The ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ beckons for B2B marketers
Consumers are increasingly using their smartphones and tablets to seek and share information about products and services as they move down the path to purchase. Google’s Jim Lecinski calls this the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT). At the BMA’s annual conference, Unleash 2011, Lecinski, managing director of U.S. sales & service and Chief ZMOT Evangelist, talked about the ZMOT and why it is so crucial to B2B marketers’ ability to help drive the business.
During his presentation Lecinski drew on information from his new ebook, titled, “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth,” and shared strategies about how B2B marketers can develop their own ZMOT.
So, what, exactly, is the Zero Moment of Truth and how do B2B marketers define it? Lecinski writes that it could be when a potential buyer picks up his or her laptop, smartphone or tablet and starts searching for products and services.
The ZMOT stems from a theory espoused by A.G. Lafley, former chairman, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble. Lafley said the first moment of truth occurs at the store shelf, when a consumer decides whether to buy one brand or another. The second occurs at home, when he or she uses the brand and is pleased – or not.
But with the mass proliferation of mobile devices – and the sea of content that is available online – there is a new, and critical moment of decision-making that happens even before consumers get to the proverbial shelf: ZMOT.
Whatever your products and/or services, “Your customers’ first impression – and quite possibly their final decision – will be made in that moment: ZMOT,” Lecisnki writes. “Marketers devote tremendous amounts of energy and money to the first two moments of truth. But the new question is: Are you winning the Zero Moment of Truth?”
Licinski stresses that in the ZMOT consumers widen their choices, in order to compare and contrast products and services, rather than go through a narrow sales funnel. Indeed, 54% of consumers comparison-shopped online, according to Google’s Shopper Sciences 2011 Macro Study.
The onus is now on B2B marketers to tap into the ZMOT, in terms of being in on the conversation online, and tell their stories at the highest point of impact.
During his presentation Lecinski drew on information from his new ebook, titled, “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth,” and shared strategies about how B2B marketers can develop their own ZMOT.
So, what, exactly, is the Zero Moment of Truth and how do B2B marketers define it? Lecinski writes that it could be when a potential buyer picks up his or her laptop, smartphone or tablet and starts searching for products and services.
The ZMOT stems from a theory espoused by A.G. Lafley, former chairman, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble. Lafley said the first moment of truth occurs at the store shelf, when a consumer decides whether to buy one brand or another. The second occurs at home, when he or she uses the brand and is pleased – or not.
But with the mass proliferation of mobile devices – and the sea of content that is available online – there is a new, and critical moment of decision-making that happens even before consumers get to the proverbial shelf: ZMOT.
Whatever your products and/or services, “Your customers’ first impression – and quite possibly their final decision – will be made in that moment: ZMOT,” Lecisnki writes. “Marketers devote tremendous amounts of energy and money to the first two moments of truth. But the new question is: Are you winning the Zero Moment of Truth?”
Licinski stresses that in the ZMOT consumers widen their choices, in order to compare and contrast products and services, rather than go through a narrow sales funnel. Indeed, 54% of consumers comparison-shopped online, according to Google’s Shopper Sciences 2011 Macro Study.
The onus is now on B2B marketers to tap into the ZMOT, in terms of being in on the conversation online, and tell their stories at the highest point of impact.
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