151: The AIDA Marketing Method for Hardware Startups

Product Startup

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

EPISODE LINKS:

Michael Solomon Links:

Course | LinkedIn | Past Episode | Marketing Course

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

https://www.ProductStartup.com/

Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube

Mako Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com/

YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

Kevin Mako Links:

Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry’s leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about Mako Design + Invent!