The BASE3 Model did not originate as a marketing framework. It emerged from a broader observation about how people make decisions and how businesses communicate with potential customers.
One of the foundational influences behind the model was a quote by copywriter Eugene Schwartz. Schwartz who proposed that the effectiveness of a headline depends upon what a prospect already knows about their problem and the available solutions. A prospect who is unaware of a problem requires a different message than someone actively comparing solutions.
While this concept is commonly applied to copywriting, it raises a larger question:
If communication effectiveness depends on what a customer knows, what other business activities are influenced by customer knowledge?
This question led to a deeper examination of customer behavior, communication channels, content strategy, sales interactions, customer service, and business systems.
A simple observation emerged:
Customers can only act upon information they possess.
A customer who has never heard of a business cannot intentionally visit its website, subscribe to its newsletter, purchase its products, or recommend it to others. A customer who has already purchased does not require introductory information about the business. Instead, they require validation, support, and reinforcement of their decision.
These constraints exist regardless of industry, product, service, or communication channel.
The BASE3 Model was developed to describe and organize these realities.
A Logical Architecture for Customer Progression
The BASE3 Model is a logical architecture that describes how customers progress through a relationship with a business.
Rather than beginning with marketing tactics, advertising channels, or content formats, the model begins with customer state.
The model identifies five primary progression states:
- Discovering
- Considering
- Deciding
- Validating
- Promoting
These states are not arbitrary marketing stages. They represent distinct conditions defined by what information a customer possesses and what actions are logically available to them.
A customer who has never encountered a business cannot become a customer. A customer who has never purchased cannot become an advocate. A customer who has already purchased no longer requires awareness-oriented communication.
The model is built upon these logical constraints.
Information Requirements Change by State
One of the central principles of the BASE3 Model is that customers require different information depending upon their current progression state.
Customers in the Discovering state require information related to:
- Interests
- Desires
- Future possibilities
- Problems
Customers in the Deciding state require information related to:
- Product or service details
- Differentiation
- Benefits
- Proof
Customers in the Validating state require:
- Reassurance
- Support
- Gratitude
- Evidence that they made the right decision
The model recognizes that information should be aligned with customer state rather than delivered indiscriminately.
Communication Channels Have Constraints
The BASE3 Model also recognizes that every communication channel has inherent limitations.
A customer interacting with an Instagram post can like, comment, follow, share, or send a direct message. A customer reading an email is not simultaneously interacting with a website. A customer who has never encountered a business cannot subscribe to its newsletter.
These limitations are not marketing preferences. They are logical constraints.
The model organizes communication channels according to:
- The customer state in which they are most useful
- The actions available within the channel
- Their relationship to customer progression
This creates a logical connection between customer state, content requirements, communication channels, and measurable actions.
The Periodic Table of Digital Marketing Elements
As the model evolved, it became clear that it functioned as a classification system.
The BASE3 Periodic Table of Digital Marketing Elements was developed as a visual representation of these relationships.
Much like the scientific periodic table organizes elements according to properties and relationships, the BASE3 chart organizes:
- Customer progression states
- Content requirements
- Communication channels
- Business functions
- Measurable actions
The purpose of the chart is not to prescribe tactics. Its purpose is to reveal structure.
By making these relationships visible, organizations can better understand where customers are, what information they need, which channels are appropriate, and what progression should logically occur next.
From Classification to Execution
As the model matured, it became possible to identify valid progression paths between customer interactions.
Certain actions naturally create opportunities for specific next actions. Certain transitions are logical. Others are not.
This progression logic became the foundation for campaign architecture.
Using the BASE3 Model, organizations can define customer progression paths that move customers from discovery through advocacy while identifying the content, channels, and actions required at each step.
The result is not simply a marketing plan.
It is a progression architecture capable of guiding business execution.
Applications Beyond Marketing
Although initially developed within the context of marketing, the BASE3 Model has been successfully applied across multiple disciplines.
Applications include:
- Website Design
- Graphic Design
- User Experience Design
- Digital Strategy
- Customer Experience
- Sales Process Design
- CRM Architecture
- Entrepreneurship Education
- Campaign Planning
- Software Design
The model has been used to teach designers how to structure information based on customer state, entrepreneurs how to build sustainable service businesses, and organizations how to align communication with measurable customer progression.
This broad applicability exists because the model focuses on progression rather than promotion.
Foundation for SingleFig
The logical structure of the BASE3 Model became the foundation for SingleFig.
SingleFig transforms the progression architecture into an executable software system capable of generating campaign architectures, production plans, customer intelligence, project workflows, and measurable progression paths.
In this sense, SingleFig represents the operational implementation of the BASE3 Model.
Summary
The BASE3 Model is a logical architecture for customer progression.
It organizes customer states, information requirements, communication channels, measurable actions, and progression paths into a unified structure that reflects the realities of customer behavior.
Its purpose is to help organizations understand what customers know, what actions are available to them, what information they require next, and how progression can be measured and supported through coordinated business activity.