Photo: A recent testimonial shoot IvyStreet conducted for Jubilee Wyndham Vale, providing social proof to first home buyers in the region

In this article (5min read)

• • What are high involvement decisions
  • How they are affected in uncertain markets
  • How marketing needs to adapt to changing buyer behaviour
  • What is social proof & how to use it
  • How to use social proof when you don’t have any customers

 

How tough times change our buying behaviour

High involvement decisions are those that are important to us and by their nature already have:

• High complexity
• High perceived risk
• High impact

Examples include buying a new car, house or CRM subscription for your workplace.

The products are complex, the alternatives similar, the risk of getting it wrong is significant and it will have an immediate impact on your life.

When you add economic uncertainty into this mix, the complex becomes more complex, the perceived risks loom larger and the impact of the decision even greater.

This means we are more hesitant to commit and require more certainty than previously to make a decision. All of which leads to more research and longer lead times.

When we do buy, our purchases are still affected. Most commonly we:

• Buy less: consume and purchase smaller amounts
• Buy later: delay purchases as much as possible
• Buy safer: revert to the safest brand in the market
• Buy down: lower quality than we normally would

 

The implication for marketers

Kahneman and Tversky’s Prospect Theory helps frame the marketing implications.

In tough conditions we feel potential losses and regret more than the equivalent upside.

As a result we place more weight on certainty, risk reduction, proven performance and avoiding mistakes.

Marketing in these times needs to work hard to lower the perceived risk and help people navigate the complexity of their purchase decision.

One such tool that can be used to great effect is social proof.
 

The power of social proof

Social proof is a decision-making shortcut that allows us to make better decisions when faced with complex information by observing the behaviours of others.

Instead of spending countless hours researching, we can instead follow this simple rule outlined by Robert Cialidini in ‘Influence’:

 

‘Usually, when a lot of other people are doing something, it’s the right thing to do’

 

And for the most part it works.

If fit and healthy people exercise regularly, then exercising regularly will help me become fitter and healthier.

If people like me really like this product, I’ll probably like it as well.

Social proof is most influential under three conditions:

• The uncertain: when people are unsure, they’re more likely to assume others behaviour is correct
• The many: we are more likely to follow the lead of larger groups because it is seen as more valid, feasible & socially acceptable
• The similar: people conform their actions to people similar to them

One of the most powerful ways to use social proof as a marketer is through testimonials.
 

How to use testimonials as social proof

When executed well, testimonials provide authentic third-party endorsements of your ability to deliver on your promises.

The strength of testimonials lies in their authenticity, so they should never be tightly scripted.

Written testimonials provide you with overwhelming evidence of the amount of people you have helped experience success (‘the many’).

Video testimonials help people recognise similarities between their current situation and the success stories you have already helped achieve. Video testimonials provide you with ‘Similarity’.

The best way to maximise the social proof of your brand is to do both. Collect written testimonials as an ‘always-on’ activity as part of your post-sales activity, and from those you can identify potential candidates for video testimonials.

 

Written Testimonials – ‘The Many’

• Easier to collect so can be high volume (“the many”)
• Quick and easy for the customer to complete
• Easily used across all marketing material, typically as an early trust signal across websites, ads, print media
• Difficult to assess similarity so not as powerful as video testimonials

 

Video Testimonials – ‘The Similar’

• These can range from user generated iPhone videos through to professional shoots.
• They can provide more depth and specifics, so we can understand their problems and relate to them more/less as a result
• More difficult to produce
• Can only be used on digital platforms
• Typically best used as a later stage reassurance and conversion

 

How many testimonials should my business have?

As a starting point aim to have more written and video testimonials than your nearest competitor. If you have the clearest demonstration of success for people like them you will be the safest option that buyers revert to in tough times.

Social proof becomes stronger the more you collect (‘the many’), and with the diversity to cover your key customers (‘the similar’).

In a perfect world you want all of your key customers to recognise many similar people in many different testimonials. It will help them visualise how you can help them succeed, lowering their perceived risk of purchase and making their decision easier.
 

How do I use social proof as a start-up without any customers?

When you don’t have any success stories to promote you can provide honest evidence of growing popularity.

Our natural human tendency is to believe that recent trends will continue, so evidence of recent growth will help your customers project future success and lower the risk of purchase.

For example:

• ‘25% growth in the past 12 months’
• ‘273 people are interested’
• ‘Only 40 spots remain on our waitlist’
• ‘Over 3,000 subscribers’
• ‘32 deposits placed’
• ‘64% sold’

 

Summary

We are undoubtedly in uncertain times. As marketers the core of our job is to understand our customers and adapt our approach to meet their needs.

Providing them with honest social proof is an important tool we can use to lower their risk and help them navigate the complexity of their decision without requiring aggressive, high-pressure sales tactics.

At IvyStreet we have full in-house marketing and creative teams ideally placed to deliver any testimonial strategy or production project. Please reach out to see how we can help.