Imagine that you are on holiday in Paris. You and your better half are trying to decide where you should eat dinner that night. You are faced with two restaurants both of which look attractive from the outside.
But when you put your head inside the door of the first restaurant you notice that this hardly any customers at all.
Credit to Pablo Menezo
Looking inside the second restaurant is the thriving restaurant with customers chatting and having a grand old time. Even though you don’t know anything about the quality of the food your immediate assumption will be that the first restaurant is inferior to the second.
This is the power of social proof.
Just as we choose restaurants which are popular over those which are empty, so to do we use social proof to help guide many of our other purchasing decisions.
When it comes to marketing your martial arts school social proof can be a powerful promotional tool. People want to join a martial art school which is seen to be already popular with other students.
The Power Of Testimonials
One of the best ways to gain this social proof is through the use of testimonials. Testimonials from your previous students can be used on your website and other marketing material. They show that you provide a welcoming and well organized martial arts school, which delivers the results of the students are after.
Credit to John Magas
Testimonials from students are particularly powerful because they are something that you students can relate to.
Students are usually more than willing to contribute testimonials if asked by their teacher. It is usually just a matter of asking an order to obtain testimonials to post on your website. Testimonials are particularly useful when they talk about the results that students have achieved or the quality of the classes or the friendliness of the environment.
Adding Photos To Your Website
Another powerful form of social proof is photos. You can post photos of your classes in action. Photos are a great way to demonstrate that you have a thriving and active school. For example parents that are looking at your website trying to decide which school is most appropriate for their young children will be subconsciously swayed if they see photos of happy children practising martial arts in a safe environment.
Make sure that you are making the most of social proof by adding testimonials and photos to your martial arts website and other marketing literature.
