AIDA for small business marketing: the tension/resolution loop

<p>You’ve seen AIDA. Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It’s neat. It’s clean. It looks like a system you can build. It promises a predictable path for the customer, a logical progression from stranger to buyer.</p> <p>It is also a lie. Not maliciously, but functionally. It was invented for advertising in the 1890s. This was a time when a customer saw an ad once, maybe twice, and then decided if they would send a physical letter or visit a shop.</p> <p>Today, your potential customer has 50 tabs open, a dozen Slack messages pending, and a short-form video feed running on their second screen. They are not calmly progressing through four stages. They are cycling through <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/startup-marketing-fundamentals">certainty and chaos</a>. They are looking for reasons to dismiss you.</p> <p>The biggest flaw in AIDA for small business marketing is that it assumes you get a clean shot. It assumes attention, once earned, converts into interest. It assumes interest, once held, converts into desire.</p> <p>The reality for startups is less linear. Customers dip in and out. They are interested in Friday, and forget you existed by Monday. Your job is not to move them through a funnel. Your job is to create a predictable feedback loop that keeps them returning until the sale feels inevitable. You need the Tension/Resolution Loop.</p> <p>The Tension/Resolution Loop is a system built for interruption and skepticism. It has two stages: Tension (creating dissatisfaction with the status quo) and Resolution (offering an actionable path forward). You alternate between the two until they buy.</p> <p>You don't need a massive budget to do this. You just need clarity.</p> <p><em>Short on time? Scroll straight down to The Marketing Clarity Builder section for an immediate action item.</em></p> <p>***</p> <h2>Apply the Tension/Resolution Loop for AIDA small business marketing to simplify content strategy</h2> <p>The core insight of modern AIDA for small businesses is this: Customers don't buy because of your solution; they buy because of their unresolved problem. You must focus your effort on the problem first.</p> <p>If you are a founder, you are probably obsessed with the resolution. Your product is great. It is fast. It uses AI. It saves 15 minutes a day.</p> <p>But the customer is not yet feeling the specific <em>pain</em> that your product solves. They are just generally busy and mildly annoyed. Your marketing must elevate the mild annoyance to an intolerable tension.</p> <h3>Tension: Identifying the Quiet Drain</h3> <p>Tension is the realization that the status quo is costing them more than they thought. It is not just pointing out a problem; it is assigning a cost to inaction.</p> <p>Conventional AIDA starts with Attention, which often means noise (loud ads, flashy videos). The Tension stage starts with specificity. You are whispering the name of a problem they couldn't quite articulate.</p> <p>Example: A small business CRM tool doesn't just promise "better organization." The Tension content focuses on the cost of switching CRMs too late: "That messy spreadsheet isn't just annoying; it’s quietly sabotaging your Q4 pipeline."</p> <p>This is permission to ignore the conventional advice of making a big splash. Make a precise incision instead. Be the scalpel, not the firehose.</p> <p>Action: In the next hour, write down five phrases your target customer uses to describe a mild inconvenience related to your product's domain. Frame each one as a hidden cost. Use this as your next three social media posts.</p> <h3>Resolution: The Minimum Viable Solution</h3> <p>Once you’ve built tension, you must offer immediate resolution. This is where most startups fail. They jump straight to: "Buy my $5,000 annual plan." That is too big a leap.</p> <p>Resolution should be a small, achievable step that reinforces your authority. It can be a free tool, a simple checklist, or a single, actionable piece of advice.</p> <p>The goal is to prove you understand the problem so intimately that the larger, paid solution is merely the logical next step. This builds trust, which is the missing 'T' in modern AIDA—Trust.</p> <p>A specific action: For the next week, every piece of content that creates a tension must link to a free, one-page PDF cheat sheet that offers a small win. Not your product's landing page. A small win. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">This builds momentum</a>.</p> <h3>The Channel Constraint Filter</h3> <p>The classic AIDA model implies you need a separate strategy for each stage. You need one channel for Attention (ads), one for Interest (blogging), and so on. This is too much work for a small business.</p> <p>The Tension/Resolution Loop is more efficient. You choose <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-choose-marketing-channels">one primary channel</a> based on your own constraints, and you cycle both Tension and Resolution content through it.</p> <p>If you are an engineer who hates writing, your primary channel might be a technical forum (Tension: "Here is the brittle way everyone is currently handling this API endpoint." Resolution: "Here is a better way to structure your state management.") If you are good at visuals, it’s short-form video (Tension: showing the chaotic mess of a workflow. Resolution: showing the clean, simple one).</p> <p>This reframe should make you feel competent and capable again. Stop trying to conquer every platform. Focus where your authentic self can generate both tension and resolution easily.</p> <h3>From Desire to Inevitability</h3> <p>AIDA’s "Desire" stage is vague. How do you manufacture desire? You don't. You make the purchase feel inevitable by creating a pattern of small wins.</p> <p>When the customer consistently gets value from your free content (Resolution) and then encounters a piece of content that highlights the ceiling of their current approach (Tension), the paid solution is not a want; it’s a necessary upgrade.</p> <p>We are looking for systemic change, not a temporary spike. Your marketing must behave like a clear, deterministic system. When you use <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-funnels-explained">a simple 3-layer system</a>, the outcome becomes predictable.</p> <p>A micro-win you can achieve today: Look at your last five customers. What was the single biggest operational tension they felt right before they signed up? Use that precise tension in your next testimonial request. Not "Why do you like us?" but "What was the pain point that made you finally search for a solution?"</p> <h3>The Action Stage: Adding Friction</h3> <p>AIDA says "Action" is the goal. But for small businesses, action is often the end of the line, and if the customer churns, you've wasted the effort.