How to Power SaaS Sales Funnel with Social Proof

Human beings have always been influenced by what they see a lot of successful people doing.

In, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion“, Robert Cialdini writes:

“One means we use to decide what constitutes correct behavior is to find out what other people think is correct. 

The greater the number of people who find any idea correct, the more the idea will be correct.”

In business, this equates to a simple belief on the part of customers: if a large number of people take a particular action, there must be a good reason for it!

Let’s have a look at an example.

You wanted to buy a productivity tool but decided to check Capttera’s review. You quickly spotted some negative reviews about the user interface and poor customer service which leaves you feeling, “This isn’t a great product.”

The moment you see an alternative product with great testimonials on how it made life easier for the users or made them more successful, you might immediately think to yourself, “Wow!, I want this.”

The truth is social proof is the lifeblood of your product. It has the power to fuel your sales funnel and drive conversion.

According to Shanelle Mullin, Shopify’s CRO, “Social proof is borrowing third-party influence to sway potential customers.”

Social proof can be customer success stories, testimonials, reviews, feedback, experts endorsing your product, or an award from a trusted organization. 

When prospects see them, it demonstrates that actual users like them have interacted with your product (or service), and they had an amazing experience. This builds trust and by extension increases the frequency of product sign ups.

In this article, we’ll look at how social proof affects conversion, learn from a few SaaS brands that excelled in social proof marketing, and go through some excellent ways to leverage social proof in your marketing strategy.

How Social Proof Influences Conversion: Examples From Top 3 SaaS Brands

In an highly competitive SaaS industry with extended sales cycle and multiple decision makers, building trust is one of the most important factors in shortening the sales cycle.

B2B decision makers assess enterprise SaaS providers thoroughly before making a purchase decision because they want to be confident in the choice. And, there’s no better way to establish credibility than by utilizing social proof.

Third-party evidence accomplishes numerous tasks at once, including raising prospects’ expectations, providing a benchmark against which they can measure their own performance, and proving your assertions.

Check out this review from one of Drift’s client: 

It’s pretty convincing that Drift’s tool is great, isn’t it?

That’s why 92% of B2B leads are more likely to buy a product if they read a trusted review.

And, 60% of your prospect’s buying decisions happen before even having a conversation with your sales team.

A lot of people use ad blockers these days to avoid seeing adverts. Social proof content from other customers or influencers, however, tells a different tale.

Let’s take a look at some top SaaS brands winning the social proof game.

Clearbit’s Social Proof Formula

Clearbit is a marketing intelligence platform that helps marketing and revenue teams apply rich, real-time data throughout their entire digital funnel.

They made the decision to try out customizing customer testimonials and logos near a signup form on their website footer.

They featured a testimonial from Kyle Gesuelli of Frame.io in their “B2B Media” segment along with the logos of organizations like Adweek and Segment.

Source

The result?

An increase in conversions by 84%.

Clearbit understood the power of influence. They knew that their prospects were more likely to recognize another company’s logo and trust their testimonial.

In the words of Clearbit’s Sara Yin:

“Prospects want to see others “like them” getting value out of using your products before they believe that they can, too.”

Segment’s Social Proof Formula

Another excellent example of how testimonials may be used in conjunction with other forms of social proof is Segment, a top customer data platform.

The company ranked #1 Customer Data platform for world-wide market share in 2020.

How did Segment achieve that feat?

On Segment’s homepage, there is a case study from IBM that includes feedback from a very satisfied client and highlights the outcomes of this client.

Segment’s homepage also displays that they have worked with 25,000+ clients.  You can find testimonials from Fortune 100 companies on their homepage. This creates a favorable first impression among new visitors. 

 

Slack’s Social Proof Formula

Slack is one of fastest-growing SaaS companies of all time. Most companies now  use Slack for internal communication. About 65 Fortune 100 companies use Slack including IBM, Amazon, Apple, Walmart, PayPal and Airbnb.

With 12 million daily active users, Slack’s ARR increased from $12 million in 2014 to $630 million in 2020. 

Sales force bought Slack’s in 2020 for a whooping $27.7 billion.

Slack’s growth is absolutely worth studying. 

Here’s what they did:

Stewart and his team issued a preview version of the product prior to the formal launch in order to test the market, find issues and upgrade possibilities, and—most importantly—raise awareness.

The outcome?

The feedback from beta users went beyond identifying flaws, mistakes, and appealing features.

