The Model You Didn’t Know you Needed for Sales

The AIDA model, or attention-interest-desire-action, is a tried and true blueprint for successful digital marketing and sales techniques. It was developed in the 1800s and has been used in everything from door-to-door sales to million dollar advertising campaigns. The AIDA model is a useful way to think about the process of attracting attention. There are many different ways to use the AIDA model depending on what you're selling and who your target market is. Let’s dive in!

What is the AIDA Model?

The AIDA model is a simple yet powerful tool that can be used to create effective digital marketing and sales campaigns. The premise is simple: get the customer's attention, grab their interest, create desire, and then convince them to take action. There are many different ways to use the AIDA model depending on what you're selling and who your target market is. By understanding the needs and motivations of your target audience, you can create messaging that not only grabs their attention but also resonates with them on a deeper level and drives them towards taking action.

The model begins by getting the attention of the customer. You can do this with a catchy headline or by making an interesting statement. Once you have their attention, you need to pique their interest by providing information that is relevant to them. Next, you need to create desire by showing them the benefits of using your product or service. Finally, you need to get them to take action. 

Digging Deeper: How to use the The ADA Model in Your Advertising

The AIDA model simplifies the way you need to funnel your audience into taking action. Before you start applying this funnel to your own business,  it’s important to keep in mind that the AIDA model isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Different people will be motivated by different things and it’s important to know your audience and what will motivate them to purchase. Once you have done your market research and are confident in knowing your audience’s tendencies and motivations, you need to figure out how to make them aware of your brand.

Awareness: Attracting Attention

You can’t engage with potential customers if they don’t know you exist. No attention equates to no traffic and therefore, sadly, no sales. In the first stage of the AIDA model, you need to make customers aware of your brand and what you offer. Types of content you’ll use in the awareness stage include advertisements, videos, podcasts, influencer marketing, press releases, and social media.  Your biggest struggle may be obtaining the interest of your target audience. Every day, thousands of advertisements are dumped on a person making it really hard for businesses to stand out.

Here are some ways to cut through the noise and attract your consumer’s attention:

• A Bold Headline: Make a striking statement, use data and numbers, or present a question. A person subconsciously looks for an answer to any question. It is important that the headline elicits emotion and piques curiosity in the consumer.

• Striking Graphics and Videos: Distinctive, colorful visuals are a simple and proven way to attract attention. Include unusual shapes, animations, and non-standard color schemes to set your content and advertising apart from your competition. 

• Shock Your Audience and Do the Unexpected: Shock your audience and advertise in unforeseen places and use images in unconventional ways.

Interest: Maintaining Interest and Warming Your Audience

You have their attention at this stage, now what? You need to KEEP their attention. You’ve captured a few minutes of a busy user and convinced your audience at this point to click a link, watch a video, or seek you out online. Now you need to keep them engaged. The stage of interest subconsciously forms the desire to purchase a product. This stage of the funnel generally uses copywriting and web content, newsletters, blogs and articles, and email campaigns.

Here are some ways to warm your audience:

• Find pain points your demographic suffers from and demonstrate the benefits of using your business to solve them

• Educate and inform your audience. Offer information and stay relatable so your audience starts to know, like, and trust you. 

• Using funny, entertaining videos, graphics, or music that resonates with your audience will entice them to engage with your content. 

• Keep it short, don’t bombard your audience with too much text or information. Be sure to be concise and to the point. 

Desire: You Become the Solution

Here is where you help your readers see the benefits of following your advice or taking your recommended action. You need to demonstrate to them how your product or service can help their real life problems. Appeal to emotion by SHOWING them how you can alleviate their pain points. It’s important to focus on your benefits rather than your features in this stage of the funnel and make your competitive advantage apparent to your consumers so they know why they should choose you over the shop down the street.

Here you can:

• Highlight the benefits of your services and educate your audience. You want them to notice what sets you apart from your competitors and be confident you are the solution they NEED.

• Use compelling testimonials of how your business helped other customers.

Action: Encourage Action

At this point you’ve grabbed your audience’s attention, made your audience aware, piqued their interest, and created a desire for them to purchase from you. All that’s left is compelling them to purchase from you. A simple and direct call-to-action. This can be a link to click for more information, a link to schedule a call or consultation with you, sign up for a free trial, create an account, or add the item to their shopping cart.

Because the AIDA Model was founded so long ago, there has since been other things to consider such as customer satisfaction and retention after the sale. Though those things are important, these four stages are the basis of a sales funnel that will yield great results if used correctly. 

The AIDA model is a classic marketing tool that can be used to achieve success with any marketing campaign. By understanding what each stage of the AIDA model represents, you can create a marketing strategy that is tailored to your specific audience. If you're not sure where to start, or you would like help putting your marketing plan into action, schedule a consultation with our team today. We would be happy to help!