Have you thought about the relevance of product reviews, testimonials, and social proof in general?
“We seem to assume that if a lot of people are doing the same thing, they must know something we don’t.” – Robert Cialdini
When we check out a product on Flipkart/Amazon, almost all of us tend to look at the reviews.
According to a trust pilot survey, 89% of the people worldwide read reviews before buying products.
We think it’s crazy if we don’t do that, right?
Now, this is absolutely useful in these scenarios.
This is called group thinks or herd behavior. It helps us navigate this world much more easily.
But there are instances when social proof manipulates us to the wrong choices we would not make otherwise.
Why do protests become violent at least in some scenarios?
Why do unpopular opinions get heavily criticized even if there’s a point in that criticism?
Why does social proof work like a charm?
I believe we have evolved that way.
I can’t go research and spend my precious time before making every decision. We know that we make a multitude of choices every single day.
So we access the groupthink and make our choices.
If a lot of people have thought it to be a good one, I guess it’ll do fine for me as well.
Using a quote in this post may be kind of social proof 🙂
This comes with a dilemma.
If I really think that a specific herd behavior is wrong and needs to be changed, it takes me a whole lot of effort to move that needle. I’m swimming against the flow.
Change is hard, however small it is. That’s why it takes a lot of time and effort to bring in social changes, however small it is. Even if all of us independently believe the change to be good.
I just want to tell you this – the majority can be wrong at times, so keep hold of your choice if you come across such a dilemma.
I would love to know your thoughts.