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Why ZMOT is Relevant for B2B Marketing: 4 Data-Based Reasons

Posted by Christine B. Whittemore on Jan 10, 2012 10:46:00 AM

This is a 3 minute read.

ZMOTZMOT [aka the Zero Moment of Truth] makes intuitive sense to me -- as I explained in Inbound Marketing and ZMOT: Perfect Together?

I see ZMOT happening all around me - for consumer as well as B2B related purchases. Before making purchase decisions, a fast-growing majority of us explore online. In my experience very few business meetings go by without at least one participant conducting a web search on the topic being discussed to obtain additional perspective to share with the group.

And yet I hear from seasoned executives "that's not how business is done in my market."

Thanks to Google's Jim Lecinski, ZMOT author, I have data proving otherwise based on his December 9, 2011 Google and the Marketing Cloud webinar [link to register for replay].

Why ZMOT is relevant for B2B marketing:

1. Since the recession began, 62% of business buyers say they spend more time researching products and services online during the procurement process.

2. Online research is universal across B2B categories and has been increasing steadily since 2007.

3. It is also universal across all audiences. More specifically, 65% of the C-Suite conduct 6+ work-related searches daily; 99% of small business owners say search engines are the most effective tool for finding suppliers; and 100% of policy influencers use the web to research issues.

4. Offline exposure prompts more online search: word-of-mouth: 66%; print ads: 64%; TV: 53% and radio: 40%.

Winning at ZMOT for B2B marketing requires [For more on this section, read ZMOT, and what it means to B2B marketers]:

  • Having a champion
  • Understanding what the ZMOTs are for your business so you can..
  • Answer the questions people are asking [think content!]
  • Optimizing for ZMOT [including social and mobile!]
  • Being fast
  • Using video [again think content!]
  • Jumping in!

This video offers perspectives from B2B marketers on how ZMOT is relevant to their businesses. [To view directly on YouTube, click on Winning the Zero Moment of Truth - B2B.]

Are you surprised by any of these examples?

Although this is the B2C version of the ZMOT presentation, the thought-process for B2B is the same. I include it here so you think about the implications of ZMOT on your business and on the people around you - including your customers and their customers...

[View more presentations from iCrossing]
If you've been part of the camp saying "that's not how business is done in my market", do you still feel the same? Or, have you been breaking down and sneaking a few online searches via your laptop or mobile device while no one has been watching?
 
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