FINANCIAL SERVICES IS IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
Many of us live and breathe football, but the impact of financial services is in a league of its own. The decisions customers make, like choosing a mortgage or saving for the future, are often some of the biggest and most important of their lives.
So naturally, customers hold financial services to a high standard. Our April 2025 research found that consumers need an average rating of 4.1 out of 5 to even consider a financial services product. And 74% of people say they read reviews when considering switching financial providers.
So yes, your score matters. But knowing why you got that score matters even more.
WHY SPECIALIST INSIGHT MATTERS
You could argue that a 4.2-star rating is a 4.2 star rating, wherever it comes from. But we don’t think it’s quite that simple. If you’re a bank, insurer, mortgage provider or investment firm, you need to understand the things that matter specifically to your customers. For example, did they understand the product? Was the service good enough? And did the product actually meet their needs?
At Smart Money People, we’ve spent more than ten years collecting reviews specifically about financial services. That means our data can help companies understand not just how they’re performing, but why. It also means you can benchmark against businesses facing the same challenges.
FINAL THOUGHTS (OR FINAL WHISTLE)
Ultimately, there’s no such thing as a perfect performance. Even the best teams have an off day, concede a sloppy goal or make a substitution that leaves everyone shouting at the TV (England v Argentina, anyone?). The smart ones learn from it.
The same goes for financial services. Your customers are constantly giving you clues about what’s working, what isn’t, and where you could do better. The question is whether you’re paying attention.
And with specialist financial services review data behind you, you can get a much clearer view of the game – helping you understand your customers, spot where you need to improve, and make sure you’re not left wondering what went wrong at the final whistle…
