(1:14) I'm willing to bet that each and every one of you have engaged in ZMOT in the recent past, if not today. It has become so commonplace that we probably don't even recognize it as a process.(1:09) If you have read a review on Amazon before making a purchase, checked UrbanSpoon to find a restaurant, looked at a YouTube video while researching a workout, or read a website before voting, you have engaged in ZMOT. Rest assured that boaters are engaging in similar activities before selecting your marina. A typical scenario might go something like this.
(1:02) A boater attends a dockside party and overhears another boater talking about their recent trip to Savannah, Georgia. It sounds interesting and he's been looking for some new places to visit so he quizzes the boater a bit more, maybe even hears a few comments from others who have been there. The boater thinks maybe this would be a good destination for an upcoming cruise. Now begins his ZMOT.
(0:54) Maybe the first thing he does is a general search on Savannah. He turns up the City of Savannah home page, a Visitors Bureau site, and information on Wikipedia.
(0:49) He remembers a boater saying there are big tidal shifts there. So next he goes to the Weather Underground site to their Sailing-Weather section to check the tide and current issues. Beside the tidal charts he finds the map with ActiveCaptain information. He checks out some anchorages and several marinas to see what other boaters have experienced. He also looks at any hazard markers to decide if he needs to play the tides.
(0:39) Finally he notices that one of the ActiveCaptain Partners is running a special. He notes the marina has the amenities he's looking for and good boater ratings so he decides to call to make a reservation.
(0:33) This is the power of being available at a boater's ZMOT. By being there at the very moment the boater is thinking about buying, and also when he's thinking about thinking about buying, you can present the information he needs to make his decision at the precise moment he needs it. And with ZMOT that could be any time of the day or night. Plus research shows that the ZMOT often occurs well in advance of a purchase.
(0:21) Google and Shopper Sciences did a study looking at what they termed "dwell time," the amount of time consumers spent considering their purchase. They wanted to understand how far beforehand consumers started their ZMOT. They looked at three diverse categories. For technology and automotive purchases the biggest spike was 4-6 months before the consumer purchase. For something as simple as groceries they found a big spike 4-6 days before purchasing.
(0:07) I could only guess what this might be for boaters but it does tell me that customers are researching you well in advance of coming to your marina. Make sure you are there when they do.
(0:02) And that's the marina minute.
