The power of social proof persuasion

I know it happened, but you might not believe me, and why would you? I have no evidence to back up my claim.

It’s the same when you’re marketing a STEM product or service. You can make the boldest claims, but why should people believe you? Anybody can make an unsubstantiated claim.

This is where social proof comes in. By social proof, I mean providing material originating from a third party that agrees that you can do what you say you can.

One might argue that peer review is the oldest form of social proof and the host of X accounts and websites that have sprung up to keep the process honest validate that view. For instance, Elisabeth Bik, Retraction Watch and PubPeer, are all examples of why social proof doesn’t stop being relevant when a product, idea or service crosses the line from commerce to high science.

According to the Social Proof Principle, people are heavily influenced by the actions of others, so it’s important to display the positive experiences customers have had with your product or service in order to attract new customers.

So, how can you do this?

When you’re interested in a product on Amazon, what section do you immediately head to if you’re unsure about its quality?

The reviews, right?

Reviews and testimonials are a great way of providing real world evidence that your product is as great as you say it is. In a B2B context, these reviews could be provided by Google, Trustpilot or simply gathered directly from customers and used in marketing material.

Case studies provide in-depth analysis of the exact process you followed to deliver results. This can be particularly important to audiences who are concerned with detail and the mission critical nature of minutiae, which is common across several STEM sectors.

A case study eliminates uncertainty and helps the reader perceive their investment to be safe, which is particularly useful if you’re selling high-cost products or services where the investment represents a significant risk.

If you’re unsure how to write or structure a case study, check out Stone Junction’s here.

If prospective customers can see successful, reputable clients have used your services, they’ll follow suit because the client’s success provides social proof by itself.

As a result, it makes sense to showcase the businesses that are already working with you.

Maybe your client is a well-known brand a smaller company is trying to replicate and suddenly they’re like, voila, so that’s their secret sauce! It doesn’t have to be a competitor, in fact at Stone Junction we normally find that our client’s marketing role-models are from totally alien sectors.

Numbers don’t lie. Use statistics, such as how much you’ve sold of a certain product, how many clients you have or how much your products or services have saved those clients as ammunition to convince new customers to work with you.

 Even if you are just starting out, or launching a new product, you can almost always offer something. For example, if you are an industrial design agency, you can provide images of product designs you’ve created to demonstrate the skills potential clients can expect. If you are launching a new product, you might be able to garner testimonials from the businesses you worked with to develop it.

Remember, doing a consistently fantastic job for clients and offering amazing customer service comes first. This will make gathering social proof a lot easier.

You’ll be surprised at how willing people are to take time out and provide a review or testimonial if you have scratched a particular itch of theirs. If you do a great job, you will find people readily endorse you and will trust your advice, because you have established yourself as a credible source. Even if you start off by saying you’ve been abducted by aliens.

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