When should you speak to potential customers? Elmo knows.

If we think only about the time potential customers are actively engaged with us, we’re missing an enormous portion of the population.

Your customer’s journey involves more than just when she’s ready to buy, doesn’t it? One night stands rarely turn into meaningful, lasting relationships… which is why my colleagues and I are so cautious of betting heavily on Zero Moments of Truth (ZMOTs).

We believe the goal of advertising is to speak to a potential customer during each stage of a customer’s journey so that your company is known, liked, and trusted BEFORE that customer reaches the ACTION stage.

What are the other stages? Elmo knows them:

I first learned about the buying funnel more than twenty years ago from John Zimmer.

After doing some research, I learned we have the late Elias St. Elmo Lewis to thank for it. E. St. Elmo Lewis was obsessed with advertising’s power to educate consumers. He recognized that not everyone was in the market for any given product or service at the same time.

It was Lewis who coined the A.I.D.A. formula.

First, a business must get the attention (A) of the consumer before they’re able to arouse her or his interest (I). Once said interest is aroused, then and only then can a company create desire (D) in the heart of the consumer for their product or service. Once you’ve filled her or him with desire, you simply remove the friction to allow your now-attentive, now-interested, now-desiring customer to action (A).Lewis’ formula then migrated slightly to the above illustration.

But I believe in this Age of Rapid Distraction, with all due respect to E. St. Elmo Lewis, it’s time to migrate it again.

Over the weekend, think about how you might modernize the buying funnel.

On Monday, I’ll share how we’ve modernized it.

Thanks, Mr. Zimmer. Thanks, Elmo.