I guess you have probably heard of something called social proof. But do you really know what it is and why is it so important to your business? In this article I will tell you how to take care of your WordPress’ plugin's social proof.
What is social proof?
Straight to the point: what psychologists mysteriously call social proof, is our natural ability to incline towards what the other people think is highly recommendable or cool. Social proof basically influences people’s decision to take action - either the positive or negative.
So, let’s just imagine you visit a website (it can be either an online shop, a personal portfolio or a website providing any kind of services). You carefully select the good you want to acquire but before doing so, what do you do? You read online reviews about the entity selling you it! Nobody wants to be scammed and we all want to buy the best possible item with the best online reputation, right?
How to choose the best WordPress plugin?
Consumers are more likely to make a buying decision when they see that other people approve a product or service. Consequently, excellent reviews and great online reputation inspire confidence and this leads directly to a purchase. Our brain thinks that if many people want something, you probably might want it too and this is how it works in eCommerce. We can apply exactly the same logic regarding a plugin's decision and subscription process.
Believe me, the first impression your plugin will make on your potential customers is crucial. It is just then when they are making up their mind and when your plugin’s fate is at stake. They are not so much interested in your awesome logo or inspiring product description but yes, they will want to know what the others think about your plugin. So you better make your reviews make you proud out there!
Classic Editor and their excellent rating
Classic Editor is a WordPress plugin, which inspires all plugins' developers. With over 10 million active installs and average 4,9 rating they have become one of the WordPress determinants, when it comes to plugin development.
There must be something they have been doing right, don't you think? With more than 1050 reviews, they have gathered only 13 1-star ratings. I bet if you were to make up your mind while searching for the right plugin and comparing reviews, Classic Editor would be an excellent choice. Just a few plugins can boast such a great performance.
Improve your social proof with the Active Installs app
It's not easy to repeat the success of Classic Editor, but if you take the social proof of your plugin into your own hands, you may be closer to their success. Active Installs will help you with that. It is an intuitive marketing tool, which will efficiently help you in your plugin's position building. Let's check how Active Installs can help you with your social proof:
Here you can observe a plugin's overall rating in the WordPress repository. It's quite useful if you want to just have a quick glance at some plugins you're interested in. However, the magic starts if you go to the Average rating in the repository chart. Have a look:
This chart lets you explore the average plugin's rating in the repository. It is a simple and visual way to observe a plugin's progress in its rating.
Moreover, if this chart is not enough for you, we place another one at your disposal: The Number of ratings per month chart.
This is a great, visual help, if you want to track a plugin's number of ratings divided by their value. By observing this chart, you can easily assess whether the changes you had made to your product appealed to your plugin's users, or whether they preferred your competitor's plugin. You can draw this conclusions after analyzing the same chart taking into account your competitors. If their average rating goes up and yours goes down, there is a risk that they didn't like your changes and ran away to your competitors.
Active Installs and its visual representation of a plugin's performance, will definatelly be a great support if you're trying to improve your product's social proof. The information you obtain from the Active Installs app, will not only give you a useful insight into your plugin, but also the way to successfully observe your competitors' plugin info.
Negative Social Proof
Sounds scarry, right? What happens if the reviews are negative and ratings are low? Negative social proof will steer you away from a purchase decision, but, now I may say something that may be controversial and unbelievable - in some cases it can encourage you more than a positive social proof. Counterintuitively, negative reviews coming from your customers are a great opportunity to bolster your brand image. Just think: the bigger the failure, the more people will hear about your brand. When all eyes are on you, first of all you will learn your lesson and then you will use the fuss to boost your image in a beautiful way. Note: we're obviously not encouraging you to beat yourself up over bad comments, but we're trying to show you that it's not the end of the world.
Get your brand ready for success
If this situation happens to you, first of all, you gotta learn your lesson. Listen to your customers. After all, the customer is always right and you are there to meet his expectations. Secondly, your customer's reviews and opinion might be an excellent source of inspirations and ideas. Just imagine: if they issue a negative rating about something, it is a great hint for you. Eventually you will know what you can do better!
Look after your (unhappy) customer
Primarily, remember that ignoring dissatisfied customers is a shot in the foot. Human nature tends to have it that we focus on the negatives more often than on the positives. So it's just a matter of time before you experience the bitter taste of a negative review in the WordPress repository.
Remember, don't panic! You always have to respond to a negative review and explain what happens. Think that others (meaning: your future clients) will see it and you have to prove that the issue has been already solved and that it won't happen again.
Apart of that, try to win your customer's heart for the second time. How about apologizing to him by offering a high discount for his next subscription? Or maybe offering him a refund for his subscription would be a better idea?
Can you think of more solutions for unhappy customers? Comment on this post - we read you!
