A.I.D.A: A Simple Tool to Improve Your Advertising

If you've been involved with sales or marketing for a while you might recognize this acronym.

Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

It’s a time-tested effective way to get greater response from your marketing. Plus it’s easy to use and it doesn’t cost extra!

ATTENTION

The first job of any marketing message is to get the ATTENTION of the prospective customer. Whether you are using print advertising, direct mail, radio, TV or personal networking, your goal is the same. Get their attention so you have an opportunity to deliver your message.

Whatever you use to get your prospective customer to stop and pay attention, it should meet some criteria.

Your headline (or other type of attention-getter) should be:

*Honest
*Relevant to your marketing message
*In good taste (however you define good taste)
*Understandable

Some ways to get people's attention:

*Ask a question
*Cite a statistic or fact
*Make an offer
*Use a testimonial
*Make a declaration or statement

Examples:

“$9.95 Oil Change”

This is simple and to the point. Easy to understand.

“We Sell Houses Fast”

Again, simple and direct. This will appeal to people who want to sell their house quickly.

“Dr. Smith got rid of my back pain in one visit!”

A testimonial from a satisfied customer is a great way to promote professional services.

“Garage and Basement Overflowing?”

A question like this will resonate with people who have garages or basements that are full (or their spouses!). They read or hear it and will subconsciously answer “yes” making them a good candidate for any business that can help them empty their garage or basement.

Remember - your headline (or other attention-getting device) is not supposed to sell your product or service. The job of your attention-getter is to get people to stop and pay ATTENTION to the rest of your message. So, keep it simple and on point and you'll have better results.

INTEREST

Now, after getting your reader’s attention, you should follow-up with enough information to encourage people to continue reading.

This part of your ad should either persuade, inform or both.

It should follow logically from your headline. It should expand the idea or message of your headline. It could provide more details or supporting information. Or it could help demonstrate your expertise and therefore build your credibility in the eyes of the reader.

One of the best ways to develop interest from your reader or listener is to tell them what you can do for them. Talk in terms of their needs and how they might benefit from doing business with you.

The content for this part of your ad or marketing piece will come from your marketing message developed using the four steps outlined in Part One of this article (See our March 2004 newsletter).

The most important thing to remember is that at this stage, you need to give them a good reason to continue reading or listening. Make it worth their time.

DESIRE

Once you have your reader's or listener's attention and they are interested in your business, then you need to give them a reason to want to contact you. This is the DESIRE stage.

Some ways to generate desire:

-Demonstrate your credibility
-Offer a bonus or incentive
-Lower the buyer’s risk of doing business with you
-Offer a testimonial or case study of results
-Show how your product or service might help them

Think of why your current or past customers have done business with you. What was it that “sealed the deal”, that made them call or stop by? If you're not sure, ask them!

Give your prospect something to make them want to call you rather than “the other guys”. Think about your strengths as we defined them in Part One of this article (see our March 2004 newsletter).

Your strengths are what enable you to offer something no one else does. By communicating this to potential customers you give them a good reason to do business with you rather than someone else.

ACTION

This is the easiest part. Once you have gotten your reader or listener this far, you need to tell them clearly and simply what the next step is and give them a good reason for taking it. You create a Call to Action.

A common call to action is a time-limited offer. Or you could offer a bonus if they “call today”. The simplest call to action is just “Call 952-555-1212 today”.

If your business uses informational tools such as reports or free classes, then a call to action might be “Call for more information” or “Call to register for a free seminar”.

Some businesses use coupons for their call to action.

TIP: Read advertisements from other businesses and industries to see how they create a call to action. Then adjust it to fit your business.

Summary

Attention - Get the reader or listener to stop and pay attention to your message.

Interest - Give them enough information so they develop an interest in what you can do for them.

Desire - Make an offer they can't refuse or show them why you're so good that they wouldn't think of doing business elsewhere.

Action - Get them to take action now by calling or stopping by.

Final Thoughts

The A.I.D.A. formula is an easy and effective way to add power and impact to your marketing pieces. By using it throughout your advertising you can substantially increase the return on your marketing activities - at no extra cost.

Next month we continue with Part Three of our series where we look at effective ways to deliver your message for best results.

Kevin Stirtz
Coffee News Twin Cities LLC

Copyright 2004 Kevin Stirtz

Comments

[Akkiee]

Completely the same idea. I always use this AIDA concept when it come to designing a marketing scenario.

[celurgeneep]

What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away.

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