That’s really saying something, isn’t it? There is a formula that if you follow it will result in marketing success.

It’s true.

The Marketing Formula is AIDCA:

A = Get their ATTENTION.

I = Get them INTERESTED.

D = Increase DESIRE or DEMAND for what you are offering.

C = Build CONFIDENCE or trust in you or in what you are selling.

A = Ask for ACTION.

Any of these omitted or done poorly can Deep Six your entire marketing effort.

Truth be told there are other factors that have to be considered. The formula isn’t going to work if you don’t know who you are trying to reach (whose attention are you trying to get?) or if your marketing is not done in sufficient volume. The cleverest possible marketing is not going to succeed mailing out 15 postcards.

But let’s give more detail and examples of each of these five points:

ATTENTION: Any marketing will fail if no one notices you are communicating. In the online world of Google Search, this means showing up at or near the top of the search results screen. People don’t usually scroll down very far before giving up or revising their search.

INTEREST: You’ve got their attention. Now you’d better say or show them something that makes them sit up and read the whole message. This is the realm of the “Unique Value Proposition”.  “Lowest prices guaranteed” “Razor blades that never get dull” and so on.

DESIRE: Okay, you’ve got some interest. Enough to get them to buy?  Probably not. You aren’t there yet if they aren’t ready to click through to your website, walk into your store etc.

The first of the two big things it takes to bridge that gap is to increase desire. “Includes a free never-sharpen carving knife” or “it folds up to store in a small space” or a million other things.

CONFIDENCE: The second of these is to build confidence or trust, and it is HUGE. The biggest reason people don’t buy is lack of trust. They’ve been burned so many times with things that sounded great but broke after two days or never did what they were supposed to or…  I don’t need to beat this one to death. You’ve all lived it.

ACTION: If you’ve done everything right to this point, they should be ready to buy. So don’t forget to ask for the sale. And don’t just say “available at fine stores everywhere.” ASK them or TELL them to buy.

“Call TODAY to order your Whizomatic and get a free …..”  “Get your Whizomatic today at Walmart, on sale this week only for $19.95.

And that’s it.  If you’ve had marketing failures, you probably already recognized where you went wrong.

So here’s to grand success with your future marketing.