{"id":6026,"date":"2022-11-24T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=4479"},"modified":"2025-05-07T15:39:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T14:39:19","slug":"marketing-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/online-business-revenue-models\/marketing-models\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketing models that have stood the test of time"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do you think is the best, i.e. most useful marketing model?<\/h2>\n

You may have noticed we're fans of using practical models as tools to support marketing strategy development. We believe a clear, simple model gives us a framework to assess how we're doing things now compared to our competitors and plan growth strategies for the future. They're also great for communicating the purpose and reason behind a strategy you are pursuing.<\/p>\n

But there's a problem - over the years, the number of marketing frameworks available has increased. Some are academic, based only on theory, but have no \"real world\" credentials. Whereas others have been developed with no consideration of universal marketing strategy and planning fundamentals.<\/p>\n

So many marketing models have been developed over the years that it can be overwhelming to know what to use and when. That's where our RACE Growth System could help you.<\/p>\n

Our RACE Growth System is our easy-to-use, easy-to-follow, strategic marketing framework that's been proven to get results. Our practical, data-driven, marketing framework empowers marketers and business owners to use customer insights and analysis to prioritize marketing strategies for rapid growth. You can download our free template to learn more about the RACE model.<\/p>\n

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\n \n Free digital marketing plan template\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Free digital marketing plan template<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our popular marketing planning template is structured across the Smart Insights RACE Framework. Join Smart Insights as a Free Member to download our digital marketing plan template today<\/p>\n

Access the Free digital marketing plan template<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

Which are the most popular marketing models?<\/h3>\n

Since I'm a digital marketer, I have my own views on the relevance of these, indeed in my books, I have often included them. In fact, most are included in my Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice<\/em> book.<\/p>\n

Our top 12 marketing models<\/p>\n

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  1. The RACE Framework<\/li>\n
  2. 7 Ps of Marketing<\/li>\n
  3. USP<\/li>\n
  4. BCG Matrix<\/li>\n
  5. Brand Positioning Map<\/li>\n
  6. Customer Lifetime Value<\/li>\n
  7. Growth Strategy Matrix<\/li>\n
  8. Loyalty Ladder<\/li>\n
  9. PESTLE<\/li>\n
  10. Porter's 5 Forces<\/li>\n
  11. Segmentation Targeting Positioning<\/li>\n
  12. SOSTAC<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    1. The RACE Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Our RACE Framework is a popular marketing framework created in 2010 for Startups, SMEs, and international corporations, since it can scale up or down according to your short-term and long-term objectives. It was designed to work as both a marketing framework and digital marketing framework - read this article to learn more about what these frameworks need to contain.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Race<\/a><\/p>\n

    Marketers find it useful to use RACE to structure their marketing strategies, since the framework guides marketers through each funnel stage of planning, reaching, acting, converting, and engaging. For discussion of the advantages and disadvantates of using linear funnel-based model see Dave Chaffey's more recent article on the best marketing frameworks<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Smart Insights Free Members can also download an editable digital marketing plan template<\/a> featuring our popular RACE Growth System<\/a>, a simple structure to put your plans into place using our Opportunity > Strategy > Action model to identify marketing activities for growth at each stage of the funnel.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n \n Free digital marketing plan template\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Free digital marketing plan template<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Our popular marketing planning template is structured across the Smart Insights RACE Framework. Join Smart Insights as a Free Member to download our digital marketing plan template today<\/p>\n

    Access the Free digital marketing plan template<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

    Hierarchy of response frameworks such as AIDA<\/a>, are often formed into funnel models to assist planning. The RACE framework is an example of a funnel model. Since these models are linear, they have been criticized for this, since commentators believe they are an oversimplification and don't reflect the non-linear nature of decision-making influenced by multiple digital channel touchpoints.<\/p>\n

    Recently, BCG in their 2025 article, It\u2019s Time for Marketers to Move Beyond the Linear Funnel<\/a>, also asserted that we need to move beyond the linear marketing funnel model to what they called 'influence maps'. Read our article on alternative digital marketing and\u00a0 marketing frameworks<\/a> for further discussion.<\/p>\n

    2. 7 Ps of Marketing<\/h3>\n

    The 7P's of the Marketing mix model<\/a> are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical evidence - these elements of the marketing mix form\u00a0the core tactical components of a marketing plan.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    I think it's right this is at the start of the list since it's still widely used and I think is a simple way to think through how a company markets its products. A good model to explain marketing strategy to someone who isn't a marketer. But it suffers from a push mentality completely out-of-keeping with modern digital marketing approaches of listening to and engaging customers, such as through social media marketing.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    3. USP<\/h3>\n

    Unique Selling Proposition is the concept that brands should make it clear to potential buyers why they are different and better than the competition.<\/p>\n

    This is a simple concept and an essential message to communicate online since the core brand message often isn't clear. Digital websites need to define their digital value proposition<\/a> well.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    4. Boston Consulting Group Matrix<\/h3>\n

    This well-known, essential MBA model categorizes products offered by a business in a portfolio based on their performance rating them as Stars, Cash Cows, Dogs, and Question Marks as below.<\/p>\n

    \"The-Growth-Share-matrix\"<\/a><\/p>\n