The problem
People looking for an adviser check reviews before they ring, and an adviser with few or no reviews loses them to one who has plenty. If stronger reviews brought 1 extra client every 3 months worth $3,192£2,400€2,856A$4,608C$4,512 in first-year fees, that's $1,064£800€952A$1,536C$1,504 a month of fees going to other advisers.
What the AI does
VouchedFor is a review and directory site for UK advisers. You invite existing clients to review you, can invite prospective clients after a first meeting, and can turn on annual feedback, which automatically invites past reviewers again on the anniversary of their review or a date you set. Reviews are verified and shown on your profile. Invite every client rather than choosing the happiest, and have compliance approve how you use reviews in your own marketing.
A worked example
A sole adviser in Chester with about 150 clients joins VouchedFor on the Verified plan, invites every client once and turns on annual feedback so past reviewers are asked again each year.
Before
About 5 old testimonials and no routine for asking
After
A steady stream of verified reviews, bringing an assumed 1 extra client every 3 months
What it's worth
About $319£240€286A$461C$451 a month in profit, at an assumed 30% margin on $1,064£800€952A$1,536C$1,504 a month of fees from 1 extra client every 3 months at $3,192£2,400€2,856A$4,608C$4,512 in first-year fees. That is against $80£60€71A$115C$113 a month plus VAT for Verified, or $958£720€857A$1,382C$1,354 plus VAT a year paid upfront, on a 12-month commitment.
How to set it up
- Join on the Verified plan, or the $40£30€36A$58C$56 Kickstarter rate if you qualified in the last 2 years.
- Ask compliance to approve the invitation wording and how reviews may appear on your website and in promotions.
- Invite all existing clients, not a chosen few.
- Turn on annual feedback so past reviewers are invited again each year.
- Read every review and pass anything that is really a complaint into your complaints process the same day.
What goes wrong
- Using reviews in your own marketing makes them part of a financial promotion. Compliance signs off how they are used, under FCA rules and Consumer Duty.
- Inviting only happy clients gives a misleading picture and breaks the spirit of verified reviews. Invite everyone.
- A review that raises a problem may be a complaint under FCA rules and needs your complaints procedure, not just a reply.
- The plan runs for 12 months even if you pay monthly, so you can't stop after a quarter.