MOMENTS OF TRUTH

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 Zero moment of truth (ZMOT) : It is the pre-purchase stage where the customer

do some research about the product he is willing to purchase. This can be done by
looking at the reviews or comparing the product available on different platforms
in terms of price, expected delivery time, quality etc.
 First moment of truth (FMOT): when the customer visits the website and look at
the various products, he has his first moment of truth.
 Second moment of truth (SMOT): Here, the purchase is made and experience
the services. For example; the quality of fabric received vs what was mentioned
on the website or bass of a speaker purchased from amazon.
 Third moment of truth (TMOT): There is this option of giving feedback on
various parameters like about the quality, packaging, delivery time etc. This
fulfils the criteria of the third moment of truth.
 Ultimate moment of truth (UMOT): It is the stage when the customer makes up
his mind whether he’ll purchase the product from that website or not after
experiencing the services.

Example of moment of truth (Amazon user)

 ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH – for example if a person needs a laptop for personal
use, he begins to search for the product online, this experience will be known as zero
 moment of truth. This is the initial research phase of the customer where the research
is being done before making any purchase.

 FIRST MOMENT OF TRUTH – after the need generation of laptop, now the
customer visits website or Amazon app in search of varieties of laptops according to
the budget. In this stage the customer experiences its first moment of truth. At this
level, having a professional website with an on-point appearance and feel, as well as
effectively conveying your value proposition, is critical for persuading visitors. In this
level the customer who needs a laptop will start considering purchase.

 SECOND MOMENT OF TRUTH – this level of truth is divided into two stages i.e
becoming a customer and experiencing product. In the first stage, the visitor will
purchase laptop and becomes customer of Amazon. During the second stage the
customer will use laptop and either experience cognitive dissonance (post purchase
dissatisfaction) or feels satisfied.

 THIRD MOMENT OF TRUTH – this moment of truth is the time period between
the purchase of laptop and arrival of laptop. This level is related to the customer
service, whether the customer is happy with the service provided by the Amazon or
not. For example, how much time was taken in delivering the laptop, any email
updates regarding the laptop were there or not, any customer support service was
present or not (in case of delay in delivery) etc. In short, this level is more about
customer impression about the company or brand during the time period between the
purchase and arrival of the product.

 ULTIMATE LEVEL OF TRUTH – in this level the customer decides whether he

wants to re-engage with Amazon or not in future terms. If the customer finds the
laptop was nice and meets his expectation, the customer decides to continue with
amazon. But if , he faces cognitive dissonance, he may choose to discontinue with
amazon and may switch to amazon competitors for satisfaction.