We’ve learnt some surprising lessons about advertising and growth, and it turns out you guys are the stars of the show.
When we started Naked, we never thought that word of mouth would be as powerful as it has been for us. Insurance isn’t exactly known for being part of a happy chat around the braai – quite the opposite actually. In saying that, we are so blown away by our Naked users and how much they are willing to punt Naked to their friends, family and essentially the rest of South Africa!
So much so that our Naked fans have inspired our new ad campaign called “Reviews”.
While conceptualising this campaign, three principles key to our success came to mind
We figured these principles can be applied to almost any industry, so we wanted to share them in the hope of helping anyone starting out or looking to grow their business.
1. Solve a real problem customers face and that will get them speaking about your business naturally
After years and years of experience in the insurance industry, our founders realised an honest human truth: people just don’t want to chat with call centre agents. It came as no surprise given the progressive world we’re living in. This was an obvious problem that we wanted and needed to solve. So we hired a kickass team, put in a lot of work and found a solution, which we’ve called Naked.
Our platform gives users the convenience and control to switch insurance but also manage their cover with the click of a button – no phone call with a call centre required. This has (and continues to) resonate with consumers so much that they are not only buying our cover but promoting Naked on our behalf.
2. Take on the bad feedback as much as the good
Authenticity matters when winning a customer’s trust. It’s easy to spot the paid-for or fake social media reviews and TV ads. That’s why we prefer to let our customers give us real and genuine feedback. When there’s a mistake or something doesn’t go as our customer expects and we receive negative feedback, we use it as an opportunity to learn, correct and look for better solutions. We’re very grateful for the positive feedback we receive, but we also hear the negative feedback and use it to improve. We hope that this gives people assurance that the positive feedback really is genuine.
3. Use reviews for inspiration and have some fun with them
Our users’ experience is key to our success, so we’re kind of obsessed with listening to their feedback. It really does help the continuous design and development of our tech as we keep scaling and improving our self-service platform. But, we do sometimes (like now) use the compliments we receive as inspiration for telling stories about our brand.
In “Reviews”, we highlight how entertaining and creative our Naked fans are when they’re talking about Naked. Even though the characters are fictitious, it's clearly a case of "inspired by a true story", specifically the reviews our customers have left us, which are adorable, brutally honest, weirdly specific and at times, just plain hilarious.
So much so that we thought they deserved to be reviewed by us. Spoiler alert! Everyone got 5-stars plus a little gift on top of your referral fees – check your DMs 😉.
Here’s something we love to see, the words “not sponsored”. In this age of influencer marketing and sponsored content, it’s almost impossible to know who you can trust anymore. Twitter user @Thabang_R knows that his followers might be a little sceptical that he is suddenly singing an insurance app’s praises online, so he makes sure everyone understands that this shoutout is not the product of a multimillion-rand endorsement deal.
Great review Thabang_R! Concise and heartfelt. We give you 5-stars.
A good review tells a story. This classic review from @_Mdooh starts like any other review, he mentions the low premiums and excess, gives our excellent Helpdesk a well-deserved shoutout and even mentions that Naked is all online. But then the review takes a wild turn when he ends it with ‘I hate talking to people’. Ok, Mdooh we need answers. Is it all people? On the phone or just in general? What do you do at the drive-thru? Did something happen? Talk to us. Wait let me guess, you don’t want to talk about it?
All in all, a fantastic review from Mdooh. Informative with a twist. 5-stars.
This little number from Ashley (via HelloPeter) is a masterclass in hyperbole and comedic timing. She highlights that Naked is easy to understand. How easy is it, Ashley? So easy that even a baby could use it! Boom! Slam dunked it.
Lovely review, Ashley. Love the enthusiasm and humour. You must be a hoot at a dinner party. 5-stars.
One thing about Albert is, well, Albert doesn’t beat around the bush. Albert tells it like it is. And that’s what we love about Albert.
Brutal. Raw. Not sugar-coated. Albert, we give your review 5-stars.
What we are seeing in action here from Twitter user @seek_rona is the concept of ‘tough love’. Remember, some people aren’t going to ‘get it’ immediately. They might not recognise that they are staring the future of insurance in the face, and that’s fine. That’s why you’re here, to gently remind them every chance you get.
Simple. Effective. Committed. Solid review, @seek_rona! 5-stars!
We had to include this one from Abraham K (via HelloPeter). Nothing makes us happier than to think about all the awkward phone calls we are saving people everyday.
Put a smile on our faces. 5-stars for your review, Abraham K.
Not gonna lie, our help desk team won’t be too happy when they read this one. Are you implying that we’re not really friends? All this time we thought we were friends? I was going to invite you to my wedding. Were you just… pretending to be my friend to get your claim sorted? Fair enough, well played!
Lovely review from my personal close dear friend Reatile, 5-stars!
What’s so crazy about the insurance game is that, after years of being mistreated by, well, just about everyone else, everyone’s expectations are so low that you can blow their minds by just doing what you’re supposed to do. Surely no other insurer’s customers are saying that they love getting the debit order notification!
Glad we could be of service, Yasmin, and thanks for a thoughtful review. We give it 5-stars.
We love seeing our amazing help desk crew getting shoutouts from customers, because that tells us that they are making a good impression. This comment from Bhuti came through via Facebook with a personal big-up for Elizabeth for sorting a claim after 9pm. What can we say, we love what we do!
Thanks Bhuti. 5-stars.
And in first place, we have this absolute banger of a review from our old pal Albert. You know when an insurance company is good when you start daydreaming about more things in life being like them.
The second half of Albert’s review is just classic Albert. And just so you know Albert, we aren’t planning on doing any of that anytime soon (or ever).
Another 5-stars for the king of telling-it-like-it-is.
As you can see, not only do our reviews help us improve our platform but they also serve as major inspiration to our creative team! We really appreciate our Naked fans and their honesty. If you feel like you’re missing out, grab a quote for your car, contents or even just your cell phone on our website and see how we can improve your experience with insurance with just a click of a button.
