Marketing glossary

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There are currently 37 names in this directory beginning with the letter B.
B-roll
Commonly also called cutaways. B-roll is footage filmed to tell the story, very often to support a contributor or narrative within a corporate film or documentary
Bait & switch advertising
A misleading advertising offer intended to mislead the prospective customer into thinking that the company is selling a product at a price which the company has no intention of doing so. The purpose is to increase inquiries and thus switch the consumer to buy from the company. Some companies regard this as unethical marketing or unethical advertising
Balance of trade
The difference between a country's exports and imports.
Banner advertising
A small rectangular banner placed by companies