One of the best channel marketing tools for marketing planning is the Audience Interaction Model (AIM). The AIM was originally created by Wunderman back in the 1980’s, when channel marketing was the precursor to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as we know it today. Once CRM came about, people stopped using AIM because they had computers to map customer relationships for them. The only problem with this approach is the sheer complexity of CRM. AIM is better utilized for specific marketing opportunities that need to be addressed.
Here’s how it works. Advertising only addresses one relationship (Brand-Consumer). There are at least six other audiences that need to be addressed:
- Brand-Consumer (traditional brand advertising)
- Brand-Salesforce (from the outset, sales people need to believe in the brand and be excited about the value of the products and services they are selling)
- Brand-Trade (by Trade we are referring to retailers, key accounts, resellers, channel partners)
- Salesforce-Trade (this relationship is heavily influenced by the tools and activities brought to the Trade that represent the Brand and sell-in and support the sales effort)
- Consumer-Trade (the Brand relationship with the Consumer is dependent upon how the Trade communicates the brand – online, at the point of sale through merchandising and display programs, securing traffic building co-op placement, through promotions, and through approved “learn & earn” incentive programs for retail sales staff)
- Salesforce-Consumers (in direct-sales models, customer marketing and partner marketing, the Salesforce requires consultative sales tools and training, research and support/backup)
To use the AIM, go through each relationship and ask the following questions:
- Who am I talking to?
- What do they think about us now?
- What do we want them to think about us in the future?
- What action do we want them to take?
- What do we need to do in order to get them to take that action?
Whether you do it formally or informally, all channel marketing programs need to start with an Audience Interaction Model in order to make sure you are covering all of the relationships that are important to your business. The outputs of the AIM will enable quick identification of the tools you need to put in place to support sales, drive demand and get everyone on the same page.
