A SOSTAC for your PESTLE?

The online poll, which celebrates the centenary of CIM, ran from April-June this year and asked marketers to vote for the model they think is the most valuable to marketers today. Over 23% of voters, including Microsoft's head of Digital Marketing Strategy, Allister Frost, chose the Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning model as that which has had the biggest influence on the day-to-day professional life of marketers, shaping strategy, generating ROI and aiding differentiation.

The Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning is a three stage process which analyses which distinct customer groups exist, which segment the product or service best suits, before implementing the tailored communications strategy for the chosen target group. Frost names this process as "the way to do marketing".

The 'Seven Ps'

Voters chose from 12 models; from the fundamental core tactics of the 'Seven Ps' through to more complex models such as the Boston Consulting Group Matrix or Porter's Five Forces. Also gaining a place in marketers' top three were the 7Ps marketing mix model with 22% of the vote, followed by PR Smith's SOSTAC marketing planning model which came in third position with 17%. Following up at the rear was PESTLE, with just 2% of votes.

The creator of the SOSTAC model, PR Smith, a fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: I am really pleased that people find SOSTAC so useful. It took 10 years to develop and refine but only takes 5 minutes to learn - which I think is the secret of its success and why it's now used by companies all over the world.

Roderick Wilkes, chief executive of CIM, said: Models are marketers' guides in an increasingly complex and diverse marketing universe. Strategy and planning are instrumental and measurement is crucial in a multichannel market. This poll celebrates the fantastic aid marketing models have provided to the UK marketing industry in these areas over the past 100 years, alongside that provided by the Institute itself.

To see what the experts think, follow the link to The CIM Tube interviews: www.youtube.com/thecimtube