Marketing 101 taught us all that purchasing decisions follow a distinctive pattern: stimulus + shelf + experience. The stimulus was provided by advertising, word of mouth or personal recommendation but on its own it did nothing until it led to what marketers have always called the First Moment of Truth (FMOT) when the potential buyer saw the product on a shelf and gravitated towards it.
A brand however could not really win if that first moment of truth was not then backed by the Second Moment of Truth (SMOT) which was the experience of the product after the shopper brought it home. The process is perfectly logical and has been backed up by enough data to justify every single ad dollar spent to date in traditional marketing and every single research dollar spent in product improvements.
But things are changing and Google search and social media are responsible for this. To broadly outline the process social media is now a crucial part of search and search is key to the purchase decision. This is a new moment of truth which Google calls the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) and hasreleased a book and a website to help spread the word.
ZMOT is the direct result of technology and connectivity. Whereas, in the past, after the stimulus we would have to wait until we could go out and see the product on a shelf somewhere, or came across it by accident, now with just a few clicks we can do our research online, find out prices, technical specs and reviews and begin to make up our mind.
The Zero Moment of Truth book is full of fascinating data, some from Google directly and others from its close connection with corporate data collectors like Procter & Gamble. For instance:
- 84% of purchases start with what Google calls the ZMOT
- 54% of consumers comparison-shopped online prior to making a purchase
Even more important is the fact the Google reports that in a difficult economy consumers become more research-conscious than ever making the ZMOT even more important for companies and brands eager to get eyeballs on their products and kick-start the purchase decision-making process.
The book, written by Jim Lecinski, Google's director of sales for the US, is available to download free from: the Zero Moment of Truth website. Lecinski's general message can be summarised in a few points which are crucial to social media marketers:
1. The buying process has changed. Purchase-making decisions start sooner and they start with search. Social media plays a crucial role in this because it supplies valuable, socialised information but it is search which is the kick-off point and it now happens much earlier.
2. Location is no longer a barrier. The spread of mobile media in smartphones and tablets means that sometimes the ZMOT may happen right in the shop, as the consumer sees a product on a shelf. This means that search is crucial in providing data and social media is invaluable in providing (within search) reviews, opinions and socialised information.
3. Company marketing must change. Companies have websites but they are still not very big on social media. If they do not make the transition from broadcasting a message (traditional marketing) to having a conversation (through socialised products and product data) they will miss an opportunity to make sales.
4. Social media is here to stay. Lecinski uses the example of his daughter who before she bought a game for her Nintendo, saw the commercial, researched the game on her phone and based on the reviews and the game description, decided to make a purchase. This kind of online purchasing behaviour is going to become the only acceptable norm in the near future. Those companies which do not get the future of social media marketing will be left out in the cold.