Traditionally, the model for marketing focus on these 3 stages: Stimulate, Shelf and Experience:
In this traditional marketing model, the first stage is the Stimulus. This is when your potential customer first see your product (e.g. on a poster, television commercial). Then, once they their interest is stimulated, they proceed to the second stage, the Shelf, at the store and decide whether to buy your product or not. That’s when they compare between your product and your rival’s. Finally, the last stage, the Experience, is when they decide to buy your product and own it for themselves.
These three stages was the marketing model for a very long time. Today’s veteran brand managers have policies, methodologies, training, shopper marketing agencies, partners and budgets to win at those three stages like a well-oiled machine.
Then the Internet came—it brought one more stage into the process, the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). Businesses that are still stuck in tradition miss that stage. Consequently, they’re losing sales and businesses to rivals who know how to include ZMOT into their strategy.
Is your online business still stuck on the tradition? Are you still schooled in the traditional marketing model? Ponder on these questions and we will talk more about ZMOT in the next article.
