3 Tips to Improve Client Conversion Rates Using Google’s 7-11-4 Rule

Understanding consumer behavior is crucial for business success. The characteristics, mindsets, and values of consumers across all industries play an influential role in how consumers shop—both for smaller purchases, like new shoes, and larger purchases like which professional services firm they will use to outsource their small business’s accounting.

Previously, we believed there to be 3 stages in the purchasing process: stimulus (getting the idea for a purchase), the first ‘moment of truth’ (the actual financial transaction), and the second ‘moment of truth’ (the experience with the product or service purchased). However, in 2011, Google introduced a new stage, called the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), which encompasses researching before making a purchase, and just recently, Google added the 7-11-4 rule to this stage.

Google’s 7-4-11 Rule

The 7-11-4 rule outlines that consumers spend an average of 7 hours consuming content, engaging with 11 touchpoints, and visiting 4 different locations before finalizing their buying decision. While the way that individuals purchase goods and services is highly personalized to their own experiences and values, Google found evidence that suggests that most consumers follow a similar formula when making purchases.

Now the question is, how can you as a business owner leverage the 7-11-4 rule?

Here are 3 tips for using this rule to navigate consumer behavior and improve client conversion rates:

1. Optimize Your Online Presence to Capture Consumer Interest

The ‘7’ in the 7-11-4 rule represents the 7 hours of content buyers consume before purchasing. Now, hearing that consumers are investing a nearly full workday into engaging with content related to a product or service before purchasing may blow your mind. And yes—it is a staggering number. However, considering the many ways that consumers interact with content makes those hours much more digestible. 

Some examples of this are: 

• Social media posts and stories

• Livestreams

• Ads

• Podcasts

• Promotional and instructional videos

Consider something you’ve bought online. You may have seen an ad for that product pop up in your feed 10 times before you considered clicking to decide if it would be a good purchase. Once you click on the ad, you’ll probably read product descriptions and reviews, watch videos, and do some independent digging before you even consider adding that item to your cart. 

The question remaining is what can we, as business owners, take away from the ‘7’ of the 7-11-4 rule? 

The bottom line is the amount of research consumers conduct before purchasing is considerably more than in decades past.

So if the average consumer is doing this much research into the next skincare product they’re going to buy, your ideal client is certainly doing at least 7 hours, if not more, into engaging with your content and researching you before signing a service agreement.

The decision-making process is no longer spontaneous, thanks to so much information available to consumers. Our biggest recommendation for converting leads into sales during this stage is to optimize your digital marketing and online presence. 

From blog posts and social media to SEO-optimized website content, you must position yourself and your business as reliable sources of information to capture consumer interest early in the journey.

2. Ensure Consistency Across All Touchpoints

Consumers interact with an average of 11 touchpoints when making a purchasing decision. These touchpoints represent a myriad of both physical and digital interactions. Some examples include:

• Social media feeds

• Brochures and other promotional materials

• Hand-written cards

• Newsletters

• In-person events

• Visiting a brick-and-mortar location

There are so many ways that consumers can now interact with you and your brand while considering purchasing from you. 

This highlights the importance of consistency. 

Whether you are at a tradeshow, in your office, or interacting with your network on LinkedIn, your prospects will consider how you present yourself and your brand. Inconsistencies with visual identity, messaging, or the representation of your values can close the door on conversion opportunities before you even know someone is interested in working with you.

This means having a strong visual brand with a consistent logo, color palette, and typography, and using this brand across all digital and physical marketing materials. As well as ensuring your messaging is consistent—particularly when it comes to what you tell people in person at a networking event, for example, vs. what they will find when they visit your website or read your marketing materials. 

Each touchpoint presents an opportunity for businesses to make a lasting impression, meaning that crafting a cohesive, omnichannel marketing strategy that seamlessly integrates digital and offline experiences is essential for maintaining consistency and building trust throughout the client journey.

3. Know Where Your Leads Go for Information To Capture Attention During Their Visit

The final number in the 7-11-4 rule represents the 4 locations consumers visit before purchasing. This number emphasizes the need for businesses to know where consumers are going for information.

Whether it's your company website, physical storefront, office, other digital presence, or any other location, ensuring that products, services, and values are being communicated clearly and consistently across all locations can positively impact purchase decisions.As a business owner, one of the best tools for converting leads is knowing where your prospects are looking for information about you and your brand.

When you know this information, you’ll be able to focus your efforts on how you can convert leads by ensuring that relevant brand and product information is easily accessible and presented clearly.

For example, suppose you think most of your leads are looking at your website for information, but they’re looking at your company's social profiles. In that case, that should spur you to ensure that your social profiles accurately portray you, your firm, your values, and your services.

To be clear, this isn’t to say that you should neglect any particular location, but knowing which are most influential in your audience’s purchasing decisions can help you craft your messaging to capture their attention during their visit to that location.

So, What’s the Takeaway?

The 7-11-4 rule offers us an important framework for understanding how consumers are making purchasing decisions in 2024. When you understand the consumer behavior of your leads, you’ll be able to target your efforts more specifically and strategically to convert sales and better serve your audience.

At Correnti Marketing, our mission is to help businesses build and clarify their brands. Through our Branding, Website + SEO, Content Marketing, and Photography services for firms of all sizes, our team can help you capture the attention of your audience in the ZMOT stage, leading to more sales with your ideal client.

When you work with our team at Correnti Marketing, we’ll help you define your ideal client profile, craft messaging to attract them, and establish a consistent, clear presence for your firm online. We’ll help you decide where to focus your attention as it applies to the 7-11-4 rule.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you utilize the 7-11-4 rule to capture your audience’s attention and convert leads into clients.