Gone are days when a man is excited by an advertisement for a product, finds it in the store, and buys it. Or, at least there are now a few more steps to the process. The path to purchase for the modern man or woman may look more like this: George sees an ad for a new product, but mostly ignores it. One day his friend mentions that he had purchased the new thing and suddenly George notices the ads for it everywhere. He sees it mentioned on his Facebook feed once or twice and decides to investigate it himself on Google. He reads a few reviews on a blog as well as Amazon where he adds the item to his wish list to purchase later.
Modern shoppers now travel an endless variety of new paths to purchase a product. When was the last time you went right from an ad to purchase?
Traditionally advertisers broke down the path to purchase like this:
Stimulus: Consumers become aware of a product through advertising.
First Moment of Truth: Consumers makes a decision in the store to purchase the product. Since 70% of purchasing decisions happen in store, many marketers have focused on influencing that moment.
Second Moment of Truth: The consumer experiences the product and shares that experience with others. With word-of-mouth being the the strongest form of marketing, many efforts are also made by marketers to ensure a good experience.
These three points served as a rough outline for marketers until the digital space ushered in the Zero Moment of Truth (coined by Google). It is the step just before the first moment when a consumer does research, compares to alternatives, and finds coupons online to make an informed purchasing decision. This is where digital marketing comes into play. The Zero Moment of Truth has become such a vital role in marketing that many marketers have moved their entire marketing budgets from traditional television and print advertising to digital marketing.
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All of this is a peak into my work as a digital marketer. I help brands get found and guild shoppers along that path to purchase. You can find out more about how to impact your products Zero Moment of Truth at GoShoptology.com
