ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth – Jim Lecinski

Sociology says that humans tend to divide and classify information based on first impressions, storing positive sensations, but also retaining pre-judgments created on first contact.

First impressions also greatly influence the buying process and how consumers interact with your business. To create a memorably positive first impression you need to meet the needs of your intended target group.

Buyers like to explore and think about how products can improve their lives. They research to understand their needs and are motivated to connect from those needs.

The first step in the process of meeting the needs of these buyers is the Zero Moment of Truth. Are you curious? Then keep reading the summary to learn more!

About the book "ZMOT - Winning the Zero Moment of Truth"

The book "ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth" was written by Jim Lecinski, when he was Vice President of Sales and Services at Google USA, and explains how the concept was introduced to the digital world.

The book has 76 pages divided into 7 chapters and an appendix section, and is available exclusively in ebook format and free of charge from Google.

About the author Jim Lecinski

Jim Lecinksi worked for twelve years at Google, rising to the position of Vice President of Sales and Services for Google USA and held leadership positions at advertising agencies DDB, March First, Young & Rubicam, and Euro RSCG.

His academic qualifications include a MBA in Marketing from the University of Illinois and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame.

To whom is this book indicated?

This book is ideal for people interested in understanding how the customer buying path works in the Digital Age. If you are passionate about marketing and sales, you are in the right place.

But it is also for entrepreneurs who want to improve their lead acquisition and transformation process.

Main ideas of the book "ZMOT - Winning the Zero Moment of Truth"

• Every so often, something comes along and changes the rulebook;
• Engagement with the customer today isn't just pouring a message down on their head and hoping they get wet;
• ZMOT is all around us;
• Word of mouth has become digital;
• Stay relevant to the consumer and always be aware of innovations;
• With the new online and digital tools we've got, it's all at our fingertips now;
• Before the consumer journey used to cover days, now it covers seconds.

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Changing the Rulebook

Imagine the following situation: You stay in a rather large hotel in New York City. As you go to your room you see a poster in the lobby: "See the Max Weinberg Band in the ballroom tonight at 8 p. m."

What would you do? Would you go to the ballroom at eight, buy a ticket and watch the show? Or, perhaps, would you go to your room, get on the Internet and start researching Max Weinberg?

You probably chose the second option, right? And that is what ZMOT is all about.

The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) is that moment when you pick up any device connected to the Internet and start finding out about what you are thinking about trying out or buying.

And it is that moment that changed the Rulebook and created a new mental model.

The New Mental Model

The traditional mental model followed three steps:

1. Stimulus: You were introduced to the product;
2. First Moment of Truth (Shelf/FMOT): You went to a specific place to purchase the product;
3. Second Moment of Truth (Experience/SMOT): You used the product and drew your conclusions about it.

However, the internet has brought a new stage to the mental model. It is essential to change your mental model about marketing to include ZMOT.

Then you will be ready to gain a big competitive advantage. Because you will reach millions of buyers who are connecting to the internet to search for the product before purchasing it.

The new mental model is represented as follows:

1. Stimulus: You were introduced to the product;
2. Zero Moment of Truth: One day it was the SMOT of someone who shared their experience on the internet;
3. First Moment of Truth (Shelf/FMOT): You would go to a specific place to purchase the product;
4. Second Moment of Truth (Experience/SMOT): You used the product and created your conclusions about it.

ZMOT All Around Us

• It happens online and we are always online;
• It happens in real time, at any time of the day;
• It is emotional, since the consumers have a need that they want to satisfy;
• They are the ones who dictate the rules of the game;
• Everyone competes to capture their attention.

And when it comes to competing for the consumer's attention, you must remember that buyers do not always go through a funnel, which reduces the number of purchasing options.

In ZMOT, on the other hand, they can actually increase the number of options. The more they become informed, the more options they consider.

Here are the "ZMOTivations" of the consumer funnel:

• Seek out and share new ideas;
• Arming for battle (aka the beginning of the buying journey);
• Make smart choices fast.

Don't forget: "If you're available at the Zero Moment of Truth, your customers will find you at the very moment they're thinking about buying, and also when they're thinking about thinking about buying".

Ratings and Reviews

"Word of mouth is the medium we've been using since the tribal days to talk about essential knowledge" - Brett Hurt

The Technological Revolution has caused numerous changes in the rating and reviews made by consumers. In addition, the Internet has changed the way people obtain information.

