
Customer Reviews: A Powerful Tool for Bank Marketers
By Cathy Planchart, Senior Project Manager
My first experience using a customer testimonial in bank marketing was over 20 years ago. A customer had mailed a letter to the bank, and it was handed to me, the Marketing Director, by the bank president. It was perfect, filled with glowing comments and mentioning several services by name. We immediately converted it into a print ad and placed it in the local newspapers, with the customer’s consent of course.
Nowadays, it is probably rare that a bank would receive a customer letter like this in the mail. However, customer testimonials in the form of online reviews abound in today’s digital world. They can be found in user-generated content like reviews of your mobile banking app in the app store and on review websites like Google, Trustpilot, Facebook and WalletHub. These online reviews usually include written comments and the now-common one-to-five-stars rating scale. To strategically gather customer reviews, you can choose a review website like one of those mentioned above and direct your customers there to share and rate their experiences.
Customer satisfaction surveys are another good source of testimonial content. Airlines and hotels are good at sending satisfaction surveys via email after a completed reservation. But timing the ask is key. A good moment for banks to request feedback is when a customer opens an account or closes on a home mortgage or business loan. Simply direct customers to the review website of your choice (see above) or send a short survey via email. Either way, make it easy for customers to provide their feedback.
Once a process is in place to collect reviews on an ongoing basis, the next step is to routinely evaluate the reviews received. Consider using the most positive reviews as promotion on your website, social media channels, email newsletters and direct mail pieces. “The regular use of testimonials [in content marketing] can help generate 62% more revenue from every customer, not just once, but every time they visit your site” (BigCommerce).
On your website, make your testimonials highly visible. Place some on your home page. Pepper them throughout your website on relevant pages. For example, if you have a positive review about your mobile banking app, put it on your mobile banking page. In addition, consider including a page on your website dedicated to customer testimonials. When you reference them on social media, you can link to the page. On the same webpage, create a feedback form to collect additional customer reviews directly.
Asking for customer reviews can increase loyalty and brand engagement among your customers. Even if negative, reviews can help you identify problems so you can improve your service or offerings. Overall, customer reviews help build trust and credibility in your brand, assist others in making informed decisions, and set expectations. In fact, according to Social Fresh, “They have the highest effectiveness rating for content marketing at 89%.”
MKP communications inc. is a New York-based marketing communications agency specializing in merger/change communications for the financial services industry.