Using Social Proof to Boost e-Commerce Revenue
Social proof is the term used to describe the evidence we look for regarding the use or experience of a particular product, service, or even the company as a whole. There are several reasons to incorporate it into any e-Commerce business with features like ratings and reviews or social media links. Ratings and reviews serve to attract customer attention, help to influence buying decisions, and provide feedback to improve and refine your business processes, customer service, and product.
What are other people saying?
Customers look for social proof from their peers when making buying decisions. They do this before buying to hear what others are saying or even after they have purchased their items to confirm that they made a good purchase. They have the chance to connect with other customers. It also provides businesses with the opportunity to learn of any issues (if any).
The experience doesn’t always stop after the purchase has been made. Ratings and reviews not only make a more positive buying experience but keeps customers coming back.
Build trust. It is a natural instinct to see what other people are saying, to understand what you’re getting yourself into before taking the plunge. It influences customer actions and perceptions, both positively and negatively.
Example – Your hiking boots have some mixed reviews; some great, some not so great. Perhaps they have great durability but because of that, it takes a while to break in and can cause blisters. Customers can take those comments into consideration and weigh their options before deciding to buy it. You can also build trust by using sales data and previous customer comments and sentiments – use it to bolster product descriptions such “Sold 20,000 to date” and putting top reviews at the top of the page.
Build Brand Ambassadors
Customers are becoming increasingly social and look to their network for any chatter about products. Social media links, likes, and shares on an e-Commerce site help customers to see what’s popular, endorse your product, and engage in the buzz. Businesses can also encourage customers to share pictures, videos, and stories via social media with a special hashtag so it’s easily tracked and searched.
The Tell a Friend feature can be a form of social proof as it allows customers to share a product or service specifically with a friend. For example, the customer is interested in hiking but sees that kayaks are available on the site. Knowing it’s perfect for their friend, they can then send an email about it.
5 Star Ratings. Reviews give your customers a voice, but not everyone is comfortable with being very vocal about their opinion; written reviews aren’t for everyone. Ratings are an easy way to share what they think without taking very much time at all.
Nav-to-Net™ e-Commerce and Social Proof
With Nav-to-Net™, ratings are calculated automatically, averaged and presented next to an item in a familiar out of 5-Stars format. Reviews can also be submitted for approval by internal staff, stored in NAV for data mining. This can be done on an item-by-item basis.
Business benefits of Adding Elements of Social Proof
Save time and focus on the results of the reviews instead of the process behind it. Nav-to-Net™ allows businesses to see which items are well-received and honest feedback if it could use improvement. Businesses can then adjust product offerings, sales strategy, and marketing campaigns as necessary. The insight gained can be very eye-opening.
Incentives for Customers
Prominently display ratings and reviews on each item. To garner even more reviews, send gentle email reminders or encourage them through check-ins with customers. If possible, offer some perks such as a small thank you gift or discounts on their next purchase in exchange for their review.
These are just some of the features that we offer in the Nav-to-Net™ e-Commerce suite.
Capitalize on your Microsoft Dynamics NAV investment for B2B e-Commerce: Watch a quick 4-min demo video
You may also want to read these Whitepapers:
E-Commerce Integration Is Not Always Built Equally
5 Reasons Dynamics NAV Should be the Master Copy of Your eCommerce
10 Point Checklist for B2B NAV E-Commerce
Request a demo on Nav-to-Net™ today to see what an integrated e-Commerce solution can do for you.