The Moment of Truth: A moment surrounded by an infinite supply

Over the past five years, we have covered various themes with Brand Growth. We have talked about the impact of media, innovation, creative development, and data on brand growth. All these themes have one common denominator: the consumer. It’s all about the interaction between the brand and the customer. And in an increasingly fast-paced world, this is increasingly determined by the ‘Moment of Truth’. In practice, this means that, as a brand, you only have one moment. As a marketer you are so busy with your brand and your marketing – you want to tell this, consumers have to think that – but perception is often determined in one moment. In a split second in the shop, you decide what to buy. When you use a product, you form your opinion in a few seconds. Especially in these times, where consumers are overwhelmed by supply, the moment of truth is increasingly important and difficult for brands to influence.

infinite supply

The needs of consumers have changed enormously in recent decades. Digitalisation has accelerated e-commerce, and the pandemic has also proved to be an accelerator of our changing purchasing behaviour. The convenience of home delivery brought many new players to the market. Fast grocery deliveries are skyrocketing; you can no longer go outside without seeing the brightly coloured couriers of Domino’s, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Getir. The explosive growth has even led to a halt on new ‘dark stores’ for fast grocery delivery in several Dutch cities. But the speed and choice go beyond our food. The way we watch TV and listen to music is unrecognisable for the last decade. Netflix offers countless series and films at any time of the day. Spotify gives you access to all the songs 24/7. As a consumer, you have access to an endless supply with just one click. This makes the moment of truth increasingly complex, competitive, and important. And therefore, an interesting theme for Brand Growth.

a few seconds

Because of these developments, I also notice a growing need among our clients to better understand the consumer and this interaction. The pandemic also raised enormous questions. Last year, in our research into the role of data in brand growth, we saw how important it is for brands to have continuous insight into the developments in the market, how the consumer’s world changes, and how you adapt to this as a brand. It turned out that successful companies embrace data-driven decision-making much more often (72%) than unsuccessful companies (39%).

“In marketing, you only have a few seconds to win from your competitors. But there are many hours of marketing and campaigns preceding that moment.”

To win in the Moment of Truth, brands need to focus on that moment and use all marketing initiatives to differentiate themselves at that moment. You can compare it to a sprinter who has less than 10 seconds to prove themselves during an Olympic final. That’s when they need to perform, but he doesn’t just do it in those 10 seconds. To win, thousands of hours of training precede. In marketing, you only have a few seconds to win from your competitors. But there are many hours of marketing and campaigns preceding that moment. Olympians ask themselves with every meal, every training session, every choice they make whether it contributes to the goal, that 10-second moment of truth.

The category-specific lens is missing

Much is written in the literature about the purchasing process. McKinsey describes the consumer decision journey where the conscious orientation phase is the first step. The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Byron Sharp is convinced that consumers make decisions based on mental and physical availability. Google talks about the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ in which the consumer looks up a product online before making a purchase. Years ago, Procter & Gamble introduced the ‘First and Second Moment of Truth’, where the consumer looks up the product, and the moment of purchase and use.

What I miss in many of these theories is the category-specific lens. In many categories, the moment of truth is a matter of seconds, but this is certainly not the case for all products. You have low-involvement products where consumers are little involved in the choice process. Think of chocolate, chewing gum, and anything you buy regularly for little money. And you have high-involvement products like holidays, cars, washing machines, and insurance. These aren’t purchases you make on a whim. People often make a list or compare their options. The consumer journey fits better with this category, while mental availability belongs more to FMCG. If you define three steps in the moment of truth: zero where you start orienting online, first the moment you decide, and second when you are going to use it, then for the high involvement category, the zero moments of truth is very important. But for others, like a bag of crisps, you don’t research online first. That’s where the first moment of truth comes in. In our Brand Growth interviews and study this year, we are curious to know how organisations view this, and whether the theories from the literature are more or less applicable to their brand.

Winning at the moment

It will be interesting to see how organisations deal with the moment of truth in 2022. Have brands defined their moment of truth, and if so, what is this moment? Is it brick and mortar, online, or is it about search behaviour? Some marketers do not stick to one moment but argue that there are four or five moments where they can win over the consumer. If companies have properly defined the moment of truth, it helps them to bring focus to all other marketing choices. Like the Olympian, brands can ask themselves with every campaign and activation: will this help me win in the moment of truth? I am looking forward to our conversations with marketers and insights managers this year. After all, in a time when consumers have more choice than ever, the impact of the moment of truth is an important question.