What other customers do convinces more than cashback.

Starting question

In its Schutzwelt, freenet bundles protection modules for smartphones, data and travel. Until now, freenet has mostly presented such add-on offers in a product-centred way. The message goes out to hundreds of thousands of existing customers over months and shapes how many add the protection and how much additional revenue it creates. The question: which of three messages brings revenue?

Variants

Result

Social proof brought 3.4 times as many purchase intents as cashback. The needs check brought twice as many customers to the page as cashback but fell below it on purchase intent. Per recipient, social proof generated 2.7 times as much monthly premium as cashback.

Decision

On this basis, freenet can decide: social proof instead of cashback in its messaging, no needs check up front, and full protection as the anchor, since it is part of almost every second purchase intent. Judged by opens and clicks alone, the needs check would have looked almost level; measured up to the purchase intent, it is 4.5 times behind.

Anything that is truly new strategy belongs in a test with real customer behaviour first. Our core question in this test was whether customer-centric messaging creates more demand than product-centric messaging, and we clearly proved it.

Anke Schramm, Head of Research and Improvement, freenet