It’s no secret that Herd Effect marketing works wonders for businesses. People always  love to follow the crowd. This sense of togetherness and being part of the crowd-it is what motivates them to act.

What is the Herd Effect?

To put it simply, Herd Effect is a psychological phenomenon used in marketing, copywriting, branding, and most aspects of business where people buy products. Herd Effect is when a purchase decision is heavily influenced by what we think other people believe. Think about how a large line outside a nightclub leads a lot of people to believe that the club is "hot," despite the fact that it's a simple optical illusion, it's an easy way for a small club to create a lot of hype. Other examples of Herd Effect include the number of downloads on your app, the amount of testimonials on your landing page, or the reviews on your website. There are many ways you can leverage Herd Effect in your marketing campaign to increase your conversion rates.

One of the most famous examples of Herd Effect can be seen in the Asch paradigm.

In 1951, psychologist Solomon Asch conducted his first conformity experiment in Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Asch wanted to see if a person would conform to the influence of the crowd even if their decision is wrong. In this experiment there was a test group and a control group with a total of 18 trials.

He conducted this experiment with 8 students in each group, one of whom was the test subject.

The eight students were tasked to match the target line on the left with lines A, B,C as seen below.

In the results, Asch found that in the control group when there was no outside pressure from the group, the test subject was more likely to give the correct answer. However, in the test group, the test subject gave a wrong answer at least once with an error rate of 75%.

Based on these results, he concluded that the test subjects conformed to the  group for one of two reasons:

1) They want to fit in with the group.

2) They believed that the group is better informed and therefore it is easier to choose their answer.

So how can you effectively use Herd Effect in B2B marketing? Follow these six steps:

1. Positive Reviews-  Ask your customers to give your company positive reviews and testimonials, this can be the most effective call to action and can help you convert more leads.
2. Endorsements from influencers- If you are able to use a prominent influencer to help endorse your product/service, Do it! One example of endorsements can be seen in Under Armour. Golden State Warriors player, Stephen Curry,This is probably a reason why people line up to purchase Under Armour apparel.
3. Social media presence -  While your company should not solely rely on social media, we are living in a digital and social era. The number of followers on your company’s Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page can be a form of Herd Effect. Furthemore, your social media appearance can play a significant role in  helping you convert more leads.
4. Show number of Clients- On your website- feature all of your clients that are using your product or service. By featuring all of your customers on your website this can also act as Herd Effect. The proof is in the numbers !  There is a reason why people trust Amazon or Microsoft because they serve thousands of clients.
5. Highlight your Awards -People want to buy from companies they trust! If you have awards or accomplishments, highlight them on your website and social media accounts.These awards and accomplishments can act as evidence for your Herd Effect. These awards come from an unbiased third party which has given your company a stamp of approval.
6. Collaborate with relevant experts or organizations- You can partner with experts or organisations to create online events such as Facebook or Instagram Live in order to facilitate discussions with your social media audience. These online webinars can be useful and help convert relevant social media followers into customers.

As you can see that behavioural economics including the principle of Herd Effect can add fuel to your marketing efforts. By using Herd Effect, you can increase your lead conversion rate and thus increase your revenue!

Want to find more leads by applying behavioural economics  to your lead gen campaigns? Get in touch!

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