Operators Are Standing By. A lesson in social proof

Operators Are Standing By

Operators Are Standing By. A lesson in social proof

I was sitting at my desk reading a few news stories and my daughter brings me the mail. All junk. Flyers from stores we have been to and flyers from competing companies. Essentially the mail was a bunch of ads fighting for my attention. It got me thinking about all of the advertisements we see day to day.

The news story in front of me was littered with ads that would pop up if I moved my courser in the wrong spot. There were ads along the edges of the window and even an ad that would stay on the bottom of the page as I scrolled down. Ads and the idea of ads came to the front of my mind and I started to pay attention to them. The advertisements were littered with colors, words, and pretty faces, fighting each other for a slight glance. It got me thinking of the one sort of ad that I would watch until I realized it was an ad. That ad is the wonderful infomercial.

So I stumbled on this video and it speaks to all the thoughts I have racing through my mind when I hear "operators are standing by." The camera pans away from the pitch man to the phone operators and they are doing just that. Standing By. For the life of me I cannot understand how such a phrase was used for so long in the selling business.

When I here that an operator is standing by, I think:

"The product must not be that good if the operators are just sitting there."

"I don't want to buy a product that no one else wants."

"There must be a problem with the product if no one wants it."

Yet when I think of infomercials "Operators are standing by" is the first phrase that I think of.

This change of phrase for the idea that, when you call the number you will talk to someone, is an example of social proof in advertising. When we are told that the lines may be busy we get the idea that many other people are calling. That gives us a small positive push towards purchase because we feel that we are not alone in our decision. When we here that the operators are awaiting our call we automatically think of different reasons why.

"Am I the first caller?"

"How many operators are there?"

"Is it any good?"

The questions may not all be bad but they are unanswered. Unanswered questions make people rethink their future purchase.

I quite enjoyed looking at these advertisements. I feel like I learned quite a bit within the few short hours I spent comparing videos. Maybe this will get you to look at an ad in a different light. See if you can spot the trick to get you to buy. You might just find something you could improve.

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