In marketing there are all kinds of creative ways and acronyms to apply to processes. Some are worth remembering while others are better spent forgetting. One of which I recently came across in my marketing readings was a model called DECIDE.
Although not groundbreaking or new, this 6-step acronym walks marketers through a process to properly analyze, make an educated decision, and take next steps with a well-thought out marketing strategy. Never heard of the DECIDE model? The process is explained below.
Use the DECIDE model to help you with your marketing objectives and strategy.
DECIDE stands for defining the problem, establishing the criteria, considering alternatives, identify the best alternative, doing the identified actions, and evaluating and monitoring the decision.
Each of these 6 steps is broken down into additional detail.
Defining the Problem
The first step is to layout your problem. What issues is your organization facing?
Is your revenue declining?
Are you growing at a slower rate?
Are you struggling to acquire top talent?
Are you not receiving the ROI you expect from your marketing or advertising?
Do you fall short when it comes to marketing your services compared to your competition?
Define the problem(s) as specifically as possible here to help guide with establishing criteria and objectives. The more specific you can be in your problem, the more specific your next steps can be.
Establishing the Criteria
Here you determine your objectives.
What do you want the outcomes of the marketing campaign or marketing efforts to produce? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs)? Does your organization want to drive revenue, drive profit margins, drive awareness, drive perception, drive image, take competitive market share, etc.?
Considering Alternatives
In this step of the DECIDE model, you choose which alternatives are best for you. In these situations it typically involves market research to evaluate alternatives. This could involve using secondary research online to see what data is available.
Or your organization could commission a primary market research company to understand current benchmarks of awareness, perceptions, and image. The market research could also point to which marketing channels are most effective for your organization (social media, television, websites, etc.) Hiring a market research company is an effective way to obtain fact-based and evidence to help you evaluate decisions.
Identifying Actions
The fourth step of the DECIDE model is to make a decision on the best course of action. Here you review all of your objectives, goals, and alternatives to forge a path ahead. This involves developing and identifying an action plan. In many cases this is writing a marketing strategy document or strategic plan for your organization.
Doing the Identified Actions
Now it is time to take action. This involves taking the marketing strategy and making moves. Hiring vendors, hiring partners, or just doing it yourself (DIY). This would be incorporating the market research findings to develop a Facebook campaign and messaging, writing of content for your new blog, or redeveloping your website. This step involves categorizing customers and personas to target. After the first 4 steps of planning, identifying, and evaluating, this is the first step where action takes place.
Evaluate and Monitor the Decision
After decisions are made, you need to have mechanisms in place to measure your success. If your marketing strategy involves digital marketing this is easier because digital offers and abundant amount of data. Your outcomes can be measured to your goals, number of campaign likes or shares, number of website visits your campaign generated, or the number of form fills or calls your company received. If you completed a benchmark analysis of awareness, perception, or image you should think about completing a Wave 2 of market research to remeasure.
Contact our Market Research Company
The DECIDE model is an excellent way to strategically layout a process to make both large and small marketing decisions. It is a tactical yet easy to understand approach for organizations both large and small.
Drive Research is a market research company. We specialize in collecting data and feedback to help drive organization strategy forward.
Questions about our services? Contact us at 315-303-2040 or send us an email at [email protected].