Google’s managing director of U.S. Sales & Service, Jim Lecinski, recently published an e-book about the Zero Moment of Truth. ZMOT is the defining, decision-making instant when you choose to buy one thing over another. That moment is occurring more frequently online now. Consumers want to learn about product details and prices through ratings and reviews. And they can, thanks to social sharing.

Lecinski notes that ZMOT joins two traditional moments of truth — when we’re in front of a product and select it, and when we appraise after the purchase. The Zero Moment of Truth, he explains, could happen at any time, perhaps even upon your first impression of a brand or product.

So does ZMOT really drive consumer decisions? Google commissioned a study from Shopper Sciences, involving 5,000 shoppers in 12 categories from hard goods to financial services, to learn how shoppers are actually influenced to make specific choices.

Shoppers in 2011 reported using an average of 10.4 sources to make a decision. That’s nearly double the statistic from 2010, a whopping increase that could depress marketers whose messages now have more competition than ever, from traditional sources such as TV commercials and magazine articles to websites, online ratings and blogs to friends and family.

With increased social sharing via mobile devices, the moments of truth are converging, says Lecinski. You could be in a store, looking at a potential purchase and simultaneously searching online to learn more about it.

And nothing is too small. What kind of toothbrush to buy, what color to paint your house — it all comes down to that final moment of truth. ZMOT is about social sharing, conversations that involve finding and providing information. It elevates always-important word-of-mouth marketing to an entirely new plane.

Just when you thought you understood social sharing and social media marketing, ZMOT complicates the scene. Or does it? Partnering with the experts at SocialStrategy1 can help you understand exactly how ZMOT relates to your business and help you strategize ways to embrace it.

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