A few years ago, Google introduced the world to a new marketing concept: the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). An understanding of this marketing moment can be quite useful to both new businesses looking to break into the world of online marketing and established companies looking to grow their online presence. Here's a quick breakdown of the ZMOT and how you can use it to your advantage.
Identifying the Moment a Need Is Created
Google defines the ZMOT as the exact moment when a consumer has a need, intent or question that he or she would like to address through an online search. These questions can be anything from "What cleaners are most effective on hard water stains?" to "What pizza chains deliver in my area?" Brands that step up to answer these questions can gain a competitive advantage over brands that don't.
Approaching Your Brand In a New Way
Like any good marketing plan, harnessing the ZMOT starts with how you define and display your brand. Instead of approaching your product from an angle that pushes facts, figures and values, you should look at it from a consumer's point of view. An important step in harnessing the ZMOT is figuring out what type of information customers are frequently searching for in relation to your product. For instance, if you own an organic soap business, you would want to know if users are commonly searching for things like "What kind of soap will make my skin softer?" or "What soaps are safe to use on a newborn?" If you're aware of these search tendencies, you can step up your marketing efforts to demonstrate how your product can be an answer to these questions.
Winning at the ZMOT
"Winning" at the ZMOT requires more than just approaching your brand differently. You'll also need to increase your search engine marketing efforts and publish relevant content to support your product. It's important that you strategically place your product in a position where it can answer online questions. This will increase immediate conversions because consumers will have more incentive to buy your product if they find it as an answer to their search query. In addition, this will help you build brand awareness because consumers will recall seeing your product when they looked online for a solution to a specific problem.
Winning at the Zero Moment of Truth is not something that will happen overnight. This process requires advanced search engine marketing knowledge and regularly produced supporting content. However, when all these components work together, consumers will be able to find your product right when they need it!
