In today's digital age, understanding consumer behaviour and their decision-making process is pivotal to the success of any brand. Google's 7-11-4 Rule sheds light on this by providing insights into how customers make buying decisions digitally. This Rule is a crucial aspect of comprehending the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), a concept coined by. In this article, we'll explore the 7-11-4 Rule and how it revolutionizes the customer journey, per Google's perspective.
The Evolution of the Customer Journey
Before delving into the 7-11-4 Rule, it's important to understand the transformation of the customer journey. Traditionally, the journey consisted of three main steps:
Stimulus:This was the initial phase where consumers became aware of a product or solution through advertisem*nts, posters, or flyers.
First Moment of Truth:In this step, consumers encounter the product in-store or online and decide whether to purchase it.
Second Moment of Truth:This phase involves the consumer's post-purchase experience, forming opinions about the product.
However, with the advent of the internet, the customer journey significantly shifted.
The New Customer Journey
Google identified a crucial addition to the customer journey known as theZero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). This is the phase where consumers educate themselves before making a purchasing decision. Google's 7-11-4 Rule sheds light on the importance of ZMOT.
Understanding the 7-11-4 Rule
Google's research reveals that, on average, consumers spend 7 hours researching a product, engage with 11 touchpoints, and do so in 4 different locations before making a purchase decision. Here's a breakdown of what the 7-11-4 Rule means:
- 7 Hours of Content:Consumers seek diverse content to assess brand credibility and understand product offerings. This content can take various forms, such as informative blog articles, instructional videos, audio content like podcasts, interactive social media sessions, and customer reviews. Both positive and negative reviews help consumers build a complete picture.
- 11 Touch Points:Touchpoints are interactions between the brand and the consumer, occurring online and offline. These include advertisem*nts, websites, social media posts, email newsletters, brochures, product displays, and more. Each touchpoint contributes to the consumer's perception of the brand.
- 4 Different Locations: Brands must recognize where consumers go for information. Ensuring the availability of relevant content in these locations is essential. These locations include the brand's website and social media channels (a necessity), offline locations like physical stores or events, third-party websites or review platforms, and the social handles of influential figures.
Utilizing the 7-11-4 Rule
To leverage the 7-11-4 Rule effectively, consider the following strategies:
- Content Strategy:Develop a diverse content strategy to cater to consumer preferences, combining educational articles, video demonstrations, audio content, and interactive social media sessions.
- Multichannel Presence:Maintain a strong online presence across multiple channels, ensuring consistency in branding and messaging.
- Customer Reviews:Encourage and monitor customer reviews, promptly responding to positive and negative feedback.
- Data Analysis:Continuously analyze consumer behaviour data to identify trends and adapt marketing strategies accordingly.
- Location Awareness:Understand where your target audience seeks information and ensure your content is available in those spaces.
Conclusion
In the digital era, the 7-11-4 Rule is a powerful tool for understanding and influencing consumer behaviour during the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). By embracing this Rule and aligning marketing strategies with the new customer journey, brands can effectively engage with potential customers and convert them into buyers. Recognizing the significance of ZMOT and the 7-11-4 Rule is crucial for staying competitive and successful in the ever-changing digital landscape.
FAQs
Google's research identified that, be it on your website, social media or in-person, a buyer will spend 7 hours, on average, researching your product, looking at reviews, comparing the competition and consuming content about your brand, across 11 touch points and in 4 different locations before they are ready to make ...
What is the 7-11-4 strategy? ›
The 7-11-4 model focuses on three key metrics: 7 touches, 11 days, and 4 methods. The goal is to have 7 interactions with your target audience within an 11-day timeframe, using a variety of methods such as social media engagements, email newsletters, website visits, or in-person interactions.
What is 7-11-4 Google research? ›
What is Google's 7-11-4 rule? Google's research has revealed that before someone buys from you, they need ☑️7 hours of engagement with your brand. ☑️11 touch points of engagement. ☑️4 separate locations of contact.
What is the 7 P's for Google? ›
Alphabet (Google) marketing mix, also referred to as Alphabet (Google) 7Ps of marketing comprises elements of the marketing mix that consists of product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence.
What are Google time rules? ›
The idea behind 20% time is deceptively simple: Google employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work hours, or one day a week, working on projects of their choice, unrelated to their regular job responsibilities.
What is the 7-11 4 formula? ›
The 7-11-4 formula is about building bonds with people and potential customers. In particular, it relates to you having 7 hours worth of interesting content available - blogs, videos, articles, interviews, books, etc – so people can spend time with you. 11 is about the number of interactions you have with those people.
What's the point of 7-11? ›
7‑Eleven aims to be a one-stop shop for consumers – a place people can always rely on to deliver what they want, when, where and how they want it.
What is the 7-11 rule in sales? ›
Research by Google suggests that a buyer needs 7 hours of interaction, across 11 touch points, in 4 separate locations before they make a purchase.
What is an L7 at Google? ›
Level 7: Senior Software Engineer
Senior software engineers at this level bear the duties of a Level 6 software engineer and are deemed equivalent to senior supervisors. They possess 10+ years of experience and have higher involvement in the L6 to get promoted to L7.
What is the Google Brain Team? ›
Robotics research at Google Brain has focused mostly on improving and applying deep learning algorithms to enable robots to complete tasks by learning from experience, simulation, human demonstrations, and/or visual representations.
Google is finally merging its two AI teams into one group. Google's internal Brain team, which was part of the Google Research division, is merging its operations with DeepMind, the UK-based company that was formed in 2010, and which Google acquired in 2014.
What is the 10 4 1 strategy? ›
The 10:4:1 rule is a simple way of setting a format for the style and types of content you will release. The basics behind the 10:4:1 rule is that for every fifteen posts on social media, ten will be of other industry expert's content, four will be your own content, and one will be a call to action.
What is 411 content strategy? ›
This rule says that for every six posts you create on your social media channels, four posts should entertain or educate, one post should be a “soft sell” and one post should be a “hard sell.” Let's take a closer look at how you might use the 4-1-1 rule.
What is the 7-11 multi domestic strategy? ›
7-Eleven is an example of a company using a multidomestic strategy. It tailors the product selection, payment methods, and marketing to the values and regulations in each country where it operates. For example, in Japan, 7-Eleven allows customers to pay their utility bills at the store.
What is 555 strategy? ›
The 555 strategy is an ambitious growth plan developed by W Group to expand within 5 verticals to generate 500M revenue in 5 years.
