Without a clear call to action, content is useless.
This may seem like a harsh statement, but if prospects don’t know what to do after browsing product information, or can’t quickly find how to get a quote or to get in touch, you’ll lose them.
Some life insurers have already realized this apparently obvious conclusion, but a surprising number have not. They tease prospects with long pages of product information and hope they’ll spend time searching for an elusive next step link. Getting prospects to engage is a process that starts on the homepage, leads through product overviews and choosing, and, all going well, ends with a quotation, a call or a contact with an agent. This chain of events is only as strong as its weakest link, and if the link to the final step is missing or hard to find, it breaks and the prospect goes elsewhere.
MetLife is an example of a company that leaves nothing to chance. The screenshot below is of its Term Life page. After the ‘Basics’ and ‘Details’ pages, prospects get to the ‘What’s Next’ page. There are no fewer than seven next step links on this section of the page: Find an office near you, have a representative contact you, try the life insurance selector, request a no-obligation quote, another no-obligation quote form, a ‘get a quote’ link, and another ‘Find a MetLife Office’ link. Prospects are spoilt for choice.
Seven next step options in this section of the MetLife Term Life page
A key area for a next step link is at the end of a product page. Prospects that read the page should be rewarded with clear options to take it a stage further.
State Farm places a big red button at the end of its life products pages, along with a sentence offering two next step choices.
State Farm's next step options are displayed clearly at the end of product pages
Some sites we evaluate contain no clear next step links, while others almost whisper the next step by having a single link buried in the sidebar. Product pages are no place for subtlety, however, and brash links that shout at prospects will ensure that interested visitors know where to go.
