Digital marketing models guide

Frameworks and mindtools to create digital audits, strategies and plans

How will this guide help me and my business?

We believe that models are powerful 'mindtools' to help marketers use a more strategic approach to improve their digital marketing when they create plans to exploit digital marketing.

Two years ago we created a free guide to the most popular marketing models which was particularly popular with university students and professionals.  Since this time we've been asked whether there was a guide to the new range of digital marketing models to develop digital strategies, so we now have this new guide with the top 10 models the authors, Annmarie Hanlon and Dave Chaffey use in their teaching and books.

The guide lists 10 models structured in sections for digital audits, planning and strategy. Digital marketing models are useful ways to structure your efforts and can help you tease out insights where you previously were unable to. However, you will need a good grasp of the different models available and have a good understanding of how they work. That is what this guide provides.

How is this guide structured?

This guide is broken down into 3 main sections which the 10 different marketing models fit into. These are:

Audit Models 

• Forrester's 5Is
• Lauterborn's 4Cs
• Ten Cs of Marketing

Planning models 

• 6Cs of customer motivation
• Hofacker's 5 stages of information processing
• RACE planning
• Technology acceptance model

Strategy models

• 4Cs for marketing communications
• McKinsey's consumer decision journey
• The Honeycomb model

For each model we explain what it is, who originated it, how to apply it and give examples of how it can be used.

Latest updates

This content is evergreen and has been updated to our newest branded document style to ease readability.

Resource Details

• Authors: Annmarie Hanlon and Dr. Dave Chaffey
• Format: Downloadable PDF e-book
• Companion guide: Free Essential marketing models guide

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 and content director 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 are used by our premium members in more than 120 countries to Map, Plan and Manage their digital marketing.

For his 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.