151: The AIDA Marketing Method for Hardware Startups

Michael Solomon is a Marketing Professor at Saint Joseph’s University, has written over 30 books, and teaches the Engage marketing course on Teachable. He is also a fellow writer with me at Forbes Magazine. Today Michael is going to share some valuable knowledge for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on what the AIDA marketing method is, how to understand each step of the marketing funnel, and how to best ensure you convert potential customers into product sales.Today you will hear us talk about:
AIDA Model
4 Stages of Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action
It doesn’t happen overnight
Marketing is a funnel
Selling attributes where customers are buying benefits
Focus on the problem to identify the solution
Simple is better, both in product design but also in new product marketing
Attention is arguably the most critical part of marketing
Attention requires both Novelty and Relevance
Make your hardware message clear
There is a sensory overload for information, so you need to stand out with your initial messaging
Having an interested physical product consumer is the holy grail, put a lot of value onto the fact that you have a person interested in your product.
Consumers are always looking for ways to minimize risk in the purchase
Unique Selling Proposition. What is the one thing that sets you apart from the competition? Again USP is based more on Benefits than Features.
The Interest phase is primarily cognitive, Desire is the emotional phase.
To create desire, show people what will happen in their lives if they use your product.
Think of your ad as a makeover to that person’s life
The overlooked importance of early adopter customers
The 80/20 rule of revenue
The call to action may be a feedback loop
The number of touchpoints to make a sale
Invest in the relationship to sell long term
Think of the value of the customer beyond the first sale
It is 7 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to re-sell to a prior customer
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