Mastering the Zero Moment of Truth

Introduction: Previously, I spoke about moments of truth in a previous article, which you can find here. While writing that article, something caught my attention called: “Zero Moment of Truth,” as coined by Google. I wanted to share what I found about this topic and my belief in its importance. This article will interest those working in marketing and customer experience.

Zero Moment of Truth (ZMoT) is when you go online to compare the prices of a specific product available at several agencies without visiting their showrooms in person. It’s when you visit Amazon to read reviews about certain books before buying them; when you check Goodreads to see the ratings of these books; when you search travel websites for the best hotels or apartments before making a reservation; when you go to specialized review sites to watch reviews about a new tech product or a car you intend to buy; when you decide to purchase a specific smartphone app because you saw it had high ratings and received numerous positive feedback; it’s when you connect with your friends on social media to get their opinion on a particular product… All these attempts when you grab your smart device or sit on your laptop to learn more about products or services to try them or purchase them.

Generation C. Which is classified by this letter based on a set of characteristics and actions that all start with this letter:

Create, Collaborate, Computerized, Content, Connect, Click.

Members of this generation heavily rely on the Zero Moment of Truth to make their decisions. This is what led some sociologists to label this generation as such. If you are between 18 and 34, you belong to this group. You might be technophobic and not fit into it. But not being in this age group doesn’t exclude you from this generation; it’s a mindset and lifestyle anyone can adopt. This generation is obsessed with digital content: creating, following, and sharing it, and there are unique ways to target them through marketing, unlike the traditional methods predicted to die within a decade. This generation thinks, compares, and decides in the Zero Moment of Truth space. They might form a negative impression of you because of a neglected website and decide not to deal with you. How do you describe yourself if you’re a company offering products or services in the Zero Moment of Truth space? Have you thought of this moment before? Are you happy with the results you would find if you searched the web for your product and what people say about it?

New Trends The idea that a consumer watches an advertisement and then heads to the nearest showroom where the product is available is no longer as effective as some traditional marketers might think. Between the ad and the purchase decision lies the Zero Moment of Truth. Advertising is no longer the primary driver for a consumer’s decision, and TV viewership is continuously declining. I only turn on the TV at home to watch a movie because of its screen size, nothing more.

People’s discussions among themselves and their conversations about specific experiences are almost the most trustworthy compared to descriptive marketing research, where participants are incentivized with material or physical gifts to talk and share. Hence, there is a push towards gathering discussions and shares on the web because these conversations are spontaneous and unbiased.

Have you ever wondered why companies purchase specialized technological systems to monitor social networks to understand the discussions revolving around their brand by consumers? These discussions can reach the ears of Generation Z, influencing their impressions and decisions. Have you ever considered why numerous companies pay hefty amounts to influencers on social networks to post an advertisement, embed a promotional message in their content, or even express their opinion about a particular product or service? This is because their influence is not to be underestimated.

Similarly, market research companies have offered “Online community panels” for over a decade. This service was recently introduced to Saudi Arabia. The idea behind it is to create a virtual environment on the internet that includes consumers or customers of a particular product/service to initiate discussions with them, solicit their suggestions, and seek their opinions about potential changes to the product/service. The concept is for the business owner to immerse themselves in the conversation when their customers want to talk, not vice versa.

You will also find that many websites offer live chat services with a representative to interact with customers and engage them before their attention drifts to one of the competitor sites.

Additionally, numerous specialized websites produce content related to customer experiences and evaluations of company products or services. It’s almost mandatory for individuals to visit these sites before deciding to purchase a particular product.

There’s also an unprecedented trend towards e-commerce in the Middle East. I can confidently say that e-commerce will be the official channel for most sales transactions, whether between individuals or businesses, within a decade. Even the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which isn’t tied to any country, prompts reflection on the direction this generation is taking.

On a personal level and personal branding, there are books directing employees on how to present themselves on social networks, market themselves, and what might tarnish their image in front of companies seeking talents. Some companies now search for potential employees on social networks to form an initial impression before meeting them. That moment is the “zero moment of truth” for you as a job seeker.

The New Consumer Mindset Model

The previous consumer mindset model included three stages: Stimulus — First Moment of Truth — Second Moment of Truth.

The stimulus related to advertisements across all utilized channels, and the first moment of truth pertained to when the consumer sees the product on the shelf. The second moment of truth is when the customer experiences the product.

The new marketing model, which I took as the theme for this article, comes from a Google book that I will mention at the end.

This new model includes four stages: Stimulus — Zero Moment of Truth — First Moment of Truth — Second Moment of Truth.

The second moment of truth in this model serves as input for the zero moment of truth when a consumer or user publishes his/her experience or opinion for another potential consumer/user to read before trying the product/service or making a purchase decision.”

Note: “Zero Moment of Truth” refers to the research conducted by a consumer online about a product or service before taking any action, i.e., the moment when a consumer searches for a product before making a decision.

How can you win in this moment?

After reading this fascinating information, what should marketers do? No matter what product or service you’re selling:

• You should give equal importance to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) as to the other elements in the consumer’s cognitive model. Some readers might argue that this doesn’t apply to all products. I’d then ask you to do what members of the generation we discussed do when they hear about something unfamiliar: Google it. Search for that thing on Google or YouTube, and you’ll be amazed at the results. Be sure that your competitors who provided appropriate content have fully succeeded in attracting members of this generation. We still observe some traditional-minded business owners who don’t believe in this, but time will convince them. According to some predictions, by 2020, there will be more than 5 billion people using the internet, and currently, over a third of the global population is online.
• You need to ensure your website appears among the top results in popular search engines, called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — this term was translated in Wikipedia.
• I am not an expert to delve deep into its details. All I know is that it’s essential to win in this moment that this article revolves around. Also, try to search for the main keywords related to your products/services and thoroughly examine the results.
• Understand how your customers search for your product and where they hear about you. Target new customers to discover where and under what circumstances the Zero Moment of Truth arises for potential customers and cater to it. This impatient generation, and I’m one of them, wants everything as quickly as possible. Once, when I urgently needed to buy a particular product, I opened Google Maps and found what I was looking for in five minutes.
• Answer the questions posed by this generation. Some tools help you understand what’s trending on a particular topic, like Google Trends, which you can find out more about at [this link]. Using these tools will help you create digital content centered on what’s on the minds of your target audience. Of course, this doesn’t replace proactively asking your current customers through market research to enrich content or product development.
• Consider using new media if you haven’t already, as well as influencers on social networks.
• Create engaging digital content that encourages sharing among members of Generation Z. Remember, most of them use smartphones, so your website must be compatible with mobile browsers and, ideally, have a version specifically for mobile users.
• Encourage your customers to provide feedback after their experience (the second moment of truth) to be both an entry and source of information (Zero Moment of Truth) for potential customers. For example, hotels might motivate their guests to leave reviews on TripAdvisor.
• You should consider dedicating one of your employees to handle this moment and everything related to it. Also, allocate a budget for this moment and everything involved in enhancing it.

Conclusion For those who wish to delve deeper into the article's topic, I recommend reading the following book because it contains many real-life examples and research statistics, especially in the appendices at the end of the book. ‘Winning the Zero Moment of Truth — ZMOT’

You can download it here.

Originally written and published in Arabic on LinkedIn on February 23, 2016.