Google recently published a pretty compelling e-book called “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT).
Here is the concept in a nutshell. Any buying experience consists of several “moments of truth.” The classic is the customer standing before the shelf of laundry soap deciding which to put in her basket. Her decision is the culmination of advertising, word of mouth, brand awareness, packaging, shelf positioning, price and a list of other factors. The point of decision is the first moment of truth.
The first moment of truth is followed by another when she actually uses the product. And then another when she talk about it with her friends. Each moment of truth is a pivot point for that product’s success.
Today, however, we face an additional MOT. This is when we go to the web – on a computer, by a mobile device or some other way – and research. This commonly takes place before we actually go to any store or visit any merchant site or make a phone call. That’s why Google has termed it the Zero Moment of Truth.
Moreover, it takes place with both consumer driven businesses and in the business to business environment. Think of how many times in the last month you did research on the web before actually engaging with the vendor or retailer.
The question this raises is “how are we dealing with the ZMOT?” Are we engaging with the customer where they are, at the point where we can have the most influence, or are you still hoping to jump that train only after it has already left the station?
I think the significance here is not that traditional forms of promotion are going away – although some may be. It is clear, however, that we need to be engaging prospective customers at that ZMOT point if we hope to make the most of our marketing efforts.
What these solution-seeking people need most at the ZMOT is information that is
- Clear
- Relevant
- Compelling
- Easy to find
Content. That’s what the pundits mean when they say “it’s all about the content.”
The quality of your content, therefore, will have more and more impact on the quality of your marketing results. Pay attention to that. You customers (and those who decide not to be your customers) surely do.
I encourage you to download the ebook. Read it. Then figure out what you can to do engage your customer at the ZMOT.
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