Research tells me that buyers place more value on endorsements from their peers than what they are told in a retail ad or, in the case of B2B, they may hear during a sales process…
We know that social media is all about participation, content marketing, building a brand, becoming a trusted advisor and a source of information for others. You know, pay it forward and all that….
I know that I tend to look at apps like Yelp or TripAdvisor before making a decision. I read testimonials as part of my diligence process before I engage in a business relationship. We all jump on google and LinkedIn to check out the person we just spoke to or will speak to so we can learn more. Yes, I do all that and I suspect most of us do the same. Why not..?
Sounds great in theory, but should we be making decisions based on suspect data?
I receive LinkedIn endorsements daily from people I am connected to, but have no real working relationship and, therefore, no basis for an endorsement…yet, I receive endorsements for my skills in a most generous fashion.
I have often thought about creating a sensible filter to eliminate the noise in these data…so I don’t pick the wrong restaurant or stay at the new hotel that was loaded up with 5 star reviews from friends and family. You can extend this concept to references for jobs…are they reliable?
Social Media is terrific and it’s intentions are pure to leverage the crowd, but these data are seriously flawed with gamesmanship and other motives and buyers are making decisions based on faulty data.
How do you cut through the noise as a buyer or a seller so you can maximize your digital experience?
Thoughts?
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