Getting online reviews in a day and age where your company’s digital footprint is, now more important than ever. A 2021 report showed that 77% of consumers said they regularly read reviews before checking out a business. More people are reading online reviews than ever before, and that trend is only going to increase. It comes across as unprofessional to only have two or three reviews under your business, and having a high number of 5 star reviews is critical. But once you source those reviews, what comes next? Getting those reviews from your customers is important and needs to be put into action. Building feedback from online reviews is very important; book building and growing from that feedback is what sets financial institutions apart.
So, how does a credit union or community bank grow the quantity and quality of those online reviews? There are a number of ways in which your team can utilize online reviews to build on your reputation and even build out your products and services.
Use Texting to Collect Reviews
The best way to get a higher quantity of reviews is by utilizing text messaging. Members are far more responsive with their texts compared to emails, and sending them a text message asking to leave a positive review is far more likely to be seen and engaged with. All members have to do is tap their screen and follow simple instructions to leave a review, and the easier it is for them, the more likely they are to leave the review in the first place. For example, if a member has an interaction over with one of your agents trying to resolve an issue opening an account, and their overall experience was very positive, your agent can text a link to leave a review within the same chat. That member is a prime candidate for someone who would leave a positive review on a review site, vouching for you and your financial institution.
Want an easy way to integrate SMS for reviews at your in person branch? Create easy to scan QR codes in the most active places at your branches (drive thru windows, lobbies, storefront windows, etc.) for members to scan and review in a flash.
Reply, Reply, Reply
If somebody leaves a review under your financial institution, somebody from your team should be responding to that review. Online consumers value those interactions, and according to a survey 89% are more likely to interact with a business that responds to online reviews. Generally, your team is going to come across either positive or negative reviews. Responding to positive reviews it’s sort of a gimme: nothing bad can come of having a solid interaction with someone that went out of their way to praise your business. Beyond that, responding to negative reviews in a timely fashion is arguably more critical. Companies that have 1 & 2 Star reviews that are left unattended come across as unprofessional, and give off a feel that they don’t care about their customers’ voice.
Whether someone has taken time out of their day to praise your financial institution, or someone has taken time out of their day to air their grievances about your financial institution, there is never a scenario where you and your team should leave comments unreplied to.
Responding to good reviews is easy, and only takes a few minutes to craft a simple response (with a smiley face emoji or two). For negative reviews, take them head on instead of fearing them. If a prospective customer comes across your business and sees a negative review with a thoughtful response from your business, that person is more likely to want to be a part of your financial institution.
Analyze the Advice
Sourcing customer feedback is very important. At the end of the day, if somebody is leaving your financial institution a review, they’re essentially telling you and your team what they’re looking for, or praising a certain facet in which they like above the rest of your offerings. For example, if you and your team are seeing a consistent string of negative reviews talking about people’s struggles trying to reach your contact center, it might be time to relook at the offerings your contact center has. Be open to feedback, and if a review has a good idea, don’t be too proud to overlook it. While not every customer is an expert on financial institutions operations and processes, your job is to serve your members and customers to the best of your ability.
Interacting with online reviews is an incredibly important step in building & growing your financial institution. Your online presence has never been more important than it is right now; and the importance of your digital presence is only going to grow as we shift further into the digital age. Financial institutions need a digital communication solution that will enable them to not only source those reviews, but interact with them in an effective way to build stronger customer relationships.
To find out how Eltropy is enabling our partners to do so, book a demo today.
