B2B SaaS buyers need reassurance that they’re making the right purchasing decision. After all, there’s usually not just an individual behind the software purchase but a team, department, and a whole company relying on the right decision.
As a result, many B2B customers look to social proof for final confirmation they’re making the right choice –– around 86% of B2B buyers check reviews before buying software.
But instead of forcing customers to hunt for reviews on third-party review sites, why not show them social proof while they’re on your site and close to converting?
Including social proof in a few key areas can skyrocket your conversion rate. Let’s explore some real-life examples of how.
How can social proof impact your conversions?
Social proof is key to unlocking the potential of your ad campaigns and landing pages.
Customer reviews, testimonials, and results all help increase buyer trust and lead to conversions.
As a software buyer, are you more likely to trust a project management software sign-up page citing the product’s benefits or one highlighting a recent customer testimonial?
If you’re anything like most buyers, probably the latter.
Social proof is how you encourage hard-to-build customer trust –– only a quarter of people trust marketing collateral.
Silvio Perez, a paid ads expert and the founder of the newsletter AdConversion, explains, “Social proof is a timeless psychological trigger that influences action (I highly recommend reading Influence by Robert Cialdini). I’ve seen landing page conversion rates increase by 300% from just adding testimonials. It’s hard to have “too much” social proof. Use it in your ad copy, creative, and landing pages when possible.”
Including a simple review or star ratings in your marketing materials can achieve tangible results.
Nick Costelloe, the founder of the agency Bell Curve and Demand Curve, told TechCrunch that including social proof on landing pages led to huge growth in conversions for their clients.
“At Demand Curve and through our agency Bell Curve, we’ve helped over 1,000 startups improve their ability to convert cold traffic into repeat customers. We’ve found that effectively using social proof can lead to up to 400% improvement in conversion.”
It’s worth keeping in mind that while three-figure improvements in conversion rates are impressive, they’re not always the norm. Some brands may see more subtle improvements. But, a 10% improvement in conversions from adding social proof is still well worth the time and effort in most cases.
5 real-world examples of how social proof boosted conversions (+ best practices)
Online reviews on software are among the top four sources guiding buyers in their purchasing journey.
So why not save potential customers the search by bringing online reviews and other social proof to your marketing materials?
The best way to see how social proof can positively impact your conversions is to see it in action. Take a look at these five examples of how social proof can positively impact your conversions.
Read more: 19 Benefits of Online Reviews for Businesses (Sellers)
Customer testimonials encourage sign-ups
In a recent edition of Katelyn Bourgoin’s Why We Buy Newsletter, Corey Haines shared how he could double his conversion rate simply by including social proof on his landing page.
“He wanted to boost signups for his newsletter and used a brainy technique to boost conversions from 5% to 15%,” says Katelyn.
“Swipe File’s initial landing page had a header, a signup button, and an extensive testimonial to the right. The 5% conversion was good, but Corey knew it could improve.
Instead of writing more copy to promote the membership, he showcased dozens of tweets from happy members.”
Corey boosted his conversion rate by 200%.
Social proof boosts ad conversions
Gorgias, a helpdesk software for ecommerce businesses, often shares customer reviews and positive results in their LinkedIn ads.
Rory Conroy, a Gorgias growth and performance marketing manager, explains that specific social proof can help drive prospects to take action.
“On certain audiences, when we implement targeted social proof (customer quotes, videos, etc.), we see up to a 15% increase in conversions from the segment. We see a lift in people taking more direct actions straight from the social proof (booking a demo).”
You don’t always need a lot of social proof to see results
Don’t feel intimidated if you see software tools boasting thousands of reviews. Sometimes all it takes is one highly relevant and compelling customer testimonial to boost conversions.
For example, when, Pipedrive, a sales CRM, included social proof on a paid landing page, they increased their sign-up rate for free trials by 8%.
Jason Oakley, the founder of Productive PMM, a set of tools and coaching for founding product marketers, explains that even a small amount of social proof can have transformative results, especially in B2B.
“Credibility matters a lot in B2B marketing, and social proof is one of the clearest ways to show it. Telling your buyers about the value of your product is no longer enough. You need customers to share customer examples, quotes, and data to back up your value promise,” he says.
“Luckily, social proof doesn’t always need to be lengthy case studies or flashy videos. It can be short quotes, anecdotes, and data points that are much easier to gather and incorporate into your marketing.”
Strategic social proof placement goes a long way
Chargebee, a leading subscription management platform, includes many different types of social proof on its demo sign-up landing page.
To the left of the sign-up form, there’s a customer testimonial who switched from one of the platform’s major competitors.
Customers who aren’t convinced can scroll down and see G2 review comparisons of how Chargebee stacks up against its competitor.
There are also more G2 customer reviews and star ratings. The consistent theme of comparing Chargebee to a competitor while sharing customer reviews drove solid results.
According to G2, Chargebee increased their demo requests by 37%. This translated into 280+ new top-of-funnel leads generated in one year.
By including social proof that users loved the product along with G2’s “Best Results” badge, Chargebee could encourage unsure customers to schedule a demo.
Automate social proof to add to landing pages
When you have a steady stream of reviews and ratings, it’s helpful to add positive social proof to any key web pages automatically.
For example, adding the TrustRadius widget is a simple way to add reviews and ratings to landing pages or home pages. Instead of manually reading through endless reviews and ratings, you can install the widget to automate the appearance of positive social proof.
This gives you back time and ensures your most important web pages stay up-to-date and relevant.
The results speak for themselves, too –– TrustRadius sees, on average, a conversion rate lift of 30% after the widget is placed.
Digging in further, some B2B brands have seen even stronger conversion increases than 30%.
Matillion saw a 70% conversion and a decrease in cost per demo by ⅓ by adding TrustRadius quotes to landing pages.
M-Files achieved a 52% conversion lift by adding TrustRadius quotes to landing pages.
Veeam experienced a 70% conversion lift by incorporating TrustRadius quotes on their request-a-trial landing page.
Read more: 10 Best Online Review Management Software
How does social proof impact ecommerce conversion rates?
In ecommerce, social proof is also a powerful conversion driver. A meta-analysis of 6,700 online experiments found, on average, including social proof resulted in a median uptick of 2.3% in conversions.
For instance, take this example from Purple Mattress. The brand always includes an average star rating and the number of reviews for each product. At a glance, a browser can see that thousands of previous customers love and trust the brand.
If potential customers want more details about the product and customer opinions, they can scroll down and read full reviews. There are also options to filter the reviews by keyword and see frequently asked questions.
All in all, their social proof-orientated product pages are an effective way for potential customers to clear up doubts and better understand what to expect when the product arrives.
Interestingly, social proof is much more successful compared to other techniques used to boost conversions.
For instance, urgency in the form of countdown timers only results in an average conversion increase of 1.5%. Abandonment recovery leads to a 1.1% uptick, and surprisingly, product recommendations only lead to a 0.4% boost in conversions.
So even in the world of ecommerce, where fear of stockouts and missing out on a must-have product prevail, social proof is still a powerful way of driving conversions.
Use social proof to drive your conversion rate
In a saturated B2B SaaS space, everyone is clamoring for your ideal customer’s attention. But instead of telling them why your product is best, show them your existing customers’ honest opinions.
After all, if your existing customers love your product, why wouldn’t future ones jump to sign up too?
You don’t need much social proof to get started, either. Start by sharing a review on your demo sign-up page and a customer result in your LinkedIn ad.
Want to put your social proof strategy into action? Dig into this complete guide on how to get reviews in the B2B SaaS space.
