The Intermediary – April 2025 - Flipbook - Page 81
T E C H N O L O GY
Opinion
Turning feedback
into a competitive
advantage
I
n financial services, trust
is everything. Customers
want to know they’re geing
fair value, great service,
and products that genuinely
meet their needs. And with
Consumer Duty, the Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) requires
companies to prove they’re delivering
good customer outcomes – not just
claim it.
That’s where independent customer
review data comes in. In the FCA’s
recent vulnerability review, it
praised a mortgage intermediary
who used customer review data
scores and comments to monitor
customer outcomes.
The right data
Customer reviews are an essential
source of feedback in every industry.
But in financial services, they need
to go beyond star ratings and general
sentiment. A five-star rating on a
generalist review site doesn’t tell
a bank whether customers believe
they’re receiving fair value or
experiencing good customer service.
For example, we don’t just collect
reviews – we capture insights
specifically tailored to the industry.
Unlike generalist review sites, which
cater to a broad range of sectors, our
question set is designed exclusively
for financial services. This means that
our 13-plus datapoints – such as overall
score, customer service, understood
product details, and value for money
rating – are extremely useful for
evidencing Consumer Duty outcomes
and tracking performance.
benchmarking, companies could
overestimate their performance or
fail to identify weaknesses before they
impact retention and reputation.
In our view, it’s important to
enable companies to directly
benchmark their performance against
competitors and the wider financial
services market.
For example, if a mortgage lender
sees a decline in its value for money
scores compared to the sector average,
it can take proactive steps to review
pricing, improve communication,
or enhance service quality – all of
which align with Consumer Duty
expectations.
Tracking outcomes
Customer expectations are constantly
evolving. Financial services
companies need historical data
tracking, rather than relying on oneoff feedback snapshots.
For example, we hold over 10
years’ worth of data, enabling
companies to monitor changes in
customer sentiment over time. This
makes it easier to spot emerging
trends, measure the impact of
strategy decisions on customer
Performance benchmarks
A key challenge for financial services
companies is understanding how
they compare to competitors.
Without reliable industry-specific
Firms must be proactive and strategic
JESS TRUEMAN
is head of business
development at Smart
Money People
satisfaction, and provide boards with
clear, independent data to support
governance and compliance.
Evidencing outcomes
At its heart, Consumer Duty requires
financial services companies to
evidence that they’re delivering fair
value, clear communication, and good
customer outcomes.
Our tailored review data is designed
to provide this proof. Robust board
reporting is paramount to offer
transparent, third-party data that adds
credibility to internal assessments.
Additionally, our data highlights
areas where customers may not be
receiving fair treatment, allowing
companies to take proactive action
before any issues escalate further.
With FCA scrutiny increasing,
companies must not only demonstrate
that they’re compliant but actively
monitor and improve customer
outcomes. Using independent data
from a specialist financial services
platform makes this process a whole
lot easier.
With Consumer Duty puing the
spotlight firmly on good customer
outcomes, and with consumers
becoming more selective about
who they trust, financial services
companies need to be proactive.
We’re proud to help companies turn
customer reviews into a competitive
advantage. By taking advantage of
the right insights, companies can not
only meet FCA expectations – but stay
ahead of the curve. ●
April 2025 | The Intermediary
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