Blog · Social proof
What is social proof in marketing?
Before booking a hotel you read the reviews. It's the modern version of word of mouth, and it's the reason testimonials matter: people trust someone who has already tried it more than they trust whoever is selling it.
Published 9 June 2022 · revised 16 August 2026
In practice
How to get testimonials that actually serve a purpose
First: the product
Obvious, and unavoidable. If what you sell doesn't deliver value, you won't have happy customers to collect anything from — you'll have the opposite. The question to ask yourself is simple: if I bought this myself, would I be satisfied?
Second: ask
Some people leave a review on their own; most don't. There's no need to insist: just ask, once, directly. And if it doesn't come, it's not the end of the world.
Third: ask the right person
The useful testimonial is the one from your typical customer, because that's the one other people recognise themselves in. An enthusiastic review from someone who doesn't resemble your customers convinces no one.
Fourth: give them a prompt
Ask them to say what problem they had and how it was solved. Without a prompt you get "great job" and "satisfied", which aren't worthless but don't move the needle.
Objections, and how to use them
Collect the objections you hear most often, and for each one find a testimonial that dismantles it. It's the most effective use of this material, and almost no one does it.
And when the judgment is negative, ask that it be told to you privately — not to hide it, but to fix whatever caused the problem. Whoever points out a flaw is doing you a favour.
One word at a time
A testimonial tells a story. A measurement proves something.
The two things serve different purposes and don't substitute for each other. It's the distinction this site's entire approach to publishing its evidence rests on.
What a testimonial does
It makes an experience credible: it shows the reader that someone like them had that problem and solved it. It's irreplaceable, and it has a known limit — the best ones get chosen, and readers know it.
What a measurement does
It isn't chosen. It comes out with its window and its method, and it includes the cases that went badly too: that's the Fifth Law, the Law of Measurement. On this site that means publishing that 6% of matches get no response, and publishing it in the same row as every other number.
The two things go together: the stories at /casi/, the numbers at /prove/. Neither one is enough on its own.
Testimonials are chosen. Numbers aren't, and that's why they matter.
The first step
Where your company stands, in one number
AIRA-SCAN© measures the relational capital your company already has: ten questions, three minutes, no registration. Your browser calculates the score and shows it immediately, along with the areas where you're losing the most points.
The extended report then arrives by email, and within one working day a person calls you: you look at the result together and assess whether the AIRA-DX© Stoic Analysis makes sense for your company. It's free and limited to twelve a week, so it isn't owed to anyone who does the check-up: it's decided together.
Would you rather just talk about it? The number is 0549 888808.