However, the most noticeable change is tied to the oldest of human characteristics: word-of-mouth advertising.

Word of MOT

But how does word-of-mouth advertising occur in the MOT world? It occurs digitally as follows:

• Consumers talking directly through email, social networks, chat and IMs, or posting videos on YouTube and other sites;
• Reviews on sites like Epinions, TripAdvisor, DealerRater and Yelp;
• Comments and ratings that show up next to businesses on applications like Google Maps;
• Message boards on corporate and retail sites of all kinds;
• Online community sites where moms, golfers, chefs or skateboarders compare notes and share information;
• Seller ratings in search results (search for "kids bikes" on Google and you'll see the stars right at the top).

Don't forget that digital word-of-mouth is different from traditional word-of-mouth! Traditional outreach was one-to-one, whereas digital is one-to-millions.

Equal Thought, Not Afterthought

"If there's one truth I'd like you to take away from this book, it's this: ZMOT must be an equal thought, not an afterthought".

Jim Lecinski shares that there are objections that are constantly repeated by those who do not want to insert themselves into the ZMOT process, or who may even believe that they are already well-positioned in the market by having websites and social media pages.

However, to ensure a strategic positioning in the market and not lose space to the competition, you must see ZMOT as an equal thought, not as an afterthought.

Equal thought consists in mixing different stimuli that capture the consumer's attention, the ZMOT sources and the classic FMOT sources.

How to Win at ZMOT

ZMOT is now a fully integrated innovation in the marketing tradition. So are you ready to be innovative and start winning at ZMOT?

The author points out four questions to start the process:

1. When you start typing your product name into a search engine, but before you finish, what search terms fill in automatically below?
2. Does your website or your message appear on the top third of the first results page for those searches?
3. How does your brand appear on the key ratings and review sites for your category?
4. If someone searches for key phrases from your TV ads, what do they see?

Beyond the questions, there are seven smart ways to start winning at ZMOT:

1. Put Someone in Charge: ZMOT will only work for you if there is a person in charge focused on developing the zero moments;
2. Find Your Zero Moments: What are your Zero Moments of Truth? You and your team need to understand exactly how people are looking for your product/business;
3. Answer the Questions People Are Asking: Use digital tools to know exactly what questions are asked during the consumer journey and how to answer them;
4. Optimize for ZMOT: The author himself says that "optimizing your content for ZMOT is an ongoing process, not a one-shot deal; and the rewards are well worth it";
5. Be Fast: Speed beats perfection in the ZMOT world;
6. Don't Forget Video: The customer journey is now mostly visual. Consider making videos on Youtube, Tik Tok, and Instagram;
7. Jump In: Test, learn, optimize, and test again!

MOTs Next?

As you can see, the future is now, as we are already living largely in the frenetic pace of transformations that shape this future. With that, consumers are looking for and finding ZMOTs at any given moment.

Whether those ZMOTs are ratings, reviews, ads, videos and word of mouth, they add their own thoughts and opinions directly on the spot - wherever that spot may be.

A few characteristics shape the future of the upcoming MOTs. They are:

• Mobile Is an Accelerant: Smartphones are the real machines of the MOTs;
• The Meeting of the MOTs: One MOT leads to the other (from Z to F and from F to S);
• The Rise of Video: Encourage your consumers to visually advertise your business;
• Beyond the Shelf: Innovate and think of less traditional ways to promote your brand;
• The Next Generation: Take risks and charm the younger generation!

Now you know what ZMOT is and how to use it to your advantage!

What do other authors say about it?

In "This is Marketing" by Seth Godin, it explains that marketing is a tool used all the time, so it is capable of changing cultures and the consumer experience. Remember, by changing culture, you change the world.

In "SPIN Selling", Neil Rackham shows how asking the right questions is crucial for negotiation success, and proposes the SPIN strategy to win customers based on the Situation, Problem, Implication, and Solution Need questions.

In the book "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", author Yuval Noah Harari reflects on the phenomenon of the connection between man and machine, which Google itself studies from the scientific and technological advances generated by the human species.

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

• Be smarter, faster and better!
• Invest in the user experience to generate a positively impactful first impression;
• Analyze your online ranking metrics and those of your competitors;
• The Internet can be your ally or your enemy, learn to use it to your advantage;
• Finally, don't be afraid to be innovative!

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