Clients choosing a financial adviser, mortgage broker or insurance broker want reassurance. Reviews can provide it. But financial services are regulated, and the rules on testimonials and client communications vary by country, by regulator and by the kind of advice you give.
This is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Check with your regulator or compliance adviser before you start asking clients for reviews.
Check your rules first
Questions to ask your compliance team:
- Are client reviews or testimonials allowed in my marketing, and with what disclosures?
- Can I reply to reviews, and what must I avoid saying?
- Do I need to keep records of reviews and replies?
- Can I share reviews on my website or social media?
Once you know the rules, write them down so everyone in the firm follows the same approach.
Asking for reviews, carefully
- Ask every client the same way, at the same stage (for example, after completion), not only clients who seem pleased.
- Never offer anything in exchange: no fee discounts, no gifts. Google prohibits review incentives, and in the US the FTC's rule on consumer reviews, in force since October 2024, bans incentives tied to the review's content.
- Make it clear the review is optional and should be honest.
Replying without revealing anything
Never confirm that someone is a client, and never discuss their circumstances, products or numbers in public.
Positive review: "Thank you for taking the time to write this. We're glad we could help."
Negative review: "We're sorry to read this. We take every concern seriously and would like to talk it through privately. Please contact [name] on [number]. If you are a client, you can also use our complaints process at [link]."
Pointing to your formal complaints process in replies to negative reviews is good practice in most regulated firms.
Watch your name as well as your firm's
Clients search for individual advisers too. See what people see when they search your name.
How Reputfy helps
Reputfy brings reviews into one inbox, drafts careful, privacy-safe replies that a person approves before posting, and keeps a record of who was asked for a review and when. You stay in control of every word.
