4 Simple Steps to Great Marketing

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

The AIDA marketing model is a simple four-step marketing strategy has been around since Claude Hopkins, nearly a century ago.

It’s got more identities than Batman.

Some call it A-I-D-A (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). Others say it’s the 4 Ps (Promise, Picture, Proof, Push).

Old-fashioned? Maybe. But even at a century old, it still works.

Here’s how.

Attention or promise

The first step is the big idea. It’s the headline. The one that has to make anyone who sees or hears it stop and look. Here’s where you tell readers what you can do for them, and why they want it. The box, the book, the solution to the problem that’s got your prospects staying up late at night. Use the headline to engage their emotions, stir their curiosity, or ignite their greed. The headline has to do most of the work, so make it a good one.

Interest or picture

Now we’re telling people more about what they’ll get. This section builds on the headline to paint a mental picture. We’re getting into more details about results. We’re telling readers how much better they’ll feel. The money they’ll earn. The peace of mind they’ll have because their cars will run better. Showing them the instantly recognizable logo that will make the competition look shabby and cheap.

Desire or proof

Show your readers why they want your product. Go into more details about what it does, the problems they will solve, the information they’ll get, and how it will improve their lives or their businesses. Give them proof that it works. Include your own results, or even better, testimonials from other people. Cite statistics showing why your solution is better than the alternatives or showing the increase in sales, loss of weight, etc. users have experienced.

If you have a guarantee, include it here. This proves you stand behind your products and services and increases your credibility and trustworthiness. It also reduces the risk of buying.

Action or push

Last (but never least) the call to action. This is where you tell people to go do something. Explain how to get the product and exactly what steps they have to go through. Describe what will happen next (emails they will receive, waiting time, and so on. If it’s a limited offer, say so here (it adds urgency).

The Yogi Berra Marketing Guide

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Photo compliments of orlandk

Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame baseball catcher, was famous for saying things that didn’t seem to make much sense, at least at first.

It’s easy to laugh at some of his remarks because they sound nonsensical. How can it get late early? And whatever does “It ain’t over till it’s over” mean?

However, when you stop to think about them for a while, it turns out those silly sayings were really quite wise.

No, really they were.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it”

Pick your path, don’t try to go down two roads at once. Find your niche, and your passion, and pursue it. Yogi was passionate about baseball, and had enough World Series championship rings for each finger on both hands. When you love what you do (and focus your energies on doing it), you will succeed.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”

Make a marketing plan, and follow it. For example, write an ebook to build an audience, have them sign up for your newsletter, and then eventually purchase other products or services.

“It gets late early out there”

The Web has sped everything up. Wait too long to respond to a customer complaint or a service problem and the twitterers will let you know. If you don’t post on your blog for three weeks, or answer comments, readers will go elsewhere.

“That place is so popular, nobody goes there anymore”

When you lose your focus, you’ll lose your customers too. Starbucks built an image and a “tribe” by brewing coffee that was different from ordinary deli coffee, offering more ways to customize it, and a welcoming atmosphere. Then, they expanded too much, tried to overcome it with discounts, and now… well there are more interesting places to get coffee in New York (with beans that have been roasted in the last 10 days, or coffee ground to order).

What do you think? Was Yogi right? Am I?

Business Marketing Tips from Dr. Dolittle

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

What does Dr. Dolittle have to do with business marketing tips? Or even marketing in the 21st century? What kind of marketing tips can we get from a story written about a man who wore a tall top hat, tails and lived “long ago when our grandfathers were little children.”

Dr. Dolittle may have “lived” a long time ago, and may have been fictional, but he also knew the value of taking the time to listen, learn, and use his patients’ language.

Use your customers’ language

In the movie musical version, Dr. Dolittle sang,
“If I could talk to the animals, just imagine it,
Chattin’ with a chimp in chimpanzee”

Marketers need to do this too.

If you don’t talk the way your prospects talk, they’ll tune you out.

For instance, I got an email message today that said, “How can I get BDM for my Product?…We specialize in optimizing business processes and implementing ERPs.”

I have no idea what that means, what problem they solve, or whether I have it. He might as well have sent that message in chimpanzee.

Where does it hurt?

In the book, once the animals learned that Dr. Dolittle could speak to them in their own language, they told him where it hurt, how they felt, and he could cure them easily.

If you tell the average non-techie business owner that you create Joomla web sites it won’t mean anything. Say you can get them a Web site that will improve their sales and they’ll sit up and take notice. Because more revenue is something that every business owner understands.

Understanding and trust lead to referrals

After Dr. Dolittle cured them, the first group of animals went back and told their friends that there was a doctor who understood them. Whenever any creature got sick, they came directly to his house, so his garden was always crowded with animals trying to see him.

He’d built authority and trust with his patients, so they felt comfortable recommending him to other animals who needed medical care. You can do the same thing. Take the time to talk to your customers, use their language when you speak to them, and they will start to like you, trust you, and refer you.

In fact, new customers will (ahem) flock to you.

Tag Archives: marketing strategies