ZMOT: why Zero Moment Of Truth applies to Business to Business too

The Zero Moment of Truth or ZMOT (“zee-mot”) refers to the online research a prospect undertakes when considering a new purchase. The ZMOT kicks in after one has seen an advertisement for a product a service, yet before the actual purchase is made.

In B2C ZMOT may happen in the aisles at WalMart or Albert Heijn. In B2B, this typically would be before even contacting the supplier by telephone or email.  ZMOT in short is the moment you pick up your smart phone, iPad or simply sit behind your desktop computer and check the web to learn about the product or service you’re considering to buy.

ZMOT in Business to Business

The key sources tapped into during ZMOT in Business to Business are search results, peer reviews in social media, microblogs (like twitter), weblogs, analyst reviews,  other word-of-mouth one comes across online and even advertising such as adwords, magazine ads and billboards. The 21st century, ZMOT puts the prospective customer tremendous ahead of the supplier. Even ahead of technology. ZMOT is the ultimate customer’s driving seat. Business to Business companies need to gain mindshare of their prospective customers during ZMOT in order to maintain their marketshare in the future. It’s therefore that online marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, inbound marketing and mobility no longer can be the realm of the B2C marketeer yet need to be adopted in Business to Business marketing and sales too. Fast.

Google’s Jim Lecinski

The term ZMOT was coined by Googles’ Jim Lecinski who wrote the e-book “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth”. More information can be found via zeromomentoftruth.com. Please note most examples and verbiage refers to B2C, shoppers and stores. Yet to me it’s clear B2B marketing and sales can benefit too from applying the ZMOT thinking.

Who invented the “First Moment of Truth”?

Wonder what the “First Moment of Truth” was in the first place? The FMOT (“eff-mot) was coined by P&G and refers to the three to seven seconds a shopper considered a product on a store shelf. This is the moment when all the advertising and recommendations a prospective customer had seen for a brand would either result in a purchase or not. FMOT for long has considered to be one of the ‘moments of truth’ for a product or service. The stimulus (the customer sees an ad for the product) and experience (customer uses it for the first time) complementing the FMOT as two other moments of truth. The “Second Moment of Truth” is all about the latter phase, the customer experience the product or service itself.

Want to find out what opportunity the ZMOT has in store for your business? Do drop us a note, and we’ll be in touch within 23 hours.