Google have defined the 'Zero Moment of Truth' - the point at which a consumer starts researching a purchase online. Jake Bailey of RichRelevance offers best practices for CPG marketers seeking to optimise a vital moment in the relationship between brands, retailers and consumers
The internet has changed the way consumers conduct pre-purchase research almost unimaginably in recent years. Recently Google christened this concept the 'Zero Moment of Truth' (ZMOT) – the moment a consumer researches a purchase online. To engage with a consumer who’s in 'learning mode' brands must supply her with real-time information. One of the most fundamental and effective ways to do that is to streamline your online merchandising strategy with the most influential e-commerce partners.
Two thirds of in-store shoppers begin their purchase process online, with a fifth starting at a retail site. That fifth either purchases directly on that site or navigates to a manufacturer’s site for more information. Therefore, supporting the consumer’s research phase necessitates not just listing your products, but executing a great online merchandising strategy - even (especially) when a brand is usually bought in a bricks-and-mortar store. Remember: consumers are turning to retail search results, product recommendations, and of course a brand’s own online collateral - a product image, video, and description - to arrive at their decisions. In order to leverage this opportunity, you must partner with retailers that can help you reach your objectives.
Choose the obvious retailers that both (1) account for your largest offline sales volume and (2) - even more important - have a strong online presence. Believe it or not, consumers are searching for your brand’s products - and relevant competitors’ - while navigating these sites. Today’s consumers want instant access to product information from any location and device (PC, tablet, phone, etc). Partnering closely with your digital retail partners is the easiest way to ensure you reach these consumers as they research.
Through e-commerce partnerships, there are six ways CPG online marketers can optimise in order to win the ZMOT:
Product availability
First and foremost, those brands who want to engage with consumers online must merchandise their entire product lines online. If possible, find a retail partner that can actually sell and ship your products to online customers (even CPG brands!).
Consumers are searching online for information about your brand: product descriptions, ingredients, specs, and promotions. (Forty percent of global online consumers save money by using coupons). If you really want to drive product sales, you must upload your products to retailer websites well before you launch marketing/product campaigns. This will be one of the first places consumers look once they see a new product launch. And online consumers are incredibly loyal to their online stores.
Product title/description
Are your products search-friendly? Are products and your firm easy to find on your retail partner’s websites, no matter how your customer searches? For example, Microsoft consumers might use the phrase 'Windows Upgrade' to search for the new version of Windows, so it’s critical to have this phrase as part of your product description. Otherwise, it’s very hard for a retailer’s search software to associate a given phrase or keyword with your products.
Images
Customers should see the same product online that they see in the store—and preferably at the same prices. Consistency is paramount— as is image quality. Can customers enlarge photos, zoom in or even rotate your product to examine product features and details? Are your images consistent across your strategic retail partners? You should also update these images as often as you change out your brand creative in-store.
Video
The ZMOT is visual. Increasingly, ad budget is better spent on videos that consumers find via search than on TV commercials consumers may skip via DVR. A brand story should be compellingly displayed on the right channel - and increasingly that channel is online video. In fact, 64 per cent of the users who saw an ad on YouTube had not seen the campaign on TV. If you already have video assets, make sure your retail partner has access to them to leverage your brand’s visual story.
Retailer search engine optimisation (SEO)
Most brands don’t realise they can work hand-in-hand with their retail partners to ensure their products are optimised for search engines. Curate product content carefully. Partnering with retailers to have certain keywords and tags added to your brand’s product pages is becoming an important tactic.
Brands should partner with retailers on which specific keywords they’d like to target for natural search results. As an example, search via Google for the phrase 'fur fighter'. You’ll see that this product, by partnering closely with retail vendors, owns almost the entire section of natural search.
Your retail partner’s advertising campaigns
Similar to SEO, it’s no secret that your retail partners are spending millions of pounds on their own paid marketing campaigns (paid search as an example). Many of these campaigns include your brand’s products. Do these campaigns feature your products the way your marketing department would prefer? Are there certain paid placements where you think your retail partner should be spending their money on your brand? If so, work closely with their paid marketing department, and maybe go so far as to subsidise their efforts. If you do this correctly, it’s a great way to capture shelf space and capture mindshare from competitors. As an example, if your retail partner is not bidding on a search term for 'beauty', and this is important for your brand, let them know, and/or share in the cost of the campaign.
According to a 2010 Forrester report, $1,007 trillion worth of retail sales in 2011 will be "web-influenced.” Brands should be influencing the shopping trip for an online or offline purchase during this powerful moment – the ZMOT – for the consumer. Has your marketing strategy kept pace?
www.richrelevance.co.uk