Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) is a concept being promoted by Google to help marketers and business owners better understand how pervasive the internet has become at influencing the buying process. The University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School's "Knowledge@Wharton" interviewed Google's Jim Lecinski to better understand this marketing philosophy.

Here are some of the highlights from Google's research:

•    "ZMOT is... a new mental model for modern marketing. ZMOT reflects a very important change in how potential clients are making their purchase decisions."
•    “When consumers are confronted with too many options for suppliers, they freeze. They cannot make a decision.”
•    “...conversations have always been important in a consumer’s buying decision. Where before consumers could only talk to their friends, family and neighbors, now consumers have the whole world...”
•    “The other aspect is related to feedback. A company must find out what’s happening by listening and analyzing the conversations, rather than on text mining.”

This all sounds great but how can architects, landscape designers, home builders and interior designers use this information to market and grow their business by selling more projects? If you think Google is on to something with the ZMOT concept, than content driven inbound marketing is a tactical process for applying ZMOT concepts to your vertical market. Inbound marketing is a process designed to attract, convert, and close prospective customers. Here's how it works.

Attract Visitors

First you must attract your ideal client base by knowing what they are really interested in and what they want to read. Use blog articles and social media to drive traffic to your landing pages by providing useful information that is related to what they really want to know. For instance, do they want to know the best ways to select to a new home or do they want to know how many homes you’ve built in the past few years? It is more than likely the former!

Get your blog posts and social media noticed by employing important keywords in the content. In social media that is easily done with hashtags, which should be used once or twice in each update. However with blog posts you should concentrate on one term which you use up to 9 times for every 600 words.

Convert Visitors to Leads

Then convert your visitor into a lead with a call-to-action and a landing page that by offers prospects a deal that is of some value. An exclusive tip sheet, ebook or whitepaper might be something that they are interested in and something that has value for your potential client.

Use excellent call to actions that guarantee what the visitor will get if they click through and sign up for your e-mailing list or request a quote. Giving them possession and making it come from their point of view (i.e. My and I, instead of yours) can really give a boost to your conversion rates.

Close Leads Into Customers

Close the sale with an effective use of email marketing. Email marketing accounts for nearly 1 in every 9 online purchases, but it is only good if you send emails which are relevant to the client. For instance if they have downloaded an ebook on the best bedroom designs – send them information on your bedroom design services.

Delight your customers through social media, newsletters and smart calls to action, they will spread the word of your services to their peer group – effectively turning them into a mini-marketing team for your business.

The proper use of inbound marketing techniques is critical for the success of your business, as long as you can utilize the right message to communicate with your potential client base – the essential element of ZMOT.

About Michael Conway and Means-of-Production

My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition. Contact me for a free-of-charge consultation and marketing review. It takes about 40 minutes and you'll be provided a list of actionable improvements designed to solve your specific marketing problems.