2010 RACE – Modell
The RACE model is a strategic framework for digital marketing that helps companies to plan, manage and optimise their marketing activities. It was developed by Dr Dave Chaffey, an expert in digital marketing.
Of course, RACE is not a complete reinvention. Rather, the model builds on familiar marketing principles, such as the marketing funnel, customer centricity or the multi-channel approach, but adapts them for digital marketing.
The RACE model focuses on digital marketing and supplements the original concept primarily with a preceding planning step and introduces the topic of customer loyalty at the last level (‘Engage’).
The model is particularly useful for developing a comprehensive marketing strategy that covers the entire customer life cycle.
RACE stands for:
- Reach
- Act
- Convert
- Engage
Reach
- Objective: Reach new target groups and increase brand awareness.
- Channels: SEO, SEA (Google Ads), Social Media, Display-adverts, Content-Marketing
- Measured variables: Website traffic, social media reach, impressions, click-through rate (CTR).
- Measures: Optimisation of the website for search engines, social media campaigns, paid advertising.
👉 Example: A company could place paid advertisements or carry out search engine optimisation (SEO) to attract more visitors to its website.
Act
- Objective: Encourage users to interact – this can be reading a blog post, watching a video or leaving a comment.
- Channels: Website, social media, blogs, landing pages.
- Metrics: Time spent on the website, page views, social shares, comments.
- Measures: Create high-quality content, interactive elements (e.g. surveys, quizzes), call-to-actions (CTAs).
👉 Example: A landing page with clear CTAs could motivate visitors to sign up for a newsletter or download a whitepaper.
Convert
- Objective: Convert users into paying customers – the focus is on generating leads and sales.
- Channels: E-commerce platforms, e-mail marketing, lead nurturing.
- Metrics: Conversion Rate, Number of sales, average order value, ROI (Return on Investment).
- Measures: Conversion rate optimisation, retargeting campaigns, sales promotions.
👉 Example: An online shop could use discount campaigns or personalised product recommendations to achieve more sales.
Engage
- Objective: Promote customer retention and loyalty – this leads to repeat purchases and positive recommendations.
- Channels: E-Mail-Marketing, Social Media, Customer service, loyalty programs.
- Metrics: Customer loyalty, repurchase rate, Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer ratings.
- Measures: After-Sales-Service, exclusive offers for existing customers, community development in social media.
👉 Example: Regular newsletters with personalised content or loyalty programs could motivate customers to make repeat purchases.
Advantage of the RACE-Model
- Holistic approach: Covers the entire customer life cycle, from initial contact to long-term customer loyalty.
- Flexibility: Can be applied to different marketing channels and strategies.
- Measurability: Focus on measurable KPIs that evaluate the success of marketing activities.
Summary
The RACE model helps companies to develop and optimise their digital marketing strategy in a structured way. It ensures that all phases of the customer journey are taken into account so that companies can not only acquire more customers, but also build long-term relationships with them.
2011 ZMOT – Zero Moment of Truth
Google’s ZMOT model from 2011 is based on the First and Second Moment of Truth (2005), which has already been explained.
Google introduces the so-called Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), which takes place before the FMOT. The ZMOT describes the phase in which customers find out about a product online, e.g. through reviews, ratings or social media.
In this model, Google divides the purchasing behaviour of end customers into four micro-moments that are decisive for the final purchase. These micro-moments take place in the Zero Moment of Truth:
I want to know: In this phase, the buyer searches for information about the product or service. The potential customer has not yet made a decision and is open to brand messages as long as they offer them added value.
I want to go: During this phase, shoppers search locally for services, products or shops in their immediate neighbourhood.
I want to do: In the I-want-to-do moment, users search specifically for instructions and tutorials. If companies offer such content, they have a good chances of being convincing.
I want to buy: This moment in the ZMOT is of central importance for companies. In the USA, 82% of users research the product online and compare prices immediately before making a purchase in a shop
If we look at the four micro-moments described above, it becomes clear that potential end customers can no longer be reached solely through classic push marketing, as this either no longer works or the measures become so expensive that they are no longer measures become so expensive that they are no longer profitable. The challenge of the model is to have the right strategy ready for every moment.
When the user is in the I-want-to-know moment, for example, you can use attention with infographics or know-how articles and place the brand message. Overall, the ZMOT model shows that the customer journey begins much earlier and affects all channels through which a company comes into contact with customers or can be perceived by them. If the model is applied, the customer can be picked up even before the actual purchase process. the actual purchasing process
The approach of the three-stage model (stimulus, FMOT and SMOT) differs from the marketing model, which incorporates the ZMOT, in several respects. These include:
- The beginning of the customer journey takes place online, where the user searches for information that the company can provide via regular or social search engines
- There is already an emotional connection between the user and the product, which strengthens interest and commitment.
