Every new day, thousands of miraculous marketing strategies emerge on the internet promising the impossible. Higher sales, higher customer conversions, a new perspective on action, or whatever it may be.
However, few strategies actually work, and among them is the Zero Moment of Truth.
Perhaps you've never heard of this so-called moment of truth, also known as ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth), but let me tell you that it's the opportunity you've been waiting for.
But what exactly is ZMOT?
In this text, we'll tell you about this and also 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 seize new opportunities 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 you need to buy a new cell phone but you don't know which model or brand to choose. To resolve your indecision, you search on YouTube and start watching several videos of people who bought the product and make your decision; that's ZMOT.
Another example would be choosing a hotel for a vacation or even a nice 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 with that establishment and then make your decision; this is also ZMOT.
📌Check it 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 in their decision-making processes.
After the investigation, what they discovered was that during the purchase decision, customers go through 4 different stages, always following the same line of reasoning in order 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 charts are simply a visual representation of the specifications of various products placed side-by-side. This helps the customer make a decision among so many options.
The search for coupons, on the other hand, is geared towards trying to save money and get the best deal. Hawk Incentives found that 90% of customers say they look for discounts online, whether for physical purchases or in digital stores.
However, what matters most to us at this moment is detailing the first two pillars. Therefore, we will cover everything you need to know about how organic ranking and customer reviews can contribute to your business, and even give tips on how to do it!
📌Check it out: Google Reviews - Why are they important for your business?
The Zero Moment of Truth and Search Engine Ranking
If you know even a little about marketing, you've certainly heard about the importance of good organic ranking on online search platforms.
The idea that better positioning increases the chances of acquiring customers is not a myth. On the contrary, it's one of the most efficient ways to get your customers to find you.
📌Check it 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 consuming almost 100% online.
This means that every time your customers need something, all they do is "Google it".
A 2021 study by Smart Insightscalculated the number of hits each ranked link on the platform receives, and perhaps this clearly shows you why we talk so much about ranking.
According to the study, the first organically ranked link receives about 34% of internet users' accesses, the second gets 17% , and the third receives only 11% of clicks.
This percentage of hits drops more and more drastically, until it becomes irrelevant compared to 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. And to help you with that, 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 that ZMOT Institute showed us! With them, it's easier to understand how the classification works on the platform.
- 1. Read manualon SEO to understand how it works.
- 2: Check the traffic for 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.
Managing Listings on Google My Business
As we've already discussed, good positioning is key to acquiring more clients. However, not everything is about your website and the positioning of your link.
This is because, for entrepreneurs, especially those with physical establishments, investing in a local strategy can be much more effective.
To help you attract these customers, a highly recommended strategy is to use Google My Business (GMB) as a virtual storefront for your establishment. And for that, nothing is better than developing a complete and up-to-date listing, as seen in the image below:
GMB's business information sheets allow you to include essential information such as 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. Therefore, don't forget to add the following information:
- Standardized nomenclature (the name of the form must be the same in all its units);
- Description using important and strategic keywords for the business
- Correct business category
- Correct address
- Schedules
- Special schedules
- Services
- Telephone
- Site
- Logo
- Cover image
In this way, you not only improve your brand's SEO, gaining positions on Google, but you also establish yourself to consumers in your region as the most suitable alternative to solve their problems.
📌Check out our great article: Managing Google My Business listings: the new online storefront for your physical store.
The 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 find out whether or not they should buy a product or service.
Therefore, to ensure they are getting a good deal, they seek more information to find out if the brand is trustworthy and if what they want to buy is really all that is promised.
The most effective way to do this is by seeking the opinion of customers who have already gone through the buying journey and can therefore say whether that purchase is worthwhile or not.
While we may 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 aged 18 to 34 constantly search for online reviews before making a purchase, and that 57% of them will only buy if the reviews are between 4 and 5 stars.
One relevant finding is that 30% of consumers surveyed stated they were willing to pay more for companies with good online reviews.
Therefore, nothing is more effective at winning over your customers than fostering a good reputation. To achieve this, invest in ways to improve your customer relations and offer good deals.
Therefore, even when consumers are not satisfied, you can 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 moment when consumers are more than willing to listen to you.
Understanding the importance of this moment opens up new and almost endless possibilities for increasing your clientele.
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 produced by Rodrigo Wiethorn, a Business Administration graduate from UFSC, 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, which was named by The Huffington Post as one of the 5 companies helping to change the world by empowering people through the internet.