In cooperation with Google last week, we hosted our first Engage event, inviting a handful of local business owners to participate at our Oakbrook Terrace office. When word came of free food, G-swag, and Google bigwigs answering questions real-time, the event RSVPs came flooding in. Despite this also being timed with the biggest winter snowstorm of the year, the event carried on uninterrupted. Chicagoans are tough! For those of you that missed out, here is a brief recap of what stuck out in our minds during Google’s 90-minute presentation:
Google is focusing in on extending their marketing knowledge to small and mid sized businesses. A bit data heavy at times, all three speakers really opened the information floodgate early. VP of Google’s Americas Marketing, Lisa Gevelber, opened the live presentation with the direction of Google’s marketing efforts, and the effect technology is having on how advertising is displayed, absorbed, and reacted to.
It was pretty evident that Google believes strongly in what they refer to as the Zero Moment of Truth -- or simply ZMOT, presented by Google Director of Agency Development, John Nicoletti, with charts and graphs and data (Oh My!) to reinforce the moment that truly influences and motivates a potential customer.
The presentation then segwayed into what may have been the foundation of their message: the evolution of consumer search behavior. Here Mr. Nicoletti provided an extensive analysis of the increasingly informative customer.
Consumers are finding it well worth their while to research before they buy, share their findings, and turn away from poorly received items. It was refreshing even for Google to reiterate the importance of reviews.
Another interesting tidbit is the exponentially growing search volume since just a year ago for coupons (+339%), local search itself (+177%) and reviews (+95%).
The majority of the presentation was built around their Three Core Principles: 1) Focus on the Individual, 2) Champion Customers, and 3) Take Risks, Say Yes. It was nice to hear Google Head of Channel Managed Agencies, Bickey Rusell, outright stress the importance of businesses working with partner agencies.
The live presentation was recorded, and it’s definitely worth a watch. We are pretty sure there is something in here for everyone.
EZlocal extends a very grateful ‘thank you’ to all the attendees who strapped on the snowshoes!
