An IIM alumnus and a self-taught programmer, Gaurav founded Myraah in 2018. With over 15 years of corporate and entrepreneurship experience, Gaurav is responsible for setting the overall business goals, making top-level managerial decisions and for leading the development and execution of long-term strategies of the company.
People are social animals. We perceive certain behaviour as more desirable when we see others doing it. This is because we want to be a part of that status reputation so high that the more other people find an idea, trend or behaviour appealing, the more correct that idea becomes in our minds. We crave certain behaviour and think it is right and moral when we see others doing it. Professor Hansen of Stanford Business School exhibited this when he increased the downloads of bestselling files on the web by personally downloading those files repeatedly so that the counter was high. Later, he saw that these files were downloaded even more regularly. The large number on the counter shows popularity and users were interested in downloading the files that were ranked on the top.
In this article, we will look at some psychological main beliefs that can be used to boost sales and marketing, like:
- Social Validation
- Conformity
- Compliance
Social Validation
Social validation is an observable fact where an individual tends to follow what other individuals of their social group suggest or disdain; people consciously and unconsciously make choices as per the society for their affirmation. This is otherwise called the Bandwagon Effect.
Social validation shapes our choices and behaviour. We want to fit in the society and look for them to accept and like us; hence we are subconsciously attracted to what the crowd is doing. With the increase of social media and “influencers”, where customers are just a click away from brands, making the web more powerful than ever before, social media validation is now essential for every business.
Some of the ways to manifest it are:
- Case studies
- Testimonials, Rating, and Reviews
- Feedback
- Trust icons
- Building product awareness
Conformity
Wonder why you watch recommended videos on Youtube or want to buy stuff that celebs have? It’s because we often follow the unstated norms that the group or the society holds. This is known as conformity. Conformity is very dominant, which prevents people from engaging in actions that can appear to be against the societal norm. It also promotes individuals engaging in certain practices without much extra effort.
Conformity centers on acceptable practices. Therefore, website design should highlight how the use of the product is in line with the social groups that potential users belong to. Social validation and conformity are indirect ways to influence consumers has been extensively applied in sales and marketing.
Compliance
Your friend calls you up and informs you about this steal deal that was just advertised in the newspaper and has a limited period offer: 50% off on a gym membership with personal trainers for the first 5 customers. When you buy the membership, you display compliance.
Compliance refers to a change in behaviour that is requested by someone else or a group; the individual acted that way since others asked that person to do so but it was possible to reject or decline. Compliance is concerning the way you ask your users to do something. Marketers should request the customers to engage in practice after they have created a good experience and allowed them to use the product or service.
The power of social validation can be used in any persuasive circumstances. It is an equal relationship where your services affect social validation from customers and the social validation impacts the positive or negative development of your brand. Investing some time to create an overall positive experience for your customers will develop social validation.