The Longest and Hardest . . . Action (4 of 4)

This post is the last in a four part series on AIDA (awareness, interest, desire and action).  I’ve taken excerpts from an article that was published this week as part of the PMA’s  Annual Integrated Marketing Conference.  

Action

The last step in the purchase funnel is action.  Ultimately this is the conversion of the target into a buyer.  So . . .you’ve achieved your goal by stimulating sales.  What’s next?  You need to manage that customer to insure that they have a positive experience.  Steps need to be taken towards encouraging repeat purchase and ultimately long term retention.  Rule of thumb is that it can take up to 5 times the cost to attract to obtain a new customer as opposed to retaining a current one.  Take the time and energy to establish a relationship with your customer in order to turn them into a disciple for your product or service.

In conclusion marketers need to develop integrated strategies that get attention, drive interest, cultivate desire and ultimately lead to action.  The messages need to convey both logical and emotional appeals.  Understanding the importance of engaging multiple touch points and senses will help you make the long and arduous journey to the heart of your target consumer.

Today’s Lagniappe - Here is a story and one of my favorite quotes regarding ACTION.  Both pertain to making the extra effort.

Story - Here is a tale I used to tell during my days at adidas. It happened that two bitter rivals crossed paths while camping in the woods.  There was only one clearing and the Nike and adidas reps were force to set up their tents next to one another.  During the night a blood thirsty grizzly bear came upon the camp and started ripping away at the tents.  The Nike rep took off and started to sprint out of the campsite.  He noticed as he looked over his shoulder that the adidas rep was diligently lacing up his running shoes while the bear was seconds away from ripping through his tent.  The Nike rep stopped and yelled back, “What are you doing . . . that bear runs 25 miles an hour.  You’ll never outrun that bear.”  The adidas rep shot back, “That’s OK . . . I don’t need to outrun that bear, I just need to outrun you”.

Quote - “There are no traffic jams or roadblocks on the extra mile”