Essential marketing models

16 classic planning tools to inform strategy development

How will the marketing models guide help me and my business?

We believe that marketing models are powerful tools to aid thinking when reviewing strategic options and selecting the best future direction for a company. However, some are not well known or misused. We want to share these classic models so that marketers of all levels, from brand new students and seasoned professionals can apply them.

With so many marketing models to choose from, it can be difficult to know which is the best to use in a specific situation. This free guide has been created to help today’s marketers apply our pick of the most popular established frameworks to aid their decision making.

The guide contains 16 classic marketing planning frameworks to inform strategy development.

Who is this marketing models guide for?

Our guide was created as a reference for marketers creating marketing plans and studying professionals completing courses from trade associations such as the IDM, the CIM, and the American Marketing Association.

In a professional organization, the marketing models guide will help the following marketers:

• Company owners and directors – Assess overall company goals and priorities to ensure a unified message is used across its marketing messages.
• Marketing managers, digital marketing managers – Evaluate current marketing efforts and make improvements that will have a direct impact on business-centric KPIs.

Undergraduate and postgraduate marketing and business students will also benefit from reading this guide as it includes summaries of each concept as well as an example of how each model could be applied to a company.

How is the marketing models guide structured?

We have selected 16 classic marketing models that you can apply to your strategy. These models are:

• The 7Ps
• The 7S Framework
• AIDA
• The Ansoff Matrix
• The BCG Matrix
• Diffusion of Innovation
• DRIP
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Price-Quality Strategy Model
• Push and Pull
• Product Life Cycle
• RACE Planning
• Segmentation, Targeting, and Position (STP)
• PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Marketing Planning
• SOTW (TOWS) Matrix
• PESTLE Analysis

The guide is structured to include:

• A simple explanation and diagram for each model
• Examples of how, when, and why to use each model
• What to watch for and best practice tips

Latest updates

This content is evergreen, so our latest updates include updating each model’s examples where relevant and presenting the guide in our updated PDF style to improve readability.

Resource Details

• Authors: Annmarie Hanlonand Dave Chaffey, with a foreword by Marketing Communications expert Chris Fill.
• Format: PDF guide download
• Recommended premium member resources:
  • Digital marketing models guide – After you’ve read our guide to essential marketing models, you may want to look at other options created specifically for digital aspects of your business. This guide will introduce you to 10 more models that you can use to inform the auditing, strategy, and planning of your digital marketing efforts.
  • Marketing planning guide – If, after reading our essential marketing models guide, you’re ready to start planning, check out our comprehensive marketing planning guide. We’ll help you understand your customers, conduct a thorough marking audit, and set SMART objectives for your future.

About the authors

Annmarie Hanlon

Annmarie Hanlon is the Smart Insights expert commentator on online and offline marketing strategies for business. Annmarie is the MD of Evonomie and author of Quick Win Marketing, and co-author of Quick Win Digital Marketing. She runs social media workshops in the UK and Ireland and shares marketing tips and news in her blog, B2B Marketing. You can follow Annmarie on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

Dr. Dave Chaffey

Dave is co-founder of Smart Insights. He is editor of the 100 templates, ebooks and courses in the digital marketing resource library created by our team of 25+ Digital Marketing experts. Our resources used by our premium members in more than 80 countries to Map, Plan and Manage their digital marketing.

For my full profile, or to connect on LinkedIn or other social networks, see the About Dave Chaffey profile page on Smart Insights. Dave is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing.