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The Power of Endorsement – Will it lead the Tories to election victory?

A couple of months ago I did a perception audit for one of my clients, to understand how their clients regard their brand, its value to them and how they are influenced to make buying decisions. The results were hugely valuable and are being incorporated into all our messaging for the year. However, what was really striking was the extent to which peer endorsements featured in the influence process. 82% of those we spoke with said that ‘endorsements from industry colleagues and technology partners were most important way suppliers are identified and evaluated’. I had expected this figure to be high, but perhaps not that high. Also interesting was the amount of importance placed on industry analyst recommendations – 62% said they relied on these when short-listing suppliers.

This research was conducted for an IT company, where getting the “proof of the pudding” from case studies, site visits, conference speaking has always been a stable of the communications mix. And the reason why is because it engenders trust and increasingly, levels of trust are highest amongst peers, hence the power of social networking and word of mouth.

Turning to the political campaigning that is now well underway, it is interesting to see the extent that endorsements from “a person like me” are being used in the Conservative’s pre-election communications, again to build trust and credibility amongst potentially skeptical first time supporters. This was evident just round the corner from my home where, a billboard is featuring different, rather unlikely Conservative voters telling us why they have “switched”. Two weeks ago we had “Ian from Congleton”, obviously a factory worker or mechanic, quoted as saying “I’ve never voted Tory before, but this time I’m going to because the country is in such a mess….” And now we have “Danielle from Brighton”, who is mixed race, and also a first time Tory voter saying “We have to sort out the economy”….

And the model works. Whether they lead the Tories to election victory is another matter, but the point is, endorsements from ‘a person like you’ have a big impact and make you question why you shouldn’t also consider them for your vote…or in the case of business purchasing, your annual budget.