Why Business To Business Marketers Need To Win The Zero Moment Of Truth, Too

In June, I discussed The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) and why it was important for marketers to succeed at it. However, it seems some in the business-to-business marketing sector thought that ZMOT only related to those in the business-to-consumer space. We all know what happens when you assume…

The Zero Moment Of Truth And Why Marketers Must Win It… that was the full title of my aforementioned post from June in which I introduced you to ZMOT and Jim Lecinski, Google’s Managing Director of US Sales & Service and Chief ZMOT Evangelist. I had just finished reading the extremely interesting and engaging ebook Winning The Zero Moment Of Truth and I knew I had to share it with you.

For those of you not familiar with ZMOT it is essentially the moment AFTER a consumer sees something – an ad, a commercial, etc., and BEFORE they head to the store shelf or website to make a purchase. The Zero Moment of Truth is that timeframe where a consumer – a human being, goes online and conducts a search via Google or any other search engine for that matter.

How prevalent is the ZMOT?

Consider…

In a study commissioned by Google, Shopper Sciences surveyed 5,000 shoppers and asked them how many sources of information do they use before making a decision? The survey revealed that the average shopper uses 10.4 sources of information, ranging from TV commercials and magazine articles, to recommendations from friends and family, to websites, ratings to blogs.

The 10.4 number is very significant when considering just a year earlier the average shopper used only 5.3 sources of information to make a decision.

What this means is consumers, shoppers, people have a plethora of information sources at their disposal and they are using them.

• 70% of Americans now say they look at product reviews before making a purchase
• 79% of consumers now say they use a smart- phone to help with shopping
• 83% of moms say they do online research after seeing TV commercials for products that interest them

So it’s painfully obvious that people, consumers, are going online via their PCs or smartphones BEFORE making a decision, before they stand in front of that shelf. And did you catch the last bullet, the one that read that 83% of moms, AKA women do online research? These are the same women that are driving the purchasing bus!

Even Though It’s Called Business To Business, There’s Still A Consumer On The Other End

It never ceases to amaze me how many business to business marketers fail to realize the one obvious truth that stares them in the face every single day… there is a person on the other end of that line, that email, that postcard, that whatever tool you are trying to use to sell.

A real, live, breathing human being who is going to do exactly the same thing every one else does when they want to learn more about something, anything… they are going to conduct an online search! Just as if they were in the living room searching on new slippers, these same people (operative word: people) are going to do a search on your company, your business, your service, etc.

In other words…

When a business to business marketer sends something to a prospect or lead or even existing customer, that person on the other end of that line is going to go online, do their search, and you better be there to win that Zero Moment of Truth, cause make no mistake about it, it will happen and if you don’t win it, someone else will.

And for those still not sold on ZMOT in a business to business setting or platform, perhaps hearing from these folks will help change your mind…

So, business to business marketers AND business to consumer marketers as well… are you winning the Zero Moment of Truth? And if not, what do you plan on doing to win it in the future?

Sources: Google Images, YouTube, Zero Moment of Truth

Named one of the Top 100 Influencers In Social Media (#41) by Social Technology Review, Steve Olenski is a freelance writer/blogger currently looking for full-time work. He has worked on some of the biggest brands in the world and has over 20 years experience in advertising and marketing. He lives in Philly and can be reached via email,Twitter, LinkedIn or his website.