Graphic: Google.

What’s ZMOT and why should you care?

Jim Lecinski, Managing Director, U.S. Sales & Service for Google, is the author of the e-book, ZMOT – Winning the Zero Moment of Truth.

According to Lecinski, “ZMOT is that moment when you grab your laptop, mobile phone or some other wired device and start learning about a product or service (or potential [mate]) you’re thinking about trying or buying.”

He adds:  “This is how consumers live and learn and make decisions today: from ratings and review sites, from friends on social media, at home and on the go, and (more than ever) from video. They learn from search results, user reviews, four-star ratings, text ads, image ads, news headlines, videos and even good old-fashioned official brand websites.  They learn and decide, in short, at the Zero Moment of Truth.”

Graphic: Google.

“When consumers hear about a product today, their first reaction is ‘Let me search online for it.’ And so they go on a journey of discovery: about a product, a service, an issue, an opportunity. Today you are not behind your competition. Your are not behind the technology. You are behind your consumer.”

Rishad Tobaccowalla, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Vivaki. Quoted in Winning the Zero Moment of Truth.

I recommend you put ZMOT on your reading list now.  Granted, the e-book is an example of terrific content marketing on behalf of Google.  But it’s also much more.  ZMOT will either reinforce what you already know and believe (refreshers are good) or it will help you catch up to where you should be.  Download a free copy here.

ZMOT is a simple, yet powerful reminder of something fundamentally important and critical in today’s business world:  “Can they [consumers and customers] even find your product?”  As Lecinski writes:

“The conversation is already going on.  Right now, at this moment, people are talking about your product online.  You can’t start it or stop it.  You can choose not to engage, but that’s really like sticking your head in the sand while a competitor jogs by to grab your customers.  Better to welcome the conversation and be part of it yourself.”

Headline

ZMOT – Winning the Zero Moment of Truth is an easy reading, 73-page e-book that every marketer, seller,  businessperson and customer touchpoint team member should read.

Harvey Chimoff is a hands-on marketing leader and business-wide collaborator who builds marketing capabilities in B2B/B2C organizations that drive customer success.