Welcome, this is Eugene, thank you for joining me. If there's just one takeaway from my class, I hope it's the word z mark. z Mark stands for the zero moment of truth. When you have a moment, Google's demark and download the easy to read book winning the zero moment of truth. Understanding the Zima principles will make the world of difference for your online store. Whether you shopping for sneakers, concert tickets, or honeymoon in Paris, the internet has changed how we decide what we buy.

At Google, they call this online decision making moment, the zero moment of truth or simply Zima. The z marks refers to the moment in the buying process when a consumer researches a product prior to making a purchasing decision. Additionally, the buying cycle or buying process is broken down into three steps. First you have the stimulus, that's when you need or you want to buy something. Second is the moment of truth. This is where you have to make a selection decision.

And lastly is the post purchase. This is your experience with the product after you bought it. The first moment of truth was introduced to us by Procter and Gamble. It represents the decision stage after the stimulus when you are ready to make a purchasing decision. The first moment of truth is that moment when you're in the store and you're faced with that buying decision, after that comes to post purchase, that's when you get home and you are either happy or dissatisfied with your purchase. Now let's look at an example.

You're in the shower and you run out of shampoo that is referred to as the stimulus. Next you go to the store, you find the shampoo aisle and now you're afraid For the first moment of truth, also referred to as at the shelf decision. You cannot pick the same shampoo that you always buy. Or you can choose the most colorful bottle shaped like a unicorn with an eye catching label. Then you go home, you use your new shampoo, and you either love it or you hate it. That's also known as the second moment of truth for your experience with a product.

Google then came along and determined that today's consumer wants more after the stimulus and before they go to the store, or place an order online, the modern consumer will do his or her own research. This research is referred to as the zero moment of truth and it's inserted in between the stimulus and the first parameter true. consumers will now go online to a company's website and they will read reviews about the product. They will go to their favorite social media sites and they will ask their friends and followers about the specific product and they will ask their friends for their opinions. Then and only then When they are ready and armed with all this new information, will they go ahead and make a purchasing decision. Now as before, when they get home and they use the new product, they will either love it or hate it.

However, the next stage of the mark is that the users second moment of truth, or the experience now becomes the next users zero moments. That's when they go back online. They go to the company's website, their right to review, and I talk about the product that will also go back to their favorite social media sites, and they will tell their friends about their experience with the product. And yes, you can admit it. We all have that one friend that's on Facebook that shares way too much detail about their lives, including the experience with a new brand of shampoo. So how does that affect your paid, owned and shared media?

Let's look at these terms first. paid media is advertising and media you direct and you pay for yourself. Think of Google and Facebook ads. owned media are the assets your company controls, and that you can use to promote and reinforce your brand. For instance, think of a fleet of delivery vehicles that you can advertise on the side. Or think of Tiffany's little blue box.

Owned media takes us back to the ratings and reviews on social media we discussed earlier. Have you earned the trust of the people that you are selling to and that you inspire them to talk about your product? Have you given them a platform? And if so, what are they saying about you? shade media are the area's you may not directly control, but your brand can feature and be promoted. Think about someone's tagging you or your company on Instagram without being asked to do so.

What does all this mean for you and your webstore? Let's take a quick look. The buying the seasons journey has changed. The map is now a vital addition to the classic three step. process of stimulus, shelf and experience. What was once I message is now a conversation.

Shoppers today find and share their own information about your products in their own way and on their own time. Word of mouth is stronger than ever. For the first time in our history, word of mouth is a digitally archived medium, and no moments of truth is too small. If consumers are willing to do online research to buy houses and cars and healthcare, they'll also do it to buy band aids and ballpoint pens. It doesn't matter what you sell, you are always subject to these new rules. Consumers now have the means and the desire to create your marketing message.

And then they distributed they share it they amplified they remix it and they shape it to meet their needs. Your job is to listen and to engage with what's being said. How do you prepare your ecommerce store for the Let's take a look at what ecommerce website owners can do to capitalize on this phenomenon. First of all, take care of SEO best practices, things like technical factors that influence your rankings, link building content engagement, and we'll do a lot more about optimizing SEO for ecommerce sites in future classes. Your website has to be mobile friendly, and fully responsive. This is not a nice to have options anymore.

It's a must. Give your customers access to a ratings and review platform, either through a plugin or standalone service depending on your ecommerce system. Be active and engaged in social media blog consistently and send out a regular newsletter. Video Marketing is hot. Don't miss out by not having videos on your website, as well as in your social media. Use promotions.

Consumers love coupons and discounts and bogos and friend, refer a friend and contest raffles and the list just goes on and on. Always offer great customer service and have online chat available on your site. Invest in an automated marketing system to keep customers and subscribers engaged. And it's also a great vehicle for lead and demand generation. z moto is here to stay. Research and comparison shopping is now part of every shoppers repertoire.

Make sure that your online store meets and exceeds the needs of your customer. I'd like to share one resource with you. It's called think with Google. Yes, I'm a big fan of Google's I like their products, and most of them are free. And I really like that. Think with Google is a great online marketing resource.

Get all the latest data insights and inspiration directly from Google in their own words. They will give you compelling data, big ideas, creative juices, and put Google research and insights behind your thinking. They send out regular emails and I mentioned the three subscribe at WWW dot think with google.com or just simply search things with Google. In the next class, we will look at creating a multi touchpoint marketing experience and the elements that make up this tried and tested system. We'll examine how it impacts your business development, how it adds value. I will promote your brand by building your brand, how it increases demand by driving sales, and how it builds audience engagement and promotes customer loyalty.

I really appreciate you spending some time with me. I know your time is valuable. So do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments or suggestions. If you can't tell. I really love this stuff. See you in the next class.