The AIDA(R) Marketing Model

What is AIDA(R)?

AIDA(R) is an marketing model developed during the height of the industrial revolution by sales pioneer Elias St. Elmo Lewis, and has been widely used ever since. The letters stand for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action, with an added element of Retention. These five elements describe five different goals for a potential marketing campaign. When this model is applied, it is suggested that Awareness of your brand will lead to Interest in the services and products offered.

This leads to Desire and Action in obtaining said services or products, gaining valuable business and continuing to grow. Finally, the last part is Retention, which focuses on maintaining the interests and loyalty of your customer base, rather than letting your company slip from their minds.

How the AIDA(R) Model Works for Your Business

To understand how the AIDA(R) marketing model works, it would be best to break down all its essential elements, letter by letter.

Awareness/Attention

Customers can’t purchase your goods and services if they don’t know your company exists. The act of creating awareness for the brand or service through various mediums is an important part of every marketing campaign. You want your brand to describe the character of your company and its mission, so you can align your business model with your targeted audiences and attract the right clients and customers.

Aside from raising awareness of your company, you also need to be able to draw attention to your brand. User engagement across social media platforms can help you establish your brand’s audience online, while you should strive to expand your communication and availability when it comes to your followers, clients, and customers.

Interest

Generating interest means encouraging potential clients to know more about your company. It may sound like it’s easier said than done, especially with how many options there are to choose from in any industry. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in the sea of similar offers, so it’s important to stand out from the crowd, and make people want to look into what your company has to offer that makes it better than the rest. Keeping interest high and transforming it into a positive experience will become a priority in your marketing campaigns.

Desire

Desire is one of the key motivators in both everyday life and consumerism. It’s your job to convince the consumer that they need your product or service, whether they already know it or not. This will make it easier to turn leads and prospective buyers into clients and grow your business.

Creating an emotional connection to the buyer so they want the product or like the brand is a top priority according to the AIDA(R) model. Careful and detailed market analysis can help you navigate through the wants and needs of your targeted audience and focus on building that desire for your brand. Don’t cast too wide of a net, but don’t be too narrow either. Both could lead to people losing interest.

Action

It’s not enough to have a prospective client asking around. You need to hook them in and convince them to take the next step towards buying your product or employing your services. This is the step where they pick up a brochure, make a phone call or appointment, and ultimately makes a purchase.

You need to find the right balance of convincing them to purchase, without intruding on their planning process. Be helpful, resourceful, and assertive and make sure that you have established a smooth and user-friendly line of communication for your buyers to make the process easier for anyone involved.

Resources such as Channel Automation can help facilitate this step, with text bots and eCommerce functionality, streamlining the customer’s journey from asking the first steps to making a purchase.

Retention

Many businesses make a mistake by neglecting a customer who has already made a purchase, which risks losing any return business they might offer. It is important to focus on attracting new customers, but retaining old customers is just as important to maintain and grow your business.

Offering returning customers extra promotions, keeping them in the loop about new products and services, or announcing upcoming events and sales for your business will ensure that your company stays at the front of their mind, rather than risking them going elsewhere because they forgot about you, or found a promotion for the same products somewhere else.

Returning customer bases also provide the most useful marketing tool any business could ask for – word of mouth. People are more likely to believe a recommendation from a friend or family member than a stranger on the internet, so it’s important to build up that trust and maintain that good will between customer and company even after the business transaction is complete.

AIDA(R) Applied through Channel Automation

As with any marketing tool, automated marketing makes any campaign more efficient, including the AIDA(R) method. Channel Automation’s chat bots and automated services allow small businesses and non-technical users to service their customer base without becoming overwhelmed or taking too long and risk losing interest.

Efficiency and effectiveness is key for smooth and user-friendly business transactions of any kind. Whether it’s an email blast promoting an event, automated scheduling, or eCommerce integration, it’s important to be able to reach all your potential and returning customers with ease.

Though email and SMS automation, you can run both automated and custom marketing campaigns with ease and the entire team is constantly up to date with every notification. Give customers a personal touch and ensure their user journey is smooth and positive to start to finish to earn their trust and retain their business as your company continues to grow and evolve.