Zero Moment of Truth | Marketing Philosophy

The Five Stage Decision-Making Process – Zero Moment of Truth

When a consumer purchases anything, most marketers believe they go through a five stage decision-making process: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and lastly, post-purchase evaluation. Today, a high number of consumers go through all of these stages online. Google calls this Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).

ZMOT is the brainchild of Jim Lecinski, Vice President of Americas Customer Solutions at Google. Lecinski describes it as “a revolutionary new way people make purchasing decisions.”

ZMOT is the time when consumers search on their phones, computers and tablets to ask themselves:
“What should I make for dinner?”
“Where should I buy insurance?”
“Should I get a new hat for that golfing trip?”

What your potential clients find in those brief moments online will determine where and when they will purchase more than any experience that comes after it. This is why it is not only a good thing for your company to have a powerful digital presence, but it’s absolutely essential.

Four Basic Steps for Practicing ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth)

So how do you practice ZMOT? Where should your company even begin? Here are four basic steps to help get you started:

Find Out Your Audience and Find Out What They Want. No matter what your business, it is impossible to target everyone. If you are not sure who your audience is, simply ask yourself, who do you want your audience to be? Once you know who your target is, find out what they search for online. In order to fill a customer’s needs, you have to know what the needs are in the first place.

Once You Know What They Want, Decide Where You Fit In. It is increasingly important for companies to have an amazing digital, mobile-friendly presence. Marketers should know who and how people search for their brand and how many times their company shows up in those searches.

Have Something Interesting To Say Once They Find You. Have something interesting, relevant, and/or engaging to say when people find you online. Lecinski says, “you should provide an experience that’s as informative and entertaining as possible: links to rich content on your website and opportunities to engage on Facebook or watch videos on YouTube, for example.”

Research Behavior Constantly. Lecinski suggests continuously measuring the impact of your efforts online. Marketers have to continue to evolve and shape their ZMOTs to fit people’s changing tastes. In order to do that, research must be done to find out what people want and how to fulfill that want.

At Matchbox Design Group, we help you zero in on finding your ZMOT–finding exactly who your target audience is, where they hang out online and the best ways to effectively reach them. We are one of only 5,000 companies that are a certified Google Partner because we’ve been recognized for excelling in Google Products.

Let’s define and refine your ZMOT today. 314-849-6969