First off let me say that ZMOT is not just a pretty marketing label, it is a whole new way people shop for products and services now.
If you haven’t heard of ZMOT, let me bring you up to speed. It stands for Zero Moment Of Truth. It all started back in 2005 when Procter & Gamble coined the term “First Moment of Truth” otherwise know as FMOT, to define the first interaction between a shopper and a product on the store’s shelf. P&G asserted that this moment was the most important moment as did others — that shoppers make up their mind when purchasing a product in the very first seconds after they meet a product for the very first time.
While FMOT is still important, the rise of the full Internet adoption and use of search engines often lead to many brand interactions taking place between a consumer and that brand before that consumer ever sees a product on a shelf. This is the phenomena called the “Zero Moment Of Truth“.
IRI’s latest Economic Longtitude 2009 study shows that 83% of shoppers make their purchase decisions before entering a store:
What does ZMOT mean for your Small Business? (1) it means you need to acknowledge ZMOT exist, and embrace it, (2) you need to start thinking about where your specific businesses ZMOT is, (3) you need to start thinking inbound marketing, not just outbound marketing strategies for your business, and find ways to connect the two, (4) you need to make sure that your customers get a consistent and positive experience in everything you do — from the Zero Moment Of Truth to the point of purchase and well beyond, and (5) get in front of your prospect with the right brand message early in their process of discovery, and keep guiding them along the way to your business for that all important purchase.
Examples of FMOT vs ZMOT:
FMOT: Your watching a football game with friends, and want to order a pizza, you look-up pizza in the phone book and call to find out what they have.
ZMOT: You click a button on your smart phone and say the word pizza, and low and behold neighborhood pizza places pop-up on the screen, some with discount offers, their hours, star reviews, customer reviews, pictures of their pizza’s, and you can push a “call” button and order and have it delivered or push another button and have your phones GPS guide you to the mouth-watering pizza.
FMOT: You need a new car, so you get the newspaper and check out the ads, then drive around looking at cars all day.
ZMOT: You fire up your laptop and Google new car reviews, looking them over you narrow down what you like and then print out a sheet with the specs and pricing, you also Google the best reviewed car lot in your area and visit and buy your new car without needing to talk with a salesman back and forth.
FMOT: You’re in an electronics store and want to know more about a television, so you hunt all over for a sales person to tell you about the models they have.
ZMOT: You’re in an electronic store and use your smart phone to scan QR Codes on the tags in front of the new televisions, giving you all the information about that TV and comparisons with pricing at other stores in the area and online.
You can see how things have changed, and will keep on this path of change, if you’re a small business owner you need to start learning how to better market your business for today’s buyers, or find a marketing company that knows how to, and team with them to better serve your market.
Now that you have a taste of ZMOT, I know you want to learn more, here is a great place to start, watch some Videos and get a FREE eBook on ZMOT at the same time, visit ZeroMomentOfTruth.com
Enjoy and please come back and share your stories on how you use ZMOT or any experiences you have had where ZMOT came into play in the comments below.
Until next time,
