Shoppers’ trust in brands is diminishing. You only need to look at the most recent data leaks to see why. As a result, people are concerned about the value of their data and are reluctant to hand it over to just anyone.
Customers are unwilling to offer up personal information in exchange for better prices, and 53% find it upsetting when companies make recommendations based on their online activity. They keep their information close to their chest, making it more difficult for e-commerce companies to attract customers to opt-in.
This is extremely troubling, considering that consumer trust is not only vital in an age of high expectations and fierce competition, but it also serves as a brand differentiator that may make or break a store.
Getting your customers to produce social proof, on the other hand, can be tough. It necessitates more time on their part, time that they could be spending elsewhere. A loyalty program can assist you in retaining loyal consumers and encouraging them to disseminate trustworthy material on your behalf. Let’s wait and see how things go.
What Exactly Is Social Proof?
The idea behind social proof is that people will change their behavior based on an influential person or society as a whole. They emulate the ‘proper’ behavior in every given situation. “When a person is in a situation where they are unsure about the proper way to behave, they will commonly seek to others for indications about the acceptable behavior.”
Related: Easy Ways To Build Social Proof For Your Shopify Store
“People comply because they believe that other people’s perceptions of an ambiguous situation are more accurate than their own.” Even if it means skipping Thanksgiving dinner, they don’t need to buy a TV.
List Of Social Proofs You Can Collect:
- Reviews
- User-Generated Photos
- Inline Social Proof/FOMO
- “As Seen On” Badges
Why Is Social Proof So Effective?
The advantage of social proof is that it can aid in transmitting trust. Because supplying a credit card number to an unknown firm over the internet is a massive hurdle for clients to clear, trust is one of the essential variables in converting customers online. Showing potential clients that a company has many satisfied customers using user reviews help develop trust that a company is honest and trustworthy.
Social proof works by appealing to the natural human impulse to mimic the actions of others, so increasing trust and credibility and lowering the barriers to completing online transactions.
Because social proof is such a significant psychological component, it is an excellent item to test across your site and on your product pages to enhance conversions. Consider putting social proof features into your essential product pages as part of your product or service’s value proposition.
Related: How to Leverage the Power of Social Reviews to Boost Online Sales
Beneficial For Establishing Loyalty
Customer recommendations provide you with social proof to acquire customers while also retaining and engaging people who are on the verge of becoming loyal to your company. Consider social proof and loyalty a two-way street, with your customers directing content your way on one side and you directing incentives to foster loyalty on the other.
Related: Best Strategies To Retain Your Customers
Helpful In Boosting Sales
- Increases the conversion rate of your business
- Assists your brand in genuinely overcoming client objections.
Statistics To Back Up These Assertions
- Before making a purchase, approximately 87% of shoppers read a review.
- 90 percent of individuals agree that the reviews they read influence their purchasing decisions, whether they buy your goods or not.
Should You Prioritize Customer Reviews And Product Ratings?
Customers require more information to help them purchase the face of so much variety. Product reviews are the primary source of validation for 77 percent of internet customers. Without touching, experiencing, or trying on the object, other people’s opinions become a precious element of decision-making. Especially considering how diverse retailers may be in terms of fitting and how each product appears and feels.
Reviews not only help buyers make decisions, but they also increase your customers’ trust in your business. According to one study, 88 percent of shoppers trust internet evaluations published by others just as much as they make recommendations from friends or relatives. When a photo is included, this trust skyrockets.
Customers who leave product reviews should be rewarded through your loyalty program. Customers will be more likely to offer feedback if they know they will receive something in exchange for sharing their ideas about their experiences with your brand. You could even give them extra points if they include a photo. This content thus serves as a reliable source of social proof for potential buyers, in addition to the conventional sales visuals.
Do You Encourage Customer Referrals?
If not, you should do the same. According to research, pleased customers tell up to nine friends about their great experiences with a brand. Furthermore, 82% of emotionally linked customers will tell their friends and family about a store and spend more money there.
You will automatically establish emotional connections with new customers by building connections with your existing loyal customers so that they become champions on your behalf. They’ll believe in the integrity of your brand because it was recommended by someone they know.
Use your loyalty program to reward your brand lovers for referring others to your store. This results in a win-win situation for everyone involved: the advocate earns extra points to spend in a store they enjoy. Instead of shopping around, the new customer saves time by trusting your brand right away.
Wrapping Up
Nowadays in an age of mistrust and faceless companies, independent businesses must capitalize on the customers who already know and trust their brand. You can build an authentic experience that grabs the minds and hearts of people worldwide by employing a loyalty program to reward reviews, referrals, and social sharing.
Good luck!
