The Importance of Social Proof

The face of marketing has changed dramatically in recent years. Having a good marketing plan is no longer about simply placing the right advertisement or the right commercial. Now more than ever, social proof plays a large role in acquiring customers.

With the world becoming more social and connected through the internet, customers aren’t simply going to the nearest place of business. The average customer today first does online research about a company by examining their website, checking reviews on google, yelp, etc and checks for feedback on Facebook and Twitter.

Michael Luca, assistant professor at Harvard Business School, performed a study that showed a one-star difference in online ratings for restaurants translated into a 5% – 9% change in business revenue. If you’re like many small business owners that last 5% -9% is where the majority of your profit is.

Jonah Berger, associate professor at Wharton School of Business, wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review on book reviews. His research found that good reviews increased consistently increased sales by 32% to 52%.

Both of these studies demonstrate the importance for businesses to manage their online presence rather than be managed by them. Good business owners today don’t simply hope that customers leave positive reviews, rather they actively encourage customer participation in the process of spreading the word about their company.

Some business owners have extra time to manage this process but many don’t. If you find yourself short on time for this ongoing task of attracting customers through inbound marketing let Social Core Marketing help! We’ll provide a free game plan tailored to your business.