It created a buzz, piqued people’s interest, and had an impact on others, particularly brands who saw Slack as a solution to the boring old emailing.

That marked the beginning of Slack’s initial success with social proof.

By 2014, Slack had gained the support of industry titans like Medium, which prompted more companies to use it as their internal communications platform.

Slack’s homepage displays personalized testimonials describing how users feel about using Slack.

Hear what Stewart Butterfield, Slack’s CEO said,

“As hard as it was to convince people to start using Slack, once they started using it, they almost never stopped.”

That’s the power of social proof!

5 Ways to Use Power SaaS Sales Funnel With Social Proof

Showcase Personalized Customer Testimonials

Testimonials are a sort of social proof that consistently works. They are a powerful selling tool, whether they are written or visual.

Straightforward, succinct recommendations from satisfied recent clients and industry leaders, preferably with a photo of the individual will do the work for you.

You can influence clients’ decisions, give them confidence in their choices, and make them feel like they’re a part of something bigger by leveraging social proof in the form of testimonials.

However, selecting social proof that appears phony or sources that don’t accurately represent your target audience is a wrong approach.

 Here’s an example of an excellent testimonial on Gong’s home page.

Pro Tip: You can use this on your landing pages, homepage, sign-up, and pricing/features page and add a call-to-action button to blend with the Social Proof.

Display Ratings From Review Platforms 

Consider reviews to be the more impartial twin of testimonials.

Customers won’t wait for a request before leaving a review of your product or service. Check forums and review websites frequently to see what people are saying about you. 

G2 and Capterra are the two most common review websites in the SaaS sector. Both platforms provide comprehensive reviews from verified users, making them the go-to locations for customers wishing to read honest reviews when thinking about buying software.

Flaunt your review ratings on your website’s homepage. See how Proof does it:

Use Data/Numbers

Perhaps the simplest way to communicate social proof is to advertize client data such as adoption or retention rates.

Customers served, number of invites remaining, etc. A single number can be worth a thousand words. Combine this type of social proof with another. By doing so, you’re saying, “Not only have X people bought our product or service, but here’s how much they are loving it.”

This works because people subconsciously associate popularity with reliability. Sharing milestones like these can create FOMO that prompts prospects to buy.

Advertizing numbers like adoption or retention statistics may be the simplest technique to convey social proof.

Customers serviced, invitations still outstanding, email subscribers, tickets sold e.tc, are effective social proofs. This is effective because people unconsciously link reliability with popularity. Such milestones might trigger FOMO, which encourages potential customers to make a purchase.

See how Ahref leverages on the frequency of product sign ups:

Create Case Studies On Clients’ Success Story

Case studies are a tried-and-true kind of social proof, but traditional iterations with downloadables or gated information can be difficult for contemporary customers.

Dedicating sections of your website for case studies that are presented as easily readable blog articles might help you stand out.

Showcase the logos of your most prestigious clients or succinct quotes to instantly establish credibility when highlighting stories on your landing page. 

Even better, you can share microstories about your clients’ success stories with your social media followers.

See how Intercom does it:

Leverage User Generated Content on Social Media

80% would purchase more likely, if brands showcased UGC on the website. 

Leverage positive feedback from loyal clients and/or brand evangelists in the form of tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram comments, etc. 

Utilize social media mention and listening tools, and keep track of every complimentary comments made about your product or service on social media.

Take a look at this example fromTrello:

Elements to Optimize in a Social Proof 

Here are some elements to constantly optimize in a social proof:

Content: Keep looking for quality social proofs. Try testimonials that answer potential concerns, testimonials that discuss the advantages, testimonials that make use of your primary keywords, etc.

Authority: Mine authoritative social proofs. Your credibility can be easily increased with endorsements, testimonials, media mentions, and awards from influential people in your industry. 

Relatable: Assign names to people, identify businesses, provide links to their Twitter accounts, etc. Don’t forget about socials.

Placement: It is better to design for conversions instead of constantly pushing social proofs at the bottom of your landing page or home page. Ideally, they should be positioned in the middle of your homepage and landing page.

Quality Wins the Game

Testimonials, numbers, reviews and mentions from customers can increase credibility, show relevance, and counter objections.

Nonetheless, you must make your social proof credible if you want them to believe you aren’t just after their money.

Review content should be targeted to your Ideal Customer Persona (ICP), not general. For an interested prospect, that completes the bargain. 

If your social proof is successful in eliminating friction, you can expect a dramatic increase in your SaaS conversion rate.