The Role of Social Proof In Marketing

The use of social proof, especially online, is a very persuasive technique many marketers use when trying to improves sales. What makes this such an effective advertising strategy is it has the subtle ability to influence people into making a purchase they may not have made otherwise!

Let's look at the role of this very persuasive technique many marketers use to improve sales when working on the internet!

3rd Party Testimonies

Reading the product testimonials of others serve as a way for people to quickly conduct their research on whatever it is they are being offered! In the vast majority of cases people either believe or want to believe that these testimonials are legitimate. When what they read is positive feedback from others this approach tends to be a very persuasive technique in helping them to decide to make the purchase!

Validation

When facing the prospects of buying something in most cases the person is also facing very conflicting internal signals as well! Think about it for a second, if somebody is looking at anything with the thoughts of purchasing it they obviously have an interest, right? At the same time however most people tend to be resistant since they feel that making the purchase is not the right decision! Now they are torn! Well the use of third party endorsements helps prospective buyers to validate their 'wanting' to make the purchase upon seeing how satisfied others are for doing so. In this way using this strategy proves to be a very clever and effective advertising tactic!

Peer Affirmation

Let's face it as human beings we do NOT want to be left out or behind on anything that offers benefits or makes life better in any way! This also goes for things we do not necessarily need, until of course we hear how good these 'things' are or how happy that make others. At this point we now can no longer do WITHOUT something we may not have even known existed minutes earlier! In this way 'offering' the satisfaction of others as proof to us has created a demand that previously did not exist. Once again this strategy with its subtle approach proves to be a persuasive technique for closing a sale!

Many marketers make use of social proof when working online due to its subtle ability to improve sales! Third party product testimonials tend to be a very persuasive technique for convincing prospective customers to make the purchase. The role this strategy plays in the decision making process is reviewed above and as one can understand is a great way to improve sales without being pushy! The end result is that the use of subtlety in the sales process makes for a more positive experience for the buyer. This in turn increases your chances of continuing to improve sales through the repeat business these buyers can bring you!