How TaxSlayer grew its CTR by 60% and decreased CPA by 50% with Trustpilot

For most of us, there’s nothing like tax season to remind us of just how little we actually know about taxes.

Before a crop of online options popped up, busy professionals either made time to buckle down and go it alone — or they visited a brick and mortar preparation office where they could look the preparer in the eye before handing over scrolls of their personal info.

It’s safe to say that all fintech companies (and especially those focused on personal financial data) must show, not tell, that other customers have had great experiences with their product.

That’s exactly why TaxSlayer not only partnered with Trustpilot, but decided to highlight their Trustpilot reviews across the entire customer journey. Interested in how they parlayed the words of their customers into trustworthy social proof, better ROI on retargeting campaigns, and even some lucrative operational decisions?

We sat down with Melissa Best, Director of Digital Marketing at TaxSlayer, to better understand why, after some positive early traction, they opted to double down with Trustpilot content for the 2018 tax season and beyond.

Sometimes social proof is the best way to get through to customers

Each year the digital marketing team at TaxSlayer zeroes in on new customer acquisition. But with so many competing products on the market — all making similar claims around tax season — it’s not always easy to capture attention with traditional ads. As it turns out, nobody can talk to consumers the way other consumers can.

Before partnering with Trustpilot to collect customer reviews as their primary form of social proof, TaxSlayer was in the habit of commissioning agencies to do consumer research and generate customer feedback for testimonial content.

These days, there’s no need for outsourcing consumer insights because Trustpilot has quickly become a one stop shop for consumer insights, social proof, and testimonial content to back up their advertising and marketing claims.

But it doesn’t stop there: The marketing team sees each new review in real time. Having access to real customer sentiments allows them to refine marketing messaging and deliver ad copy that’s sure to resonate — especially when it comes to campaigns designed to win over new high-intent customers.

According to the team at TaxSlayer, “our customers are already talking about us exactly the way we want them to,” — and that helps them to cut through the noise in an era where consumers see right through slick ad or marketing copy. In fact, that’s why they feature Trustpilot across their website and email campaigns, too.

Retargeting campaigns are more effective with user-generated content like reviews

With so many options out there for every consumer need imaginable, it’s not hard to believe that only 2% of people will convert the first time they visit a site to view a product or service. To help bring back the other 98% of tax filers, TaxSlayer decided to make the most of their Trustpilot social proof with a ridiculously effective retargeting campaign.

Review content in retargeting ads can radically reduce CPA

Once TaxSlayer tested two versions of their ad creative for this type of retargeting campaign, the winning ad variant was clear.

Retargeting ads that featured Trustpilot reviews led to a staggering 50% lower CPA on average — though in some months, the reduction in CPA was as significant as 82%. It’s safe to say that adding reviews to retargeting ad creative can rev up the ROI of the entire campaign.