Imagine this: you’ve been invited to be the guest of honor at a fabulous party. Absolutely everybody will be there to see you being honored, including your grade school crush and that frenemy who always manages to one-up you, no matter what. Now answer this question: what are you going to wear?

Almost everyone answers this question with some form of online research. Perhaps you’ll look for ‘fantastic suit’ or ‘party dress’ or ‘award ceremony attire’ – the precise words aren’t as important as the concept that you’d like to see a selection of your options in a given category, rather than one specific item. This is your I-Want-To-Know moment, as defined by Google.

After doing some browsing, you find an outfit that absolutely does it for you. Everything’s just perfect – the color, the style, even the price. You know the minute you see it that these are the clothes that are going to make you look absolutely fantastic. This is your I-Want-To-Buy moment.

Lots and lots of business owners target their marketing strategy at the I-Want-To-Buy moment. This isn’t a bad idea; promoting the fact you have what the customer wants to buy at the exact time they want to buy it can drive sales. But it isn’t the only promotion opportunity. Shifting the focus a little earlier in the process to the I-Want-To-Know moment can deliver significant rewards.

Let’s think back to this fabulous party you’re going to. If there were informative articles on how to be a fantastic guest of honor, or a funny video of ten tips on gracefully handling your frenemy’s backhanded compliments, or a slideshow of festive hairstyles, would you check them out? The odds are pretty good that you would, even if you don’t make any actual clothing purchases at this time. Google recently shared insights from Mike Grehan, who found that people who spent time with a brand during the I-Want-To-Know moment came back to that brand for the I-Want-To-Buy portion of the journey.

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If you’re not wholly satisfied with the results you’ve gotten focusing on the I-Want-To-Buy moment, consider expanding your messaging efforts to include the I-Want-To-Know moment. Serving your customers at that time can lead to increased sales later.