The moment of truth in digital marketing
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 7:31 am
I've lost count of the number of articles Tom Fishburne has inspired me to write on this blog. It's clear that part of his job is to represent the situations that marketing professionals encounter on a daily basis (at the end of the article you can find his comic strip).
One of them is the so-called “Zero Moment of Truth” that is so often discussed and discussed in many forums. It is one of the most important things to take into account when defining our digital marketing strategy .
What is Zero Moment of Truth and how to apply it in marketing?
It is a concept that originated in 2005 by AG Lafley (Procter & Gamble), when he spoke about the key moments when buying the product in the store, when using it and the third when talking about his experience of use with others.
In 2011, Jim Lecinsky coined the idea of “Zero moment of truth” (ZMOT), referring to pre-purchase research.
We see that there are actually key
telegram usa number moments throughout the entire process of purchasing and using the product, and that all of them influence the results.
ZMOT or Zero Moment of Truth are what we can consider to be the most “responsible” part of marketing. They are responsible for taking customers from the first searches to the thank you page after making the purchase.
From that moment on, it continues to play a very important role, but other departments are now involved in the management of existing customers and their satisfaction with the product or service.
How have moments of truth evolved in digital marketing?
The ZMOT concept is based on making the search for information prior to purchasing as easy as possible, in order to lead as many people as possible to make a purchase.
To do this, based on our buyer personas , we must define the most likely paths of this prior research ( customer journey ) and offer the necessary information or help in each of the steps to facilitate the purchase.
When we have a good product and do a good job, it is relatively easy to define these paths with the least number of inconveniences or problems for our future clients.
But what happens when I need to sell and I don't have the minimum foundations to make this happen? That is, my product is not the best on the market, nor do I have enough knowledge and experience to define the customer journey appropriately.
Well, we try to cover it up by using marketing tactics that have worked for others, to try to get the sales we need. For example:
We ask for positive reviews: we try to force a good review by requesting these reviews at different times or from different groups of people (in a restaurant when paying, on the thank you page after the purchase, if we are a small company from our acquaintances, reviews in exchange for some incentive, etc.).
Web testimonials: In the same way, we put testimonials on the web that are almost true, but are written in a way that makes them seem like something more.
We force the publication of positive articles on websites and blogs related to our product.
We increase the number of followers on social networks.
We try to force word of mouth by sending messages suggesting sharing our recent purchase, rating the product, or doing a survey.
That is, we generate positive “noise” hoping that it will benefit us.
The problem with everyone (those with a good product and work, and those without) using this type of tactics is that something that is supposed to be an enabler can become:
Question generator for customers: are these positive reviews real? (There are many techniques to generate them with fake users), why are there so few or no negative ones? Why do they have so many followers if their content is not so interesting? (It looks like a product showcase).
A double-edged sword: if the pre- and post-purchase experience has not been positive, we may find ourselves not only with negative reviews, but also with a drop in sales due to its effect, added to the fact that they recommend not buying it to their acquaintances (you know that a dissatisfied customer tells x5 people, compared to a satisfied one).
And all this ends with a wasted marketing budget, poor results, etc. etc.
Obviously we cannot wait to have the best product (in many cases it is not feasible in the medium term) to use these techniques and start selling.
Our job is to adapt messages to reality and highlight the value proposition that really makes people with the greatest affinity buy from us.
The rest should flow almost by itself. We should only facilitate these positive elements, not force them to appear to be what we are not.
One of them is the so-called “Zero Moment of Truth” that is so often discussed and discussed in many forums. It is one of the most important things to take into account when defining our digital marketing strategy .
What is Zero Moment of Truth and how to apply it in marketing?
It is a concept that originated in 2005 by AG Lafley (Procter & Gamble), when he spoke about the key moments when buying the product in the store, when using it and the third when talking about his experience of use with others.
In 2011, Jim Lecinsky coined the idea of “Zero moment of truth” (ZMOT), referring to pre-purchase research.
We see that there are actually key
telegram usa number moments throughout the entire process of purchasing and using the product, and that all of them influence the results.
ZMOT or Zero Moment of Truth are what we can consider to be the most “responsible” part of marketing. They are responsible for taking customers from the first searches to the thank you page after making the purchase.
From that moment on, it continues to play a very important role, but other departments are now involved in the management of existing customers and their satisfaction with the product or service.
How have moments of truth evolved in digital marketing?
The ZMOT concept is based on making the search for information prior to purchasing as easy as possible, in order to lead as many people as possible to make a purchase.
To do this, based on our buyer personas , we must define the most likely paths of this prior research ( customer journey ) and offer the necessary information or help in each of the steps to facilitate the purchase.
When we have a good product and do a good job, it is relatively easy to define these paths with the least number of inconveniences or problems for our future clients.
But what happens when I need to sell and I don't have the minimum foundations to make this happen? That is, my product is not the best on the market, nor do I have enough knowledge and experience to define the customer journey appropriately.
Well, we try to cover it up by using marketing tactics that have worked for others, to try to get the sales we need. For example:
We ask for positive reviews: we try to force a good review by requesting these reviews at different times or from different groups of people (in a restaurant when paying, on the thank you page after the purchase, if we are a small company from our acquaintances, reviews in exchange for some incentive, etc.).
Web testimonials: In the same way, we put testimonials on the web that are almost true, but are written in a way that makes them seem like something more.
We force the publication of positive articles on websites and blogs related to our product.
We increase the number of followers on social networks.
We try to force word of mouth by sending messages suggesting sharing our recent purchase, rating the product, or doing a survey.
That is, we generate positive “noise” hoping that it will benefit us.
The problem with everyone (those with a good product and work, and those without) using this type of tactics is that something that is supposed to be an enabler can become:
Question generator for customers: are these positive reviews real? (There are many techniques to generate them with fake users), why are there so few or no negative ones? Why do they have so many followers if their content is not so interesting? (It looks like a product showcase).
A double-edged sword: if the pre- and post-purchase experience has not been positive, we may find ourselves not only with negative reviews, but also with a drop in sales due to its effect, added to the fact that they recommend not buying it to their acquaintances (you know that a dissatisfied customer tells x5 people, compared to a satisfied one).
And all this ends with a wasted marketing budget, poor results, etc. etc.
Obviously we cannot wait to have the best product (in many cases it is not feasible in the medium term) to use these techniques and start selling.
Our job is to adapt messages to reality and highlight the value proposition that really makes people with the greatest affinity buy from us.
The rest should flow almost by itself. We should only facilitate these positive elements, not force them to appear to be what we are not.