Protect Line show us how to boost CTR and conversions with social proof

Protect Line are one of the UK’s top life insurance brokers and specialise in finding the right life insurance and critical illness cover for their customers.

They’re a non-advised brokerage, which means they provide their customers with the facts to help them make an informed decision before purchasing a policy.

They offer level, increasing & decreasing term life insurance, as well as whole of life and over 50’s non-medical options. They have a panel of 13 of the UK’s leading insurers which includes Legal & General, LV=, Aviva, HSBC, and more.

Protect Line are passionate about providing 5-star service and continuing their mission to reduce the UK’s life insurance deficit, protecting more families every day.

With over 28,000 reviews (99% of them classified as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’ reviews), it is safe to say that Protect Line take their customers’ satisfaction very seriously.

In this case study, we speak to Lewis Murray, Digital Marketing Executive at Protect Line, to better understand why the business chose Trustpilot to build consumer trust, and what results they’ve observed since implementing online reviews throughout their marketing channels.

Why Protect Line chose Trustpilot

Protect Line started trading in 2010 and signed up for Trustpilot in 2012. The business understands the importance of the voice of the customer, and the power that user reviews can have to influence potential customers throughout their decision-making journey.

Trust is a powerful tool for any business, but it’s especially prevalent for those working in financial services and the insurance industry.

“Many customers feel fatigued by the idea of insurance due to negative interactions with house and home insurance – so much so that some feel that products like life insurance will not pay out. The reality is that 98% of claims are paid out by life insurance providers, so countering the theories and misconceptions is especially challenging for our business. Our trustworthiness is a key pillar in helping us operate effectively, and Trustpilot are absolutely crucial in showcasing trust. We are passionate about being transparent and open in everything we do, and the customer reviews being generated on the platform definitely help us achieve this,” says Lewis.

Protect Line’s customer reviews increased CTR by 14%

The Protect Line team recently A/B tested pages with and without TrustBox widgets, and saw a 14% increase in CTR on pages with TrustBoxes.

Since then, they’ve implemented TrustBox widgets on their homepage as well as on specific campaign landing pages. They now feature Trustpilot prominently on their website.

The Protect Line team also likes to observe how their customers interact with their landing pages using heatmaps and session recordings. Using those tools to measure their pages’ performance, they have seen positive interactions with Trustpilot reviews throughout their website.

Using social proof to build trust throughout the funnel

Protect Line use Trustpilot in a variety of different ways. To start with, their marketing team feature Trustpilot prominently in all of their marketing campaigns, and across a variety of mediums – web, print and social. This helps with the trust factor, and has been shown to increase click-through rate when used well too.

Internally, Protect Line employees are targeted on their Trustpilot reviews. Providing exceptional customer service is extremely important to the business, and that’s why they choose to reward their teams when they succeed in generating positive Trustpilot reviews.

“We’re all about celebrating success and as a company we highlight the best reviews that come through to us. This does go both ways however; we also use the feedback we receive from customers to educate and teach any team members who may be struggling, and use this feedback to also influence our internal processes. If we can be doing something better for our customers, we’ll go ahead and get it done based on the feedback we receive. Having our fingers on the pulse of how our customers are reacting to the experience we provide is a very valuable resource for us,” Lewis points out.

Protect Line also found that including the Trustpilot branding as well as their star rating in ads increased their conversion rate by 4.3%. That’s one of the reasons the team now likes to make sure Trustpilot is always used in their marketing.

The company uses Trustpilot reviews and ratings across everything they promote through marketing campaigns – this includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. They always feature the Trustpilot brand mark and their 5-star rating, whilst sometimes promoting customer reviews which stand out. These will often be featured in videos as well as static images, as seen below.

Protect Line also feature Trustpilot in all of their email campaigns, usually opting to use the provided widget so that the number of reviews is always up-to-date and relevant.

“One of the quirky and fun ways we’re using Trustpilot is by using a custom-built internal API to display reviews in real-time with animated GIFs on the information TV screens we have across our offices. Sadly this is yet to go live properly due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but it’s just one thing we have lined up for when our people are back in the office.”

The benefits of using Trustpilot

“One of the biggest advantages we see from using Trustpilot is that customers mention it to us when we’re speaking with them and it definitely provides our business credibility and a significant trust increase due to the brand power that Trustpilot has,” explains Lewis.

“We can also see first-hand the word-of-mouth influence that Trustpilot has on our brand – when customers mention our business to their friends or colleagues and suggest they also look into life insurance, one of the deciding factors other than their friend’s recommendation is that we’re so highly rated on the platform. This extra credibility has definitely had a measurable impact on how well our refer a friend campaigns perform.”

Protect Line have also found that responding to Trustpilot reviews is an amazing way to turn negative experiences into positive ones, and to really learn from their customers’ feedback. “We’re really pleased with how Trustpilot provides us another way to interact with our customers, and we see the platform being an integral part of our business for the foreseeable future,” explains Lewis.

Trustpilot likes to help businesses overcome any challenges they might encounter. One of the biggest challenges that Protect Line face as a business is getting their customers to answer their phones. As a life insurance broker, the entire process is largely done over the phone due to the in-depth questions they are required to ask to make sure that cover is suitable and correct for every customer’s needs. Once people answer the phone, they are far more likely to get through their funnel.

“Like many businesses that rely on phone calls, the first stage of the funnel can often be tough. Trustpilot helps us here, too. We use automated SMS and email campaigns to reach out to customers who have enquired but have so far not answered the phone – we include a link here to our Reviews page where Trustpilot is featured prominently,” explains Lewis.

Just from including the URL in their SMS’s, Protect Line have seen contact increase by 2.6%, which is a great start. Today, they continue to A/B test and refine their messaging whilst monitoring performance.

If you’d like to find out more about reviews and how you can achieve better marketing results using social proof, just like Protect Line have, request a free Trustpilot demo below.