As a coffee shop owner, when do you want to grab a bit of your next potential customer’s attention? When they’re deciding where to go for a cup of coffee, of course.
This moment is something Google has dubbed the
Zero Moment of Truth, or the ZMOT. The idea is that after a consumer has seen your advertisements, or one of your competitors, but before they make a purchase, there is a final chance to influence their decision. For Google, this moment occurs when somebody does an Internet search and finds reviews and ratings about a product category and specific products. This can happen at home, when consumers are planning a purchase, or right in the middle of the shopping process, as when someone whips out their smart phone and does a search on the product sitting in front of them. Only then, Google tells us, will this new kind of shopper commit to making a purchase.
It’s a great idea, and it neatly captures a lot of new thinking on how to market and advertise in the age of social media. For instance, ZMOT captures why traditional advertising isn’t the best way to capture your market’s attention. Rather, it is best to get your message in front of your market when they are actively seeking out a product like yours, and not, for instance, when they are watching a ball game or reading the local news. Not only will they be much more receptive to your message at that instant, but it is the LAST possible moment to steal that business away from your competition.
Yeah, that’s great and all, but what does it mean for your coffee shop? For coffee, the buying moment often looks something like this:
- Somebody out on the town, out of their own house, wants a cup of coffee. They think about where to go. How do they decide?
- Often, they’ll let their eyes do the shopping. If they’re on the street, they may look for the nearest place. But what if they’re in the office, or in a store, and they can’t see a coffee shop?
- This is the Coffee Moment of Truth (CMOT). In the past, our thirsty friend may ask somebody, or just go wandering. The might pull out their smart phone and do a search. How can you reach out to this poor coffee lover and let them know of your fantastic shop, just around the corner and with great coffee and fantastic pastry to go with it?
Now this coffee lover has a much better option. They can go to Find Me Coffee and get a map of all the coffee shops in the area they want, even right around them on a street corner down town. And this is your moment too.
With Find Me Coffee, the coffee lover can check out the descriptions, ratings, and reviews for all the coffee shops. Some coffee shops might be promoting their latest offering, and this will show up on the list of nearby coffee shops. Some might be promoting a special deal, and this will show up as a banner add, letting them know about the new flavours available or new coffee cake being offered. And some might feel their phone buzz with a notification, as a push marketing message arrives from your coffee shop, letting them know about the free coffee promotion you’ve got going. Now the coffee lover knows exactly where they want to go.
This is Find Me Coffee, and it’s good news for both the coffee lover looking for a coffee shop, and the coffee shops looking for their next customer. Right at the moment the coffee lover wants to know about all the best coffee shops and best coffee deals in the neighbourhood, they have exactly that. And right at the moment you want to capture the attention of the customer around the corner, you’ve got that too. No need to run an expensive advertising campaign or build an even more expensive web site.
You’ve captured the Coffee Moment of Truth.
Posted on: 2012-06-25 12:00 AM 
