AIDA (marketing)
Encyclopedia
AIDA is an acronym used in marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 that describes a common list of events that may be undergone when a person is selling
Selling
Selling is offering to exchange something of value for something else. The something of value being offered may be tangible or intangible. The something else, usually money, is most often seen by the seller as being of equal or greater value than that being offered for sale.Another person or...

 a product or service. The term and approach are attributed to American advertising and sales pioneer, E. St. Elmo Lewis
E. St. Elmo Lewis
E. St. Elmo Lewis was an American advertising advocate—he wrote and spoke prolifically about the potential of advertising to educate the public. He was the co-founder/first president of the Association of National Advertisers...

. In 1898 Lewis created his AIDA funnel model on customer studies in the US life insurance market to explain the mechanisms of personal selling. Lewis held that the most successful salespeople followed a hierarchical, four layer process using the four cognitive phases that buyers follow when accepting a new idea or purchasing a new product.
  • A - Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
  • I - Interest: raise customer interest by focusing on and demonstrating advantages and benefits (instead of focusing on features, as in traditional advertising).
  • D - Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
  • A - Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.


Using a system like this gives one a general understanding of how to target a market effectively. Moving from step to step one loses some percent of prospects.

New Developments

Later versions of the theory have edited the AIDA steps. New phases such satisfaction (AIDAS) and confidence (AIDCAS) have been added.
  • S - Satisfaction - satisfy the customer so they become a repeat customer and give referrals to a product.

C
One significant modification of the model was its reduction to three steps (CAB):
  • Cognition (Awareness or learning)
  • Affect (Feeling, interest or desire)
  • Behavior (Action).


Along with these developments came a more flexible view of the order in which the steps are taken, suggesting that different arrangements of the model might prove more effective for different consumer-to-product relationships.

Cultural references

The character Blake in the film Glengarry Glenn Ross by David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...

makes a noteworthy reference to AIDA. A minor difference here is that the D in Blake's motivational talk is defined as decision rather than desire, presumably implying that the third step not only imbues the customer with the want of the product but also willing to commit themselves positively to the purchase.
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