</p> <p>In the Tension/Resolution Loop, Action is not just a conversion; it’s the transition to the next phase of resolution. For a $10/month SaaS product, Action is simple sign-up. For a high-ticket B2B service, Action is booking a discovery call. The goal is to make the next step lower-friction than staying put.</p> <p>AIDA assumes a perfectly smooth transition. Small business marketing knows customers get cold feet. You must reinforce the Tension (what they lose if they wait) right before you offer the final Resolution (the product). Use a <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/psychology-of-persuasion-in-marketing">de-risking mechanism</a>, like a free trial or a money-back guarantee, to smooth this final step.</p> <p>***</p> <h2>The Tension/Resolution Builder</h2> <p>Use this branded prompt to generate content ideas that replace the outdated AIDA model with a modern, builder-aligned tension and resolution cycle.</p> <p>COPY PASTE PROMPT:</p> <p> "I am a founder of [YOUR PRODUCT] that helps [YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER] achieve [CORE OUTCOME]. The prevailing tension for them is [SPECIFIC PAIN POINT OR HIDDEN COST]. I need 3 pairs of Tension/Resolution content ideas. For each pair, provide the following:<br><br>1. Tension Headline (A counterintuitive claim exposing the hidden cost of the status quo)<br>2. Resolution Content Idea (A simple, free deliverable that offers an immediate, small win)<br>3. Channel Note (The best channel for this specific pair)<br><br>Focus on Vonnegut-style clarity: simple, human, slightly bleak, quietly warm." </p> <p>Example Output:</p> <p>1. Tension Headline: Your "simple" invoicing spreadsheet is costing you $500 a month in cognitive overhead.<br>2. Resolution Content Idea: The 5-Minute Invoicing Clean-Up Checklist (PDF)<br>3. Channel Note: LinkedIn (Text Post)<br><br>1. Tension Headline: Nobody clicks your product demo video because they don't believe your problem statement.<br>2. Resolution Content Idea: A single paragraph, copy-paste positioning statement using the Isolation Filter method.<br>3. Channel Note: Twitter (Thread) </p><p>This builder is just one of countless interconnected prompts in the LiftKit system, designed to simplify your <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-strategy-for-startups">marketing strategy for startups</a>.</p> <p>***</p> <h2>FAQ</h2> <h3 id="q-is-aida-truly-dead-for-small-businesses">Q: Is AIDA truly dead for small businesses?</h3> <p>A: AIDA is not dead; it is insufficient. It describes what happens (a person eventually takes action) but not how to engineer it in a noisy, skeptical world. For founders, it is better to think in terms of systemic creation of momentum, as outlined in <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">how to build a marketing strategy</a>, rather than linear stages.</p> <h3 id="q-how-do-i-measure-tension-and-resolution">Q: How do I measure Tension and Resolution?</h3> <p>A: You measure them as feedback loops, not conversions. Tension content success is measured by engagement (comments, shares, saves), which shows you hit a nerve. Resolution content success is measured by lead quality (specific downloads, time spent on the page, or email sign-ups) that proves commitment to solving the problem. This is a cleaner, more actionable way to approach <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-plan-vs-strategy">marketing planning</a>.</p> <h3 id="q-should-i-use-a-different-framework-like-pas-or-a-funnel-instead-of-aida-small-business-marketing">Q: Should I use a different framework (like PAS or a Funnel) instead of AIDA small business marketing?</h3> <p>A: Most classic frameworks like AIDA and PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution) suffer from the same linearity problem. The best thing a founder can do is develop a <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/startup-marketing-fundamentals">strong founder marketing mindset</a> that prioritizes clarity and action over memorizing acronyms. Focus on the core job: diagnosing the customer's environment and providing the minimum necessary next step.</p> <h3 id="q-i-am-pre-revenue-where-should-i-start-my-tensionresolution-content">Q: I am pre-revenue. Where should I start my Tension/Resolution content?</h3> <p>A: Start with Tension. You need early validation that the problem you are solving is urgent, not just interesting. Publish content that validates the pain point—even if it doesn't mention your solution. Your first content should look like a highly specific rant about the status quo. If people agree, you have found the market tension required for a sustainable <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-strategy-for-startups">growth strategy</a>.</p> <hr> <h2>Start running operator-grade marketing in under an hour.</h2> <p>LiftKit is the only strategy-first AI marketing system built for founders. It distills the same Fortune-500 frameworks used at Apple, Stripe, and McKinsey into a simple, actionable playbook you can run in under an hour.</p> <p>Stop tinkering with tactics. Start operating with strategy.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://getliftkit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get LiftKit</a></strong></p> <h2>Keep learning</h2> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Frameworks</strong></a>: Learn proven mental models to diagnose, prioritise, and scale marketing outcomes.</p> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/channels" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Channels</strong></a>: Understand which acquisition paths actually work and how to deploy them strategically.</p> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/messaging" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Messaging</strong></a>: Build positioning, angle, and copy that converts without guesswork.</p> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Strategy</strong></a>: Make smarter decisions using operator-grade prompts and structured thinking.</p> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/tools" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tools</strong></a>: Use AI, automation, and practical templates to move faster.</p> <p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/research" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Research</strong></a>: Tap into market insights, psychology, and patterns that drive effective marketing.</p> <script type='application/ld+json'> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Aida for small business marketing: the tension/resolution loop", "description": "Apply the Tension/Resolution Loop for AIDA small business marketing to simplify content strategy", "articleSection": "frameworks", "keywords": "aida small business marketing, aida,small business,marketing model", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" }, "url": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-small-business-marketing", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-small-business-marketing" } </script>