- The customer’s need can arise at any time and is not restricted to specific times or locations.
- The user is already interested in a certain topic or product and is actively looking for specific information, which enables a more targeted marketing strategy.
- There is already an emotional connection between the user and the product, which strengthens interest and engagement.
- Dialogue instead of monologue: An exchange is created between the company, product experts, influencers and other customers, which enables more dynamic interaction and new potential.
2020 Messy Middle
The messy middle model describes how consumers make purchasing decisions in the digital age. It was presented by Google in a study to explain how complex and non-linear the customer journey is today. In contrast to classic models, in which the purchase decision process is depicted as a linear funnel, the messy middle model shows that consumers move in a dynamic loop between different phases before making a purchase decision.
Basics of the messy middle model
The model focuses on the messy middle at the centre of the buying process, where consumers engage intensively with information. There are two central phases in the messy middle:
• Exploration
• evaluation
The two central phases of the model
1. Exploration
Goal: Gather new information and discover opportunities.
In this phase, consumers actively search for products, brands or solutions that meet their needs.
Typical activities: Google searches, reading blog posts, watching YouTube videos, browsing social media posts or online reviews.
Consumers are open to many options and expand their choices.
2. Evaluation
Goal: compare and weigh up options.
This is where consumers analyse the information they have gathered, compare products, read reviews and check alternatives in order to make a decision.
Typical activities: visiting price comparison sites, reading product reviews, consulting test reports, watching product videos.
Consumers filter and reduce the selection to make the best decision.
The constant change between exploration and evaluation
In the messy middle, consumers constantly move back and forth between the phases of exploration and evaluation before making a decision. This means that they are not in a linear process, but in a dynamic cycle that is strongly characterised by external influences, such as
• Trigger: Advertisements, recommendations, special offers.
• Biases: Psychological effects that influence the purchase decision (e.g. social affirmation, scarcity, familiarity).
Six cognitive biases
As part of their study, Google identified six important cognitive biases that influence consumers during the purchasing process:
- Category Heuristics: Simple rules of thumb to help consumers make a decision (e.g. ‘higher price = better quality’).
- Social Proof: People are guided by the decisions of others (e.g. customer reviews, influencer recommendation.
- Scarcity Bias: The feeling of scarcity increases the urgency (e.g. ‘only 2 left’).
- Authority Bias: Trust in expert opinions or well-known brands (e.g. test winner seal).
- Power of Free: The allure of free attracts consumers (e.g. ‘free shipping’).
- Power of Now: Immediate rewards are favoured over long-term rewards (e.g. ‘order today, deliver tomorrow’).
Final phase: Purchase decision
After consumers have gone through the cycle of exploration and evaluation, they finally make a purchase decision. However, this can be influenced by final influences such as special offers or targeted retargeting campaigns.
Advantages of the Messy Middle model
- Realistic: The model reflects the actual complexity of today’s consumer behaviour.
- Flexibility: Shows that purchasing decisions are no longer linear but take place in loops, which helps companies to adapt their marketing strategies.
- Optimisation potential: Insights from the model help companies to improve their customer approach, for example by specifically addressing the identified biases.
Practical application for companies
To utilise the messy middle, companies can apply the following strategies:
- Optimise content marketing to be present in the exploration phase.
- Emphasise social proof and reviews to support decision-making.
- Utilise special promotions and scarcity (e.g. limited time offers) to stimulate purchase.
- Run retargeting campaigns to get undecided customers to convert.
Summary
The Messy Middle model illustrates that modern purchasing decisions are characterized by dynamic and non-linear processes. Customers move back and forth between exploring new options and evaluating those options before deciding. Companies that understand how to be present in this messy middle have a better chance of attracting and retaining customers.
The bottom line
Consumer behaviour is influenced by a variety of parameters. Current developments have shown that our previous behaviours are being shaken by external factors and products are suddenly no longer available or are subject to immense price increases. These additional external parameters require companies in the B2C and B2B sectors to be even more flexibility in their relationships with end customers. Rigid models such as AIDA, the funnel or DAGMAR will be less and less able to map the market and sales behaviour due to their linearity. Companies will therefore have to make their sales strategy more dynamic and flexible in future in order to be able to react quickly to changing conditions. Static models must be be usefully supplemented by dynamic components from modern sales models.
Which model is chosen is, as always, a very individual decision and depends on many factors
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