Jargon free definitions of marketing terminology
| A | |
| Above the line | A traditional term for mass media promotion such as TV or cinema ads |
| Account manager | A member of agency staff who looks after the client side of a particular account |
| Added value | Increased worth of a brand due to a particular activity such as packaging or customer service |
| Advertising | The promotion of a product or service using paid-for media |
| Advertising value equivalent | A measure used used to determine the approximate worth of press and media attention compared to the equivalent amount of advertising space |
| Advertorial | A press advert designed to look like standards editorial content |
| Advocate | A member of the public who is an ambassador for your company or products |
| Affiliate marketing | An online promotional channel which involves advertisers paying website publishers for results (such as purchases), rather than simply paying for the advertising space. Most affiliate programmes in involve a commission based on the value of the sale. |
| Affinity marketing | See affiliate marketing |
| AIDA | Attention, Interest, Desire, Action – the stages of the original sales / purchase funnel |
| Ambient media | Communication via media which surround us in everyday life |
| B | |
| Below the line | A traditional term to describe alternatives to the mass media approach to promotion |
| Boston Consultancy Grid / Matrix | A method of identifying strategies for growing your business |
| Brand | The intangible sum of the thoughts and emotions a consumer has about a product or company |
| Branding | How a product or company is presented to the public |
| C | |
| Channel | See communications channel |
| CMS | Content management system |
| CMT | Content management tool (see CMS) |
| Communications | See marketing communications |
| Communications channel | Method of communicating with customers, these include websites, blogs, TV ads, personal letters, telephone conversations, live events and many more. |
| Conversion rate | A measure of campaign success – the number of prospects who have been converted into customers |
| Copyright | A legal term to prevent the unauthorised copying of work such as images or text |
| CPC | Cost per click – a term used to price online advertisements |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management, management of the sales funnel |
| D | |
| Direct marketing | Generally used to describe advertising directly to individuals. Includes direct mail, emails, telemarketing, leaflet marketing etc. |
| DL | A common leaflet size, A4 folded into three |
| DM | Direct marketing |
| E | |
| E-brochure | An electronic digitized version of a paper brochure |
| E-commerce | The process of making a transaction via a website |
| Environmental analysis | The process of analyzing relevant factors from the macro, micro and internal marketing environments and identifying possible threats and opportunities |
| Experiental marketing | Event-based promotions |
| F | |
| FMCG | Fast moving consumer goods |
| G | |
| Google Adsense | Google’s advertising program for website publishers |
| Google Adwords | Google’s advertising program for businesses |
| Guerilla marketing | A term to describe daring approaches to advertising |
| H | |
| Horizontal scanning | The process of examining developments, opportunities and threats in the external marketing environment |
| Hot spot | See ‘Touch point’ |
| I | |
| Integrated marketing | An integrated marketing campaign uses different media which work together to strengthen a message |
| J | |
| Joint venture | A partnership formed by two or more parties to serve a specific purpose |
| K | |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator – a measurement of success |
| L | |
| Lead time | The preparation needed before results can be seen |
| M | |
| Macro-environment | Large scale marketing factors outside of a company’s control – these are normally broken down into political, economic, social and technological elements |
| Marcomms | See marketing communications |
| Marketing-clutter | The high volume of marketing messages the average consumer is exposed to on a daily basis |
| Marketing communications | Methods of promoting your business |
| Marketing environment analysis | See environmental analysis |
| Marketing mix | The marketing toolkit |
| Marketing myopia | Describes the over-reliance in conventional promotional techniques such as advertising |
| Marketing plan | The staged approach to a successful business |
| Metrics | Another word for measurements usually presented as figures or graphs |
| Micro-environment | Marketing factors which are external to a company, but which can be controlled to a certain extent. These include suppliers, consumers, intermediaries, and competitors. |
| N | |
| Nomenclature | The names of the products within a brand |
| O | |
| Organic ranking | The natural ranking a website achieves in search engines for particular key words |
| P | |
| PEST-analysis | A method for identifying the elements of the external marketing environment – PEST is an acronym which stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors. |
| Positioning | Creating an image for your product, service or company and conveying this to the consumer |
| PR | Public relations or press relations |
| Prospect | A potential customer, who may have expressed interest in your brand |
| Pull strategy | A promotional strategy which encourages customers to seek out a product |
| Purchase funnel | The customer journey towards purchasing a product |
| Push strategy | A promotional strategy which encourages retailers to stock a product and promote directly to the consumer |
| Q | |
| Qualitative information | Data can be observed but not measured |
| Quantitative information | Data which can be measured with numbers |
| R | |
| Retention | The ability to maintain custom from individuals who have already bought from you |
| ROI | Return On Investment |
| S | |
| Sales funnel | The refinement process involved with turning a person into a customer |
| Segment | A group of the population which has similar product or service requirements |
| Segmentation | The process of splitting the consumer into definable target groups |
| SEO | Search engine optimisation – the process of designing your website to rank well in search engines for certain search terms |
| Service | A product where nothing physically changes hands |
| SOSTAC | Situation analysis, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Actions, Controls |
| SMART | Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound |
| Strategic brand management | The process of creating value through brand development |
| SWOT analysis | A method of identifying the current market position of a business or product. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats |
| T | |
| Targeting | Marketing to a particular segment |
| Through the line | An advertising campaign or agency which uses various disciplines including mass media such as Cinema ads (see ‘Above The Line’) and less conventional means such as social media (see ‘Below the Line’) |
| Touch point | Every step of the customer journey where there is interaction with a brand |
| U | |
| URL | Uniform resource locator. A website address |
| USP | Unique selling point – a competitive advantage |
| V | |
| Value proposition | Value proposition: The sum of the tangible and intangible qualities which form a brand’s offering |
| Viral marketing | A method of marketing which spreads the message via the action of people |
| W | |
| WOM | Word of mouth advertising – a powerful tool |