Most marketers think social proof sells.
But it doesn’t.
It reassures.
And this difference changes how to do messaging right.
Imagine going to a consulting firm’s website.
You’d like to figure out what they do.
But you struggle.
Because first, you read an aspirational mission statement that means nothing.
Then they bombard you with social proof:
“We helped this many clients.”
“We generated this much revenue.”
You keep scrolling to find an explanation of what the hell this firm does.
But no chance.
There are some vague words here and there.
Besides that, social proof after social proof.
You go to other pages hoping to find clear information.
However, all you get is how much experience their team has and the universities they graduated from.
So you regret that you lost a minute of your life.
And leave the site.
Now don’t get me wrong.
Social proof matters and has its place.
But some consulting firms do messaging as if social proof is the only thing that matters for a buyer to buy.
They do messaging as if credibility can replace clarity.
This creates a problem.
Because social proof is good for handling late-stage objections.
Especially for high-value consulting services.
When a buyer is close to making the decision, and wants to be sure they are not making a mistake.
In other words, when emotions about the purchase reach their peak.
But when buyers first interact with a brand, they are trying to figure out the basics.
Hence they have many early-stage objections.
Whether about the problem you solve: “Is this really an issue for us?”
Or about your solution: “How is this brand different from others?”
When a brand doesn’t handle these early objections, buyers eliminate them in their minds.
Because credibility doesn’t matter if they don’t understand the value.
So brands have their marketing funnels.
While buyers have their objection funnels.
That’s why it’s a useful exercise to map out your buyers’ objections.
Once you know their doubts at each stage, you can use them to increase your overall conversion in two ways:
1. Choose a positioning that minimizes objections
We’ve talked about Slack’s story.
At first, it was positioned as an “internal chat app.”
But forget about handling, this positioning has caused many new objections from buyers.
These were early-stage objections about the problem Slack claimed to solve:
Like “We don’t need another internal chat app.”
Or “It’s just another distraction.”
Social proof didn’t matter.
Because buyers had strong objections about the problem it claimed to solve.
But then Slack’s executives repositioned the tool as a new way of working against email.
They changed the frame.
So buyers stopped comparing it to other group chat apps.
But they started comparing it to inefficient email.
The new positioning automatically removed buyers’ main early-stage objections.
And they adopted Slack.
So once you map out your buyers’ possible objections, think about your positioning:
- What are the objections that your current frame might cause?
- What are the important early-stage buyer objections you must resolve?
- Every positioning has a tradeoff. What are the objections that you intentionally accept?
Based on these, find a frame that will resolve buyers’ early-stage doubts.
So buyers can take you to a stage where social proof actually matters.
2. Align your messaging to their journey
Knowing buyers’ different stage objections enables you to do a key thing:
Align your messaging to their journey.
And use the right messages on the right channels.
Is it a touchpoint where people are getting familiar with your firm, like your home page, top of the funnel ads, or most social media content?
Focus on early-stage objections.
Message on the problems you solve.
Message on your differences and point of view.
Because most buyers at those touchpoints are not considering your firm seriously yet.
They are trying to figure out the problem you solve, if it’s worth solving, and alternative ways to solve it.
That’s why leading with social proof doesn’t make sense.
So instead, meet buyers where they are.
Remove the frictions they feel with your messaging and guide them step by step towards choosing you.
Remember.
Social proof supports buying decisions.
It doesn’t create them.
So handle the early objections with your messaging first.
Then let credibility reinforce the decision they already want to make.
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