Recently I spoke with Apoorv Dwivedi, the head of an agency that specializes in servicing accountants and financial advisors. He noted that his clients get very few, if any, reviews because there aren’t many reviews to get. Then he asked me this:
Can B2B financial services that have a very small number of clients who are largely the same year to year benefit from a reputation management product such as GatherUp?
Well, the short answer is yes. Now, why and how…
Fewer Reviews Available Means Each Is Mightier
It is true that getting reviews for a financial agency or tax planner is less common than getting reviews for a restaurant or a jeweler but that makes their acquisition all the more important.
Very, very few businesses ever need to stop attracting new customers. And just because your business might only be able to generate 1 review every other month or quarter, that is usually enough to stand head and shoulders above the competition (that is getting far fewer). Particularly if you stay at it for several years.
B2B Reviews Help to Convert High-Cost Purchases
The first question that always needs answering when assessing a low volume business and their use of a reputation platform is the potential ROI. For most financial planners and accountants the lifetime value of a new client is significant. For example, I spend roughly $1000 a year on just my personal taxes and another $2500 for business taxes. Most businesses spend between $2000 and $8000 per year.
Business owners tend to spend more time researching vendors and options ahead of high-cost purchases. The decision also has more risk for them – it’s important that they pick the right financial advisor because the legal implications could be huge if they get it wrong. There are easily thousands of dollars on the line.
In selecting these types of advisory firms many businesses put an even larger emphasis on whether the vendor is trustworthy. Because business financials can be a very personal thing, owners want to know that they can trust this person with confidential information. Reviews can speak to a buyer on this personal level.
Even when a buyer looks to other trusted advisors for recommendations, many still go online to validate their decision by looking at reviews and business websites. Amongst younger buyers, the reliance on online reviews can be even more significant.
Once I pick an accountant I stay with them for many years. Thus even acquiring one new client per year based on their reviews and reputation makes the ROI of reputation management significant. This calculation will be different for every B2B business but the logic is the same.
Where Reviews Make a Difference for B2B Businesses
Understanding your customer’s journey is critical to identifying which platform to use and the ideal process for requesting reviews. B2B businesses can be more complex and have longer purchasing cycles. They are also more likely to have prospective buyers visit a business website before making a purchase decision.
In search results…
While this is not the type of purchasing decision a consumer is likely to make by just looking at local search results on Google and then clicking to call, what they see there could easily instill doubt or make them hesitate.
The results in the image above illustrate the impact reviews, even in small quantities, can have in local search. Search results heavily emphasize reputation and could increase a buyer’s comfort level with the choice that they are making. Just over a handful of reviews makes a difference when competitors have none.
In review content…
The voice of a customer can be especially compelling in a review of something as complex as financial services. No one expects perfection but having customers detail the steps a firm went to to solve an issue can instill a great deal of confidence even before the potential new client has stepped into your office.
On your website…
Not only can reviews help you stand out at in comparison to your competitors in the search results but on your website as well. Reading stories on a website from current clients, who are people just like them, can be very compelling to a prospective customer on their journey. What better way to explain the intricacies of your business than in the words of the clients themselves.
B2B Customer’s Experience Matters Too
The need for GatherUp goes well beyond review stars, social proof, and fresh content for services pages even for those in “staid” industries. As soon as your office hires its first employee, your issues and concerns about customer care are the same as any other business.
Customer experience and brand reputation in the market place, both online and offline via word of mouth, should be a primary concern.
- How do you know if that new employee is treating clients with the same care as you have all of these years?
- How do you know that your client is as happy now as they were the first year they hired you?
- And how do you know which of your procedures and processes your clients find painful or less than useful?
Creating a business with a true customer focus is only possible if you continually and regularly take the time to ask your clients what they think and how you can improve.
Even with great reviews, you can always identify things that can be improved. Our Insights Report, powered by IBM Watson, provides sentiment analysis to uncover where there might be problems in reviews with an overall positive rating.
In conclusion…
Managing your brand’s reputation and understanding the customer experience is valuable to businesses with any number of customers. In industries where sales cycles are long, lifetime value is high, and retention is paramount, become the firm that cares about and carefully monitors your customer’s experience. It’s the best way to ensure that once acquired, your new client will be yours for life.
So yes, B2B services with a small number of recurring clients can benefit from reputation management… and now you know how.
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