Throughout business development, the one ‘eventuality’ that every entrepreneur works towards is customer satisfaction. We all remember the day we landed our first client and the first dollar that popped into our bank account. Every step we have taken from that point on is to ensure that we can provide the same level and quality
Throughout business development, the one ‘eventuality’ that every entrepreneur works towards is customer satisfaction. We all remember the day we landed our first client and the first dollar that popped into our bank account. Every step we have taken from that point on is to ensure that we can provide the same level and quality of service to subsequent customers.
The Impact of Reviews on Customer Behavior
Your entrepreneurial sense already knows how important reviews can be for any business. To help you further reinforce that thought, it might help to know that almost 99.9% of consumers will consult reviews when shopping online. 98% of these people consider reviews as an absolute essential when they are making their purchase decision.
Psychology of Social Proof
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that describes how people rely on the actions and opinions of others to determine the appropriate behavior within a given situation. When people (your customers) are uncertain about what to do, they will look towards others (your customer’s review) for guidance. Three types of social proof will ultimately strengthen your business’ foundation.
Expert Social Proof
This type of proof comes from influencers who endorse your products or services. Their followers will trust their opinion, and their endorsements will become a huge positive driving force to improve conversions for your website.
User Social Proof
Consumers that utilize your products or services will share their experiences through reviews, ratings and testimonials. Building the momentum for this is relatively tough, but once the wheel gets spinning, it’s up to you to maintain it!
Wisdom of the Crowd
The sheer number of people that take a particular action or make a particular choice concerning your product will ultimately create a ‘correct’ or ‘popular’ choice that others will want to follow.
Why is social proof so popular? Well, there are a number of factors at play here:
Humans generally have a strong need to conform to the norms and behaviors of the groups they belong to. Social proof provides a sense of safety and belonging by aligning our behavior with that of others.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful motivator that drives people to take action (in this case, on your product) to avoid feeling left out. Social proof creates a sense of urgency by highlighting the popularity or scarcity of your product.
The availability heuristic is also an important factor at play: a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily it comes to mind. The presence of social proof can make a choice more salient and memorable.