According to P&G, shoppers make up their minds about a product in 3 to 7 seconds, just the time it takes to note a product on a store shelf. This time lape is called the “First Moment of Truth,” and it’s considered the most important moment in CPG marketing. After that, we started hearing about the “Second Moment of Truth,” the moment a consumer decides with they will be a repeat customer. To get to these moment of truth, there has to be a stimulus of some sort. Something that gets a consumer to get up off the couch and pursue a purchase.
As Google started to recognize that once consumers experienced a stimulus, they used their desktops and mobile devices to conduct searches to research their purchasing options. Then, they found that the research they conducted was actually influencing their buying decision. From there, a new moment of truth was created: The ZERO Moment of Truth.
7 Strategies to Win the ZMOT
1) Put someone in charge
Chances are most big brands have people in charge of TV advertising and in-store marketing to cover the first and second moment of truths, respectively. But less companies have someone in charge to help the consumer reach that zero moment of truth to lead them to the first moment of truth. Considering the search statistics highlighted above, the person that leads the zero moment of truth must be digitally-focused.
2) Find your zero moment
What happens when you search your brand or category online? Are you there? These search results are a major factor in the zero moment of truth. Is your plan playing there? What is the messaging that the consumer is receiving when searching your brand or your brand’s category?
3) Answer the questions people are asking
Taking from a very relevant example, the Obama digital team found that the American people were asking what was in the healthcare bill…literally. When looking at search queries, that question was asked word for word. Once the Obama team discovered that, the next day they published a blog post titled “What is in the Healthcare Bill.”
4) Optimize the ZMOT
Combining the influence our peers have on our purchase decision with newly integrated social elements to search results, brands can optimize their ZMOT by incorporating both search and social strategies.
5) Be fast
The purchase cycles for different products and services vary. But for some services, like legal services, the purchase cycle is very quick (70% of people make a decision on legal service in one week). That means the brand must be quick in providing the relevant information the consumer is searching for very quickly.
6) Don’t forget video
YouTube is the 2nd most used search engine behind Google.com. YouTube provides a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on high search volumes if the brand is able to publish video content that answers consumers questions.
7) Jump in
Google encourages their clients to fail faster and to not be afraid to engage with their consumers. Jump in!
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