Chapter 8 of PSYCHOMarketing by Roger Nichols
Social proof is when you adopt the beliefs, values, and actions of a group of people you trust or like. You may believe smokers die young because society holds onto this belief, even though you yourself have never seen an actual person die young from smoking. Even individuals who do not attach themselves to a given social group look for justification within as well as outside their group to reinforce any given view.
One reason people look for social proof is so they can be reassured that their own behavior is correct, that is, that others will demonstrate the same conduct as they would in a similar situation. This “birds of a feather” attitude—looking to peers to acquire information about proper etiquette—enables them to keep believing they can reduce the chance of making mistakes.
This plays out in marketing, too. A positive review from one consumer will often generate a positive reaction from another, as will a negative generate a negative reaction.
You may have noticed that even you have chosen an unknown restaurant because it was crowded, over one that was not. That’s because you are subconsciously applying social proof to that restaurant; even unaware, you are telling yourself the crowded restaurant is crowded, so it must be good. Moreover, you continue to believe the “social proof” exists when you see a local restaurant receiving great YELP reviews while you know from your own experience it is mediocre at best.
Many people consult online reviews before making online travel arrangements. In 2009, Vermeulen and Seegers conducted a study on the effect of positive and negative reviews on consumers; they found out that both negative and positive hotel assessments increased the awareness of the hotels. The critical difference between the two was that positive evaluations improved the attitudes of consumers toward those hotels, but both hotels received a bump in business. The effect was even more significant when they studied lesser-known hotels.
In research conducted by Ubel, et al. (2001), participants were given testimonials written by previous patients about their experience during angioplasty and bypass surgery. The researchers split the participants into two groups; participants in Group A were given three testimonials by patients who had benefited from bypass surgery and one patient who did not benefit from it. The testimony of the person who did not benefit from the surgery also contained detailed statistical information about the success rate of bypass surgeries in general.
Participants in Group B were given only two testimonials: one who benefited from angioplasty and one who did not. The researchers found that 44% of participants in Group A chose to do the bypass surgery, as compared to 30% in Group B. This experiment clearly demonstrates the significance of social proof even in critically important decision-making processes.
Celebrity testimonial as social proof.
Undoubtedly, you have seen companies use testimonials from supposedly credible experts to boost your confidence in their brand. A perfect example was when people were referred to “Rent the Runway” (an online fashion rental) from fashion magazines and blogs, which they purchased more often than references mentioned in a Google ad. Marketers use celebrities to take advantage of this “social proof” phenomenon. Perhaps you are familiar with celebrity Kim Kardashian as the chief stylist at ShoeDazzle, which company’s worth she helped increase from $25 million in 2010 to $70 million the very next year.
How Marketers Apply Social Proof
It is obvious that social proof can also have an adverse effect on marketing as well. Returning to the smoking example, the number of people who believe smokers will die young appear to have been negatively influenced to change their attitudes toward cigarettes and tobacco products as a whole.
Since many people base their decision-making on the recommendation of their peers, it makes little-to-no sense not to take advantage of this important tool, and, indeed, marketers have learned not to concentrate on profits alone. They know that, if they sell inferior products, the “social proof” phenomenon will more than likely have a lasting negative effect. When their customers discover their product is not valuable, they will start talking about it, and social proof will hasten the downfall of that product. It is said that people will share a positive recommendation with one single person, but they will complain to ten.
Smart marketers utilize social proof by creating blogs, posting videos or photographs on popular platform, and allowing for social sharing and “liking.” All this makes visible to other visitors the numbers of people who “LIKE” their product or service, while hiding those products that get a thumbs-down review. When you visit a page and discover people like a product, you will be curious to check it out. Thereafter, you will most likely purchase the product yourself.
You may notice, now that you are aware, that “social proof” marketing is easily done in stores as well. A store will hire people and split them into three groups. The first group will stay close to the product, as if they are interested in it. The second group will stand at a reasonable distance or wander around in the store telling other shoppers they’ve tried the product and sing its praises. The last group will move around the store with the product as if they have just purchased it, without saying anything or advertising the product. In this way, the store creates the all-important illusion of social proof.
Researchers also agree that interpersonal influence of an individual’s behavior influences a purchase. Let’s use Apple products as an example. The reason most people choose Apple products above Samsung, Huawei, LG, and others is because they want to fit into the profile of “sophisticated people.” I am not saying Apple is not a great product; in fact, I think it is impressive. However, there are other products just as great as Apple’s—but try telling that to most teenagers, who would prefer to purchase products manufactured by Apple because they don’t want to be left out among their peers.
Pressure is a driving force in marketing, and when it’s exerted correctly, especially through peers and family members, it can drive a high level of compliance. Individuals tend to be much more inclined to get a product because the people in their clique make use of it, since they desire belonging to being left out. This is why brands often have a target market in terms of gender, race, age, and occupation, among other measures: because they are aware they can control their market better and attract more customers within the target bracket with purchase influence that reinforces purchase compliance.