eBook Review: Google's ZMOT Winning the Zero Moment of Truth

An idea struck me this morning. Don't know about you, but I'm someone who absorbs information better from a printed page. Call me old-school, but that's how I'm wired. I also spend the first part of my day reviewing the latest thinking on social media, social business, inbound marketing, PR and other digital communications things. Often I'll find a whitepaper an eBook that looks interesting, so I'll tag, print, and add to my reading pile. 

Now while many of these are poorly written attempts to drag you into a sales funnel by capturing your attention (and your email address, business size, website and title), the majority are excellent sources of new thinking and ideas (that are really worth your email address, business size and so on).

This all got me thinking. I'll tweet the good ones out but they're probably worth a more thoughtful commentary than one can impart in 140 characters. So welcome, gentle reader, to the first (and possibly last!) Whitepaper Review...

ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth

By Jim Lecinski

The average shopper used 10.4 sources of information to make a decision in 2011, up from 5.3 sources in 2010.

Woah. This stat alone makes the paper worth reading. That's almost twice as many sources in less than a year. If you ever doubted the influence of online in buying decisions of all kinds, then you won't after finishing this 60 odd page whitepaper from Google. 

Full of useful stats and up-to-date research, the core proposition is that consumer buying has changed forever. Some marketers may be familiar with Proctor and Gamble's First Moment of Truth (FMOT) where the consumer at the store shelf decides to purchase. The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) happens before the consumer gets to the store (or polling booth, presses 'add to basket', decides which company to join, or signs the three year multi-million dollar outsourcing contract).

The ZMOT is the moment when you go online (laptop, TV, mobile or whatever) and start learning about a product or service. According to the whitepaper, 84% of shoppers said that ZMOT shapes their decisions. It's now as important as the original stimulus and Proctor and Gamble's FMOT in moving customers from undecided to decided. 

Sales Funnel No Longer Linear 

The other key finding marketers need to consider is that shoppers today are non-linear. While Marketing 101 was all about the sales funnel, it's naive to assume that once you've hooked them, they'll follow a predictable path to purchase. The paper points out that 54% of people comparison shop for product online. The nature of the Internet is that they'll typically widen searches before coming to a conclusion. I really like this quote as it ties it all together: "...the funnel is now more like a neuron, with branches that let shoppers move forward and backward through the process until they're ready to make a decision."

What's perhaps most telling is that conventional wisdom has told us that only more expensive or complex decisions rely on deep online research. But in the recessionary environment, everyday products are subjected to a similar scrutiny. 

Proctor and Gamble have taken this to heart and are working on something called "store back" where they're now planning a marketing program based on a consumer's brand experiences working backwards from the shelf to the moments before the store. 

From my POV, I see two other layers to develop. One is "community back" - where you're planning from the immediate post-purchase experience where a new buyer, "elector", employee or whatever is given confidence that they made the right decision and also support from a community or shared interest group to help them with their decision should they have questions or concerns.

The second is "advocate back" - where we plan for those 20% of customers (using the term generically here) with the greatest influence, reach, Klout, and predilection for sharing are brought into the family with the knowledge that they're more likely to share good experiences and help others make the right decisions. 

B2B Buyers Research Online

The paper also reinforces that B2B decisions are made based on online research. While you may be so 'long tail' that there might not be a devoted community talking about your product or service category, your buyers are definitely hitting search engines and researching. As the paper says, "Whether you're buying a refrigerator or a jet engine, you want to do your homework in advance." 

It also offers great advice for companies starting out by offering seven steps to win at ZMOT that every marketer should test these against their own strategies. At the heart of this is knowing how people search for your brand. 

For example, in "public relations", people are searching for "what is public relations" and "how to PR". I wonder how many agencies ensure these search terms are reflected in their web copy and anchor text? 

Critically the result should answer the question. For example, "what is public relations" must lead to a definition - not a sales pitch. 

This is the core of ZMOT. Being where your consumers are when they first take that decision to search. The trick - and it's a big trick - is then being able to meet their needs through an extended, non-liner buying path to the point of purchase and beyond. The 'beyond' piece is most critical as if someone’s happy with their purchase; they're more likely to talk about it which helps ZMOT. Rinse and repeat...

-Jeremy

I'd love your thoughts, comments and ideas. Jump in through your preferred channel below...

Photo Credit: 1017072, El Bibliomata, http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdctsevilla/4306301206/