Zero Moment of Truth

This is a must read if you're in social media, marketing, business or want to be in any of those three. I separate social media and marketing because I really want you to consider this book if you're in the traditional marketing space. For those of you doing social media, and doing it well, you already know you are a marketer so I don't need to baby you into reading this.

Simply, you need to do it and learn some of these great insights.

The book is available for free at The Zero Moment of Truth (PDF, Kindle, Nook, ya-name-it)

These are some of the more memorable quotes and some of the interesting figures:

70% of Americans now say they look at product reviews before making a purchase.
83% of moms say they do online research after seeing TV commercials for products that interest them?

Talking about customers and how we buy stuff...

They browse, dig, explore, dream and master, and then they’re ready to buy with confidence. And what they learn, they share with others. ~DINA HOWELL

How the whole "Zero Moment of Truth" came to be, actually based on P&G's First Moment of Truth, that moment when you're standing in front of the shelves at the store and will pick between one brand or the other.

This moment was so important to P&G that they created a position titled Director of FMOT, and tapped Dina Howell to fill the job. And The Wall Street Journal found it so influential that they put it on the front page.

Oh but You think your business is different. Think again... I've been telling EVERYBODY for years that they need to be in this space, that they need to know what's going on and get involved. Some people listen, most tell me something like "my product doesn't sell well online" or "my service is different" You must reconsider that position, now.

If consumers will do research online for houses and health care, they’ll also do it for Band-Aids and ballpoint pens.

Although sometimes I hate the inconvenience of this, the truth is that we're a selfish society, and we want things right now and right here. Mobile is the key to the future of marketing and people want to talk to you when they feel like they want to talk to you. You must be engaged and available to cater to this; if you aren't someone else will be.

It really is understanding that you must be present in a conversation when they want to have it, not when you want to.

Reviews are huge, important if you want to be the company that a consumer chooses to buy from. Good reviews are awesome, but bad reviews are good too, for they give you authenticity. And people don't necesarily buy based on strangers' reviews, but rather..

People look for others who have been in the same situation as they are now.

And

They make decisions based on the opinions of people like themselves

The entry barrier for people making reviews is virtually zero now...

Yes, people take the time to leave messages online about how much they love Scotch Tape. That’s because the effort is down to zero. You would never get in your car, drive to the library and walk up to the second floor and ask a sleepy librarian for Consumer Reports before buying a 39-cent ballpoint pen. The effort and the item are imbalanced. But now there’s no friction. You can pull out your mobile phone and look it up — or leave your own opinion — on the fly.

Other things I learned...

Things change, but the mental change within us also breaks boundaries. Read the part about the 4 minute mile. Amazing.
This new model (even though it isn't new, just mainstream) is applicable to business to business and business to consumer type of enterprises.
Mobile searches on Google doubled last year.
Find Your Zero Moments
Answer the Questions People Are Asking

What are your thoughts on the whole thing? Are you already implementing the ZMOT principles?