Every day, thousands of miraculous marketing strategies appear online, promising the impossible: increased sales, higher customer conversions, a new perspective on action, or whatever.
However, there are few strategies that actually work, and among them is the Zero Moment of Truth.
Maybe you've never heard about this moment of truth, which is also known as ZMOT , but let me tell you that it's the opportunity you've been waiting for.
But after all, what is ZMOT?
In this text, we'll tell you this and show you how to put it into practice to help your business grow.
But for now, suffice it to say that Momento Zero will help you take advantage of new opportunities that you may not have even noticed to attract, win over, and retain more and more customers.
What is the Zero Moment of Truth?
The Zero Moment of Truth is the research and discovery process that precedes the purchase decision during a consumer journey.
To make it easier, imagine that you need to buy a new cell phone but don't know which model or brand to choose. To overcome your indecision, you search YouTube and start watching several videos of people who have purchased the product and make your decision. This is ZMOT.
Another example would be choosing a hotel for your vacation, or even a cool pizzeria for happy hour. How do you make this decision? You search on Google or Tripadvisor and start reading other customers' reviews about their experience at that establishment, and then make your decision. This is also ZMOT.
📌 Check out: Online Reputation: The Impact of Online Reviews on Today's Consumer Purchasing Decisions
The Zero Moment of Truth was discovered by Google in partnership with Shopper Sciences. They conducted a survey of approximately 5,000 companies to find similarities between decision-making processes .
After the investigation, what they discovered was that during the purchase decision, customers go through four different stages, always following the same line of reasoning to make their choice.
These four steps became known as the Pillars of ZMOT and they are:
- Search Engine Ranking;
- Customer reviews;
- Search for Comparative Tables;
- Search for Discount Coupons.
Comparison tables are nothing more than a visual display of the specifications of several products placed side by side. This helps the customer decide among so many options.
The search for coupons, on the other hand, focuses on trying to save money and get the best deal. Hawk Incentives found that 90% of customers say they look for discounts online, whether for in-store purchases or in digital stores.
However, what matters most to us right now is detailing the first two pillars. So, we'll cover everything you need to know about how organic ranking and customer reviews can contribute to your business, and even give you tips on how to do it !
📌Check out: Google reviews: why are they important for your business?
Zero Moment of Truth and Search Engine Ranking
If you know even a little about marketing, you've probably heard about the importance of a good organic ranking on online search platforms.
The idea that the better positioned you are, the more likely you are to win customers isn't a myth. Quite the contrary, it's one of the most effective ways to get your customers to come to you.
📌Check out: Local SEO: What it is and how to optimize it to attract more customers
In these completely digital times, especially due to the pandemic, people have started to consume almost 100% online.
This means that every time your customers need something, what they do is “Google it”.
A 2021 survey conducted by Smart Insights calculated the number of hits each ranked link receives on the platform, and perhaps this clearly shows you why we talk so much about positioning.
According to the study, the first organically ranked link receives around 34% of internet users' hits, the second is content with 17% and the third receives only 11% of clicks.
This percentage of hits drops more and more dramatically, until it becomes irrelevant around link number 15.
This means that for your customers to buy from your company, they need to find you as close to the top of Google as possible!
There are several strategies to improve your ranking, such as SEO strategies, especially Local SEO . To help you with this, we'll explain a little more about how to be found through Google My Business listings.
But first, keep an eye on these two tips from the ZMOT Institute ! They'll make it easier to understand how the platform's classification works.
- 1: Read manual on SEO to understand how it works.
- 2: Check the traffic of the keywords you want to use on platforms like Ubersuggest or Ahrefs .
📌Don't miss our webinar [Webinar] Google My Business: how to optimize your strategy to attract more customers and increase sales
Listing Management on Google My Business
As we've already mentioned, good positioning is key to attracting more customers. However, not everything is about your website and link positioning.
This is because, for entrepreneurs, especially those who have physical establishments, investing in a local strategy can be much more effective.
To help you win over these customers, a highly recommended strategy is to use Google My Business (GMB) as a virtual showcase for your establishment. And for this, there's nothing better than developing a complete and up-to-date listing, as seen in the image below:
GMB listings allow you to include essential information like opening hours and contact details, as well as a product catalog and even the health protocols your company is adopting during the pandemic.
This is your new digital storefront. So, don't forget to add the following information:
- Standardized nomenclature (the name of the card must be the same in all its units);
- Descriptive using important and strategic keywords for the business
- Correct business category
- Correct address
- Schedules
- Special schedules
- Services
- Telephone
- Website
- Logo
- Cover image
This way, you not only improve your brand's SEO, gaining positions on Google, but also show consumers in your region that you're the best option to solve their problems.
📌Check out our great article: Google My Business listing management: the new online showcase for your physical store
Zero Moment of Truth and Assessments
Another extremely important point is customer reviews. This is because, during the Zero Moment of Truth, consumers are trying to figure out whether or not to buy a product or service.
So, to ensure they're getting a good deal, they look for more information to find out if the brand is trustworthy and if what they want to buy is really everything it promises.
The most effective way to do this is to seek the opinion of customers who have already gone through the purchasing journey and can therefore say whether that purchase is valid or not.
As much as we understand the importance of building a good reputation, we may not realize how it can impact a business.
Studies by Bight Local revealed that 95% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 constantly search for online reviews before purchasing and that 57% of them only buy if the reviews are between 4 and 5 stars.
A relevant fact is that 30% of consumers interviewed said they were willing to pay more for companies with good online reviews.
Therefore, nothing is more effective in winning over customers than fostering a good reputation. To achieve this, invest in ways to improve your customer engagement and offer good deals.
This way, even when consumers aren't satisfied, you can still help them, which will make your brand increasingly well-regarded by the public.
Conclusion
We can say that the Zero Moment of Truth is the golden opportunity you've been waiting for. After all, now that you know about ZMOT, you can take advantage of this research opportunity when consumers are more than willing to listen to you.
Knowing the importance of this moment means gaining new and almost infinite possibilities to increase your clientele.
And now that you know what the Zero Moment of Truth is and how to put it into practice, how about leaving a comment telling us what you thought of the content?
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This text was written by Rodrigo Wiethorn , a Business Administrator from UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), and an enthusiast of Web Technologies, Darwinism, the Sharing Economy, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior, topics covered on his blog ZMOT Institute and portals such as Digitalks and Startupi . He serves as COO of Hostinger Brazil, named by The Huffington Post as one of the 5 companies that are helping to change the world through the empowerment of people through the internet.
