Social Proof Questions/Theory

[Wiggy0618]

We all know that marketing and what actually "sells" people changes over time, but I'm starting to think that the most important part of a pitch - potentially the most influential part - is the social proof.

In my mind, there are several different types of social proof, and I'd like to cover them all, ask a few questions, and see what y'all think.

1 - Yourself

This is the most basic type of social proof. What you've done / been able to accomplish with your own product/service/whatever you're selling.

This is important, if for no other reason than the old adage "never trust a skinny chef". However, there is always (IMO) a certain amount of skepticism based on the part of the consumer. First of all, you could always be BSing everybody (unless you provide actual 'proof' - screenshots, pictures, etc.).

At the same time, you very well might not be in the same position/situation as your customer. This could be something like a genetically gifted athlete trying to sell workouts, or somebody who is already very successful trying to sell business practices. Like I saw somebody put to Ryan Lee one time:

"Sure this is def gonna work for you Ryan - you've got 200k people on your list. Virtually anything will make money on a list that big. But what will it do for me if my list is only 800 people?"

2 - Others' Results (name recognition)

This is what many people like to see (and I've gone after myself) simply b/c it "looks" good. Having 'big-name' people saying your product is good gives you not only social proof, but also plenty of credibility by association.

However, to the average 'joe consumer', at what point is there (if at all) a disconnect between big name people and the regular folks? Like the Ryan Lee quote above, do average consumers look at the big names, and though everybody has the pie in the sky dream of one day accomplishing all they have, they still know deep down they're not (insert big name testimonial giver here).

So, while that big-name testimonial is good for 'wow' factor, I wonder if it's really as effective as one would think for social proof's sake?

3 - Others' Results (regular people who can be accessed)

I think this is one of the most powerful forms of social proof. People like to know that other 'regular folk' like themselves can accomplish extraordinary things. They feel much more of a kindred spirit with them (even if they don't know them), and could much more easily see themselves doing and accomplishing the same thing than they could say the big-name testimonial giver.

Look at it this way - as a complete noob to IM, are you going to identify more with a video of Frank Kern talking about how he's made $millions selling $2000 copies of Mass Control (and using MC techniques to do so), or the video he has of some guy who added $10k/month to his income selling some recipe-based membership site to little old ladies? Which one do you feel like you have a better chance of becoming?

Now, the key here, IMO, is to use certain things that show that the testimonial is 'real'. Anybody can toss some words together, put a name on it, and say it's a testimonial. They could all be made-up. But, having a pic (before and after), or better yet, a website url, signifies that person is real. You will likely *never* go to that person's site, and contact them to see what they really think of the product they're testimonial is endorsing. BUT, you know in the back of your mind that you could if you wanted to. And it'd be a pretty balsy thing for a seller to put that kind of info out there if it was false, knowing it'd be easy to be found out as a liar. So, a certain amount of credibility (I'd think) is automatically accredited to it.

4 - Others' Purchasing

How much social proof can be provided before somebody even uses a product? Can seeing others buy (esp in mass quantities) be social proof enough for you to at least try a product out?

For example, Mountain Dew is always coming out with all these various different versions of their soft drink. I don't know what they're called, but they've been every freakin' color of the rainbow - orange, blue, aqua, black, purple, etc.

Now, saw the new purple Mt. Dew is the 'in' thing. You've never tried it, and have honestly never even talked to anybody that has. But everywhere you go, you see somebody carrying a 20 oz bottle of the new purple Mt. Dew. A voice inside you says "Hmmm - if that many people are buying/drinking it, it must be pretty good," and convinces you to try it. You have no real idea of the results, but the social proof was just seeing others buy it.

I do think that sort of social proof experiment has a limit - esp on price - but it would also depend on the product being sold.

One last example of that sort of social proof - WSOs that increase in price for every XX sold.

Say a WSO starts out at $7, and goes up $7 for every 10 people that buy (or whatever price and number of people). The first few might buy simply b/c the price is so low, you don't really have anything to lose. I mean, it's only $7, right?

So then it goes to $14. Then $21. Then $28. Then $35. By this time, price sure isn't the attractive factor is once was - esp at $7. Heck, by this point, the price is now 5x what it started out at.

However, seeing the price go up this many times tells you that that many people are (given that the seller is honest in his sales figures) indeed buying this product, so there must be something to it. (And, of course, some feedback is likely to have come back by this point, so that will factor in as well.)

But, by this point, the 'scarcity' factor of getting it at a good price has radically gone up, simply b/c the price *does* keep going up. And it keeps going up, b/c people keep buying. So, doesn't that, at some level, inherently 'mean' (for lack of a better term) that it's at least a worthwhile product? Otherwise, wouldn't have sales stalled out pretty quickly?

I don't know, nor do I have any experience, so I'm just hypothesizing here, but given these sorts of factors, in the above described scenario, I could almost see more demand at the $28 or $35 level for the same product than at say the $14 or $21 levels.

Ideas? Thoughts? Am I crazy here?

[shaddai]

Nope. You're not crazy. You get what you pay for...or so most people think.

A prime example that I have first hand knowledge of is DeWalt battery powered drills & screwguns. When I was doing granite & marble installs, I'd notice at least 45% of the trim guys would own DeWalts, another 45% would own Makita...and the rest were Bosch, or Porter Cable or something like that. Hardly saw anything else.

I eventually found out a little trinket of information that DeWalt was owned by Black & Decker. After a little digging, I found the Black & Decker guns were the same gun internally as the DeWalts, and that B&D batteries, B&D chargers, DeWalt batteries and DeWalt chargers were ALL 100% interchangeable with each other. The B&D was the same gun in a different color.....and at 50-75% of the price of a DeWalt.

The only reason the DeWalt guns are so popular with the trim guys is because the DeWalt guns were popular with other trim guys & carpenters. They are vastly more popular than the B&D even though they're the same gun. Illogical social proof at it's finest! Monkey see, monkey do.

Never saw a Black & Decker gun on the job...other than mine. Porter Cable is becoming more popular :-) Guess who owns them?

Todd