Earlier this year, we carried out some research into the influence of reviews on financial services. The findings show just how much reviews impact customer decision making and made it clear that listening to your customers is more important than ever.
Customers are speaking up, especially Gen Z
The research revealed that 42% of people have had a frustration with a financial product in the past year*. Amongst Gen Z, that rises to 69%, and it’s clear they’re not prepared to put up with it. To demonstrate this, 95% of Gen Z acted in response to their poor experience, such as switching provider or leaving a review.
But reviews aren’t just a way to vent. They’re a core part of how people choose products in the first place. 74% of consumers read reviews before switching, and 73% actively look for better-rated options when spending more. In fact, 69% say they wouldn’t even consider a product with more negative than positive reviews.
Customer reviews don’t just show where things have gone wrong. They show exactly where outcomes aren’t being delivered. So if you’re not collecting feedback in the first place, how can you possibly improve?
Responding builds trust
A good response to a review can genuinely shape the whole relationship. Our research revealed that 39% of customers felt more heard and valued after receiving a reply, and 30% said they were more likely to continue doing business. But a word of warning, customers can tell when it's not authentic. One in five said they felt companies were just replying for the sake of it.
In other words, it’s not enough to be seen to respond, it needs to be thoughtful and sincere. In our experience, the power of the human reply is paramount. Many review platforms use chatbots for automated responses, which is fine if every customer was the same, but they’re not.
So how can you evidence outcomes?
Going back to Consumer Duty, this is the big question we hear from companies. They ask us ‘How do we show we’re delivering good customer outcomes?’
Unlike generic review sites, we focus only on financial services, so the feedback received is directly relevant. With more than 2.5 million reviews, each collects 16+ financial services focused data points, such as value for money rating, customer understand and product suitability.
This gives a deep depth and breadth of data across the entire customer journey. Rich, financial-service focused data that’s perfect for evidencing good customer outcomes. And because we benchmark by sector, product, or even a provider’s own team, they get the full picture across the board.
Final thoughts
In reality, Consumer Duty shouldn’t be about making fundamental changes to your processes. It’s just about demonstrating all the great things you’re doing for your customers already.
*Smart Money People research, April 2025
