In other articles (here and here), we discussed conversion killers in terms of web design. And well, the slaughter doesn’t stop there. Social proof issues can also hurt your conversion rates.
Below, we will go over three of the biggest mistakes you can make in terms of social proof and how to avoid/fix them.
Don’t Let Social Proof Problems Kill Your Conversions
“Social proof is an integral part of building the kind of credibility that most marketers want. A landing page that lacks social proof may convert fewer leads than one with social proof,” says Neil Patel.
Therefore, the biggest killer of conversions in terms of social proof is the lack thereof. However, that’s certainly not to say that all social proof is good social proof. For instance…
Your Testimonials Are Sketchy
If a customer provides you with positive feedback on your company or offer, the obvious inclination is to share that praise on your website to help persuade more people to become customers.
But if that feedback lacks zeal by being too generic, such as “Great product!” or “I liked it a lot,” or by being too hyped up…
…it’s not going to have a significant impact. Moreover, it can actually end up hurting your conversion rates. And the same goes if the feedback isn’t attributed properly, as a lack of attribution leaves visitors wondering if the feedback is even real or if someone at your company just made it up to sound good.
How To Do Testimonials Right
“At a minimum, you should be adding credibility to the testimonials by including a picture of the customer; 37Signals (now Basecamp) saw a 102.5% increase in conversions just by incorporating a customer picture next to the testimonial,” reports Sean Ellis.
But you can do more than just that…
Sean Ellis: “Your customers are likely out there leaving comments, recommendations and reviews of your business on Yelp, Google, LinkedIn, Travelocity, Facebook, and Twitter.
Why not leverage the testimonials they’ve left on other sites?
When you use the testimonials from trusted sites, you hit a trifecta of credibility: authenticity of real customer feedback, published on a credible website, with a more objective bent because it appeared elsewhere on the web.”
You Don’t Have Any Reviews
Whether you sell a product or a service, you need to have reviews—even if some are negative. Having reviews on your site has been proven to improve trust among web visitors.
According to a local consumer review study conducted by BrightLocal, “79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.”
More and more often, before people do business with a company and make a purchase, they check the reviews. And with more and more people using smartphones, review-checking has become increasingly convenient, as people can do it even while in the midst of shopping at brick-and-mortar locations.
How To Get More Reviews
So what can do you if you don’t have any reviews—or worse, you have a lot of negative reviews?
Follow up with customers – If you have an email list, follow up with anyone who purchases from you, asking for feedback—and do it shortly after purchases are made, while they’re still fresh in your customers’ minds. Use Yotpo Reviews to help automate this process.
Contact anyone who leaves negative feedback – While your gut reaction may be to ignore or delete negative reviews, don’t do it. Instead, respond. And if a customer makes a legitimate complaint, try to help and then take what was said and learn from it to make your business better. Also, make your responses public so your customers know that you care about their concerns and are willing to listen.
What do you think about these tips to improve the presentation of your social proof? Do you have any other advice that you can share?