As we continue to examine the power of the customer in a one-click market and how social media impacts business, the need to have the market validate the value you state you deliver, has become more important than ever before. Social proofing is no longer a phenomena it is a legitimate methodology and one any great company needs to embrace and master. What we now call social proofing, used to be mainly driven by endorsements. The big name athlete getting paid to talk about a product. As we all know the concept does drive people to the product but once the product was consumed no one really had the chance to hear about the end results. 

Times have changed and endorsements are one of several ways of validation but in today’s market it is a much smaller component contributing to why people make a purchase or stay with a brand. Customer reviews and client testimonials are the real driver in when it comes to making a purchase. Social proof is the concept that people will conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of the correct behavior. Thanks to social media, social proof has gained steam over the past few years, but in truth, it’s been around for a very long time in marketing. Studies show that 70% of consumers say they look at product reviews before making a purchase, and product reviews are 12x more trusted than product descriptions from manufacturers. 

Here are some staggering statistics according to a study done by Nielsen:

-92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer

-70% of people will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know.

Here at Data Age our mantra is “treat them like family”.  All great companies should operate in this manner because it is sound business but it also helps your business grow in a very profound way.

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