The RACE Framework and PASTA model are complementary models for your marketing communications plan, one is strategic and one is operational, get started today to win more customers

Commercial as well as non-profit organizations, routinely confront these typical questions about a marketing communications plan: Do we need social media? How do we introduce our new website? What can we do to publicize our eCommerce Store? How do we introduce our new product? How will our market share rise? These are five commonly asked questions that require marketing and communications expertise. In this article, we will address 2 complementary models for your marketing communications plan - the RACE Framework and PASTA model. Whether it be a strategic plan, a business plan, a marketing plan, or a communications strategy, marketing communication planning requires systematic, step-by-step development that takes into account elements of all the other types of plans. This article describes the PASTA method, a new…

5 Reasons to consider a life as a T-Shaped Marketer

There has been much talk within digital marketing of the necessity for marketers to broaden their skill-sets and to embrace and learn the wide range of digital channels (40 in this count) to reach and engage with your audience. The approach of developing a range of marketing skills is known as T-Shaped Marketing. T-Shaped Marketing refers to: a Marketer that has broad knowledge covering a wide range of digital tactics with in-depth knowledge in 1 or maybe 2 specific areas. This diagram from Moz shows the principle with a focus on SEO within digital marketing tactics.

This diagram from Search Engine Watch also explains the principle, here with the focus on Content Marketing and also including a focus…

A flow chart to create a marketing technology stack tailored to your business needs

We talk about the importance of using the right digital marketing tools a lot here at Smart Insights. When used correctly, a marketing technology stack can save you time, boost productivity and lead to better marketing outcomes. But with so many martech tools available, it can be tricky to know which tools to use and why. Smart Insights offers a wealth of practical, actionable tools, templates and training designed to create or develop your marketing strategy using data, customer insights, and best-practice. Marketing technology is a huge topic in digital marketing right now, and it's no secret that the age of digital disruption has increased the number of opportunities and challenges for digital marketers in the field. That's where the RACE Framework can come in, helping you make sure all your martech and marketing activities are…

Strategic marketing is a key part of ensuring you achieve your business growth goals. Lead your team to accelerated growth through digital marketing

It has been a challenging year for marketers, with market uncertainty, reduced budgets, and huge shifts in the marketing mix. One common element for all businesses is a renewed focus in 2021 on digital marketing to accelerate business growth. SME marketers familiar with the 5 stages of business growth, first coined in the Harvard Business Review in 1983, can cite the stages as: Existence Survival Success Take-off Resource Maturity Notably, success takes the form of both Success-Disengagement and Success-Growth. The strategies outlined below support owners/marketing managers during the Survival, Success-Growth and Take-off stages of their business lifecycle. Large companies or corporations are typically more removed from the 'survival' mindset, although of course this year that has sadly not been the case for all. Rather than starting from scratch,…

Information technology management and marketing is fiercely evolving with tech startups and established businesses rapidly adapting their approaches to IT and IT marketing to add value for their customers

We've rounded up our top 7 recommended IT marketing skills and tools for you and your team to plan, manage, and optimize your marketing strategy. Structured across our popular RACE Framework, implement tactics and strategies to achieve your goals at each stage of the customer journey.

1. The RACE Framework

The top spot goes to the RACE Framework. In fact, all our IT marketing recommendations stem from this crucial practical digital strategy framework. RACE empowers marketers and managers in the IT and high tech sectors to streamline their marketing planning to create an efficient and effective marketing strategy. Our tried-and-tested marketing structure helps IT marketers track marketing optimization at each stage of the customer journey from reach to act to convert to engage. Apply the RACE…

Manufacturers are rapidly adapting their marketing strategies in the age of digital disruption. How do your digital marketing capabilities compare?

In this article, I will be reviewing the state of digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. I will give practical digital marketing recommendations for manufacturing companies at different stages of digital maturity. Plus, I'll be revisiting our popular 2021 digital marketing maturity benchmarking report to help you assess the effectiveness of your manufacturing marketing. The manufacturing industry, including the marketing of manufacturing products, has typically been slow in its approach to digital transformation over the last 20 years. There are many reasons for this. McKinsey highlights 'external market factors, combined with fragmented and complex industry dynamics and an overall aversion to risk' in construction as barriers to change in this vital area. However, the digital disruption caused…

Mistakes happen but there are many that can be avoided when it comes to digital marketing plans. Being aware of common mistakes helps you improve digital marketing

Even the top marketing gurus can implement bad marketing strategies if they don’t pay attention to the nitty-gritty, unspoken rules. While they may look good on paper, even the smallest mishap can completely derail favorable results. In this blog, we will cover 5 areas where you can improve digital marketing performance. Pay attention to these errors so you can best educate your teams and adapt your strategies to avoid dicey marketing situations. Although you might think you’ve heard it all when it comes to managing marketers, it always pays to look for the weak spots in your goals and plans. Without further ado, let’s dive into 5 examples where you can improve digital marketing...

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1. Your strategies cross the line between informing and spamming

Although we…

Good digital marketing isn't just about creating content, you also need to review your performance to see where it can be improved

How often do you review your marketing performance? Creating great content for the various channels you use for your marketing campaign, whether they be social networks, your website or blog, or any other channel you’re using to connect with your audience, isn’t really enough to get you results. [si_monthly_campaign_blog_cta_banner id=160114] The only way to continue growing and evolving is to constantly improve and optimize your marketing strategies. In order to do this, you need to review your marketing performance, consistently. Our Content Marketing Learning Path supports members to plan their approach and increase the effectiveness of their content marketing activities with practical skills development and resources to measure and benchmark their success.

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In this blog post, discover why reviewing marketing performance should be at the top of your priority list in 2021.

When…

Pharma blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed pharmaceutical and healthcare ledger system, where transactions are permanently recorded

Across the world, many people relate the word "blockchain" with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. However, gradually, this technology is being explored in different supply chains, including pharma blockchain. In simple language, pharma blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed ledger system, where different transactions are permanently recorded. According to Deloitte, blockchain is a shared and unchallengeable record of peer-to-peer transaction blocks that are stored in a digital ledger. [si_monthly_campaign_blog_cta_banner id=155084] As there is no central authority in the system, all the records and transactions are being stored and shared across all network participants. In addition to this, Blockchain uses the data structure in order to ease the way we make transactions. Apart from the healthcare industry, blockchain technology helps many other industries, including e-commerce, education and manufacturing, allowing companies to keep a permanent…

A digital marketing team management tool to help marketers of any level make long-term professional development plans for their career

Whether you are looking to plan your future career or are managing a team, it’s worth having an idea of the latest career opportunities in digital marketing. That’s why we’ve created our Digital Careers Family Tree, so you and anyone on your team can see potential career paths and establish the training needed to reach the next level of career progression. [si_guide_block id="21593" title="Digital marketing job description templates and role definitions" description="This guide provides a range of practical job description templates for 15 key digital marketing roles to support companies in the recruitment of digital marketing specialists to resource digital marketing activities within their team structure."] One of the joys of the digital workplace is how many disciplines that can fall under an individual…