There are 3 moments of truth for any product or service.

If you fail any of them, people will leave, possibly never come back, and talk negatively about your product. 

If you nail them, you’ll get the sale, keep the customer, and have them raving about you to their friends.

Let’s dive into ZMOT, FMOT, SMOT:

#1. Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT)

Picture this: It’s the first warm weekend of the year and you hang out on your friend’s amazing new patio set. Suddenly your patio sets feels inadequate.

That is a Trigger Event to make you interested in buying patio furniture. And you’ve entered the Zero Moment of Truth: the initial research phase.

You ask your friend how she likes her patio set, where she got it (Costco), and how much it cost. It kicks off an entire 30-minute conversation about patio furniture with everyone there. 

(Yep, you’re over 30 and fully domesticated.)

This moment is key. What your friends say here will define how you feel about the different brands and products. If someone says they don’t like something, or that they love something, it’ll shape how you view the products and it’ll take a lot to change your opinion.

Typical ZMOT moments:

• Asking friends what they use
• Reading articles for “best patio furniture”
• Going to Amazon, Wayfair, or Costco and browsing the results
• Going to Reddit or Quora to find what people recommend
• Researching what an influential person or company uses

Important aspects during ZMOT:

• Positive word of mouth. Happy customers are the best sales people.
• Presence on listicles about “best X”
• A strong search presence for important keywords
• Presence in Reddit or Quora posts on related topics
• Paying for Search Ads to show up during the product research phase

#2. First Moment of Truth (FMOT)

You’re back from the party, and yep, your patio set looks sad in comparison. You want to replace it.

You head to Costco to take a look at the patio set and you find it, sit on it, and read the box. You also look at the other patio sets they have there.

This is now the First Moment of Truth: when you encounter a product or brand on a store shelf (or website) and decide to buy or not.

This is where the product’s presentation, packaging, in-store/on-site marketing need to grab your attention and convey the desired message to convince you to buy it.

Note: Oftentimes you don’t even get the chance for the Zero Moment of Truth prior to this because a product is presented to you without you having time or ability to do research.

Typical FMOT moments:

• Seeing a product on store shelves or on Amazon/Walmart/Costco/Wayfair
• Visiting a product landing page
• Seeing a product ad or an influencer talking about a product
• Seeing a promo email about the product

Important aspects during FMOT:

• Distinct packaging or presentation that makes it stand out (Pringles vs Lays chips)
• The right marketing to convince you that the product will do the “job” you want it to do. (More on the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework)
  • Social proof, strong copy, imagery, objection handling 
• A price that seems fair based on the perceived value they’ll receive.
• Previous positive brand interactions or perceptions, for example, they heard great things about your product during the ZMOT.

#3. Second Moment of Truth (SMOT)

Your friends said great things (ZMOT), and you liked what you saw in store (FMOT). You buy the patio set and bring it home. You throw the box onto the patio and open it up to assemble.

You’ve now entered the Second Moment of Truth: when you experience the product for the first time after buying.

Positive experiences during the SMOT can lead to repeat purchases, brand loyalty, and word-of-mouth recommendations, while negative experiences can lead to returns, complaints, and negative reviews.

Typical SMOT moments:

• You open up the product at home after buying it in-store or online
• You open up the app after downloading it on the app store
• You start using the software after signing up for the free trial
• You open up the first lesson of the online course you bought
• You start working with a new agency and you kick off your first week of work

Important aspects during SMOT:

• The unboxing experience. Does it feel high quality or cheap?
  • Apple invests a ton of effort into their unboxing experience to make it feel premium.
• The “onboarding” of it 
  • Is it easy to use? Or is it hard to use (or put together)?
  • Is it intuitive? Or is it confusing?
  • Are there instructions to guide or help you? Or are you left to your own devices?
• The “feel” of it
  • Does it feel nice to use?
  • Is it delightful?
  • Does it feel worth the price you paid?
• The effectiveness of it
  • Does it immediately prove itself as being able to do the job you bought it to do? 

Of course it’s not always this clean

There are various other ways this could go down:

1. You see an ad (FMOT), you visit the site, then you start doing research by asking friends and checking Reddit (ZMOT). You don’t buy now but you do about a year later.
2. You’re given the product as a gift and jump straight to the SMOT.
3. You use a Macbook at work for 2 years, then lose it when you change jobs. You then start doing research to buy a new laptop to make sure a Macbook is still the right decision. You started with SMOT and eventually entered ZMOT.

The order does not matter, nor whether an individual consumer does all three. 

What matters is that these are critical moments to convert and retain happy customers. And they all need to be considered and worked on.