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🤝 Scaling trust: The growth accelerator

Your guide to using social proof in SaaS

Author

Ian Ito
May 31, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Issue #235

Hey SaaS Weekly reader 👋,

From walking to work to ‘wooing’ with words 😎, I’m always in search of shortcuts. And one shortcut to building trust with customers is using social proof.

While this concept of social influence might seem like a fluff-term, some companies have used it to grow to a billion dollars (I’m looking at you G2).

No promises there, but I can promise you that in this week’s roundup, we cover topics on:

  • The common types of social proof in SaaS

  • How to add testimonials to your website

  • G2 and ShipBob’s social proof playbook

Let's dive in!

Ian at SaaS Weekly

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4 articles to bookmark

• 5 rules for capital-efficient growth (Link)

• Software sentiment crumbles (Link)

• 5-step flow review to uncover growth opportunities (Link)

• The Google API leak should change how marketers and publishers do SEO (Link)

3 reads on social proof

Social proof is evidence that people and companies use your product – or more importantly, they trust it. These displays of social influence reduce friction in the funnel by scaling the concept of recommendations.

Here are six of the most common types of social proof.

  • Customer case studies - writeups of how customers use your product and the benefits they receive

  • Customer testimonials - snippets of customer quotes displayed on your website

  • Customer logos - a carousel of logos on your home page

  • Customer/user quantity metrics - representation of scale – displays of

  • Awards and badges - most common are G2 badges, Garner quadrants, and SOC2 compliance

  • Number of integrations - trust through association, displays of partners, and integrations

Customer testimonials are essential elements of any SaaS website.

But before you start reaching out to customers for quotes, consider tailoring the formats of your testimonials to match your industry.

  • Feature different buyer personas – attract your champions and decision-makers

  • Showcase real tweets from customers – a popular format for prosumer companies

  • Create dedicated landing pages for specific verticals – think ABM strategies

  • Use customer videos as testimonials – high lift, but offers more intimacy

Social proof isn't just for your website, you can also use it in your email flows for new users.

Here's a quick tip. Use customer success stories, notable endorsements, and user metrics within your onboarding flows to reinforce the value of your product. This tactic showcases credibility and aligns your users’ expectations and needs.

Laura John @ ProductLed [social-proof]

2 growth reads

G2 has a crazy business model! Not only has the company found a way to monetize social proof, G2 uses it to accelerate growth.

G2 badges have become a symbol of social status in the SaaS space. As a result, companies are encouraged to promote and display their badges on their website. This act does two things for G2.

👉 Customer marketing – While these badges offer social proof, they also help G2 extend its awareness by tapping into a company’s audience.

👉 Domain authority – Plus, these badges become backlinks that help G2 rank higher in search (further increasing its awareness).

Not a pure-play SaaS model, but this company’s display of social proof is impressive – to say the least. ShipBob, an e-commerce fulfillment platform, found the ingredients to maximize its social influence.

👉 Strategically place your testimonials across key customer touchpoints – homepage, product, and pricing pages.

👉 Use multiple forms of social proof tailored to different funnel stages – videos for engagement, use cases for depth, and quick quotes for high-traffic areas.

👉 Tailor testimonials to speak directly to specific industries - use data and real examples to resonate with buyers.

Jessica Orika @ Foundation [growth]

Podcasts I'm listening to

• ProductLed | How to Build a Demand Gen Engine for a Product-Led Business: (Link)

• exitfive | Marketing Leadership | Traits of a High Performing CMO: (Link)

SaaS Weekly Resources

1) The SaaS Weekly Database: Search Thousands of the Best SaaS Articles and Resources

2) Generative AI Tracker: B2B SaaS Companies Adding GenAI Capabilities

SaaSy Social Posts

Last issue’s most clicked-on links

• B2B SaaS demand generation explained (Link)

• How to run effective campaigns (Link)

• Thought leadership for demand generation (Link)