What brands can learn from nightclub doormen, buskers and restaurants

The psychology of Social Proofing

What do nightclub doormen, buskers and restaurants have in common? I promise, there’s no dodgy punchline coming up. Rather, I’d like to explain some learnings from these seemingly unrelated groups that can help brands attract more customers and retain the ones they have.

So, to the punchline… they all use small, simple tactics to encourage like-minded behaviour from members of the public, to increase their revenue. In psychology circles these tactics are known as Social Proofing and used by the smallest one-man band to the biggest companies on earth.

Social Proofing is a theory popularised by psychologist Robert Cialdini where people reference the behaviour of others to guide their own decisions. As much as we might not like to admit it, we are all guilty from time-to-time of being influenced by the opinions or actions of others. This often occurs at times of uncertainty where more information is needed to inform a decision.

So let’s look at some of these tactics in more detail.

The Busker
At the start of the day buskers will often add coins of their own to encourage donations from other passers-by. This suggests to people that others have liked their performance enough to donate and they should do the same. An empty hat suggests quite the opposite.

Photo by Brian Kndeneh on Unsplash

The nightclub doorman
Ever queued outside a bar or nightclub for an hour, only to enter and wonder why the queue was so long? That’s Social Proofing at work! Keeping a healthy queue outside suggests the venue is THE place to be and encourages others to join, but a queue that’s too long puts people off. It’s a fine balance.
Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash

The ‘busy’ restaurant

Seating diners in the window or outside makes a restaurant look busy and popular, encouraging more interest from other diners. Particularly common in areas popular with tourists who are new to a city and looking for reassurance they are choosing a restaurant popular with other like-minded diners.
Photo by Kevin Curtis on Unsplash

These are just a few examples of how small businesses use different tactics to guide the behaviours of others, and whilst some of these may feel a little deceitful, the psychological phenomenon that sits behind them is valid if used correctly.

What does this mean for larger brands?

Understanding human behaviour and biases to help a customer’s interactions with a brand is nothing new. For example, Gestalt Principles arose in the 1920’s as a set of laws that recognise how we group similar elements, recognise patterns and simplify complex images. This knowledge is as relevant now as it was back then, and helps Experience Designers to create interfaces that are easy to understand and digest for the end user.

Social Proofing can be used to help customers make decisions at crucial points in their interactions with a brand by either offering a positive review from another customer or show how well-rated the brand or product is.

5 types of Social Proofing

This technique comes in many shapes and sizes and humans respond to all kinds of sub-conscious suggestions to confirm their current thinking, or nudge them onto a different path. Below are the 5 main forms of Social Proofing and examples of how some of the world’s biggest brands use them.

1. Authority

Knowing that someone you respect or hold in high regard feels the same as you can confirm your original thinking and add extra reassurance.

Amazon: This badge adds Amazon’s backing to the product from it’s position of authority

2. People like us

The opinions of friends and relatives are important to us, likewise the views of those who are part of our social network or even a similar demographic can sway or inform our thinking.

Amazon: This module shows what products other people like you also browsed which encourages up-sell

3. Safety in numbers

If many people are buying a product or hold the same view of a product then they must be right… right?

TripAdvisor: telling a viewer that 7 other people have booked this hotel in the last 48 hours not only adds reassurance as to its quality but also an element of urgency to book

4. Stories

Quotes from other customers about their experiences offer an element of authenticity, context and weight to any product reviews.

eBay: Adding a strong customer review can prevent browse abandonment and offer reassurance at a crucial point in the purchase journey.

5. Ratings & scores

These quick and easy-to-digest snippets give a customer a idea of how well rated a product or service is. Used in collaboration with the number of people who reviewed it, can offer simple and powerful reassurance.

John Lewis: Showing a product rating also adds reassurance and when backed up by the number of reviews adds more weight to the star rating.

When to use Social Proofing

So far so good. But knowing how Social Proofing can enhance a customer journey is crucial to deploying it correctly. Social Proofing is best used when you need to:

Increase credibility: If a customer has some doubt about service levels, quality or product performance then Social Proofing can help address those concerns when the company or service is highly-rated, or the reviews contain positive sentiments from like-minded individuals.

Encourage adoption or conversion: At the point of making a decision about a product or service there is a high risk of abandonment and so displaying how many other customers like, or highly rate a product can increase conversion rates by reassuring potential customers they are makinga good decision.

Great minds think alike…

The old adage rings true. Positive reviews and 5-star ratings reassure people they are in good company and they have made the right decision. This reassurance is, depending on sector, often enough to nudge them into purchasing a product or service. But whilst great minds think alike, so the saying goes that fools seldom differ. And it’s our responsibility when we design experiences for brands to make sure we tread the fine line between the two. By considering a broader customer journey and experience, nuanced with social proofing at key junctions, brands can ensure they stay the former, rather than the latter.