Accord Mortgages has revealed that its own online review generator has been used more than 1,000 times by brokers since it was launched last month.
The tool is part of the Accord Growth Series, a free set of support guides created by the intermediary arm of Yorkshire Building Society to help brokers build their customer base in a quick and efficient way.
Glyn Bottomley is a director of Entire FS, an independent financial planning company based in Cheshire, which has been using online reviews to grow the business since 2016. The firm uses an automated programme which sends a review request after a successful mortgage completion.
He said: “We’ve seen an increase in new business as a result of our bank of online reviews. We have often found that if a customer has been recommended to us, they will check our website before ringing us, so having our reviews easily accessible really helps to give that peace of mind that we are the right choice for them.
“We have also experienced numerous enquiries due to our Google reviews, which have really helped to put us in the spotlight and set ourselves apart from our competitors.
“After each review we reply to thank the client for the feedback. Entire FS have found it can be an opportunity to show we really do care about the client’s experience. While some brokers may fear negative reviews, if you have strong customer service, your reviews will represent this. If you do receive a negative review, we would also recommend responding as quick as possible with a full explanation so that other prospects can see your response before making any decisions.
“We’re extremely proud of our team and customer service. A prompt explanation to the reviewer will show that you understood their issues. It’s also important for future customers to be able to reflect on your response and look at the other extremely positive reviews before making any decisions.
“The results will pay off in the future and we’re certain you can win more clients by having reviews online.
“Brokers shouldn’t be afraid to ask for an online review from clients – an easy and natural point is after each mortgage completion. If you had excellent service at a hotel you’d naturally want to tell the world, so why not with a mortgage?”
The Accord online review generator is free to download and allows brokers to quickly create a personalised email they can send to clients inviting them to leave a review across their online channels including Google, Facebook and TrustPilot.
Jeremy Duncombe, director of intermediary distribution at Accord Mortgages, said: “It’s great that our online review generator has been so popular with brokers since we launched it last month. At Accord we want to support brokers to grow their businesses to the next level and this tool provides a free, quick and easy way of doing this.
“Online reviews provide independent third party validation and can increase credibility for a brand which will help them stand out from the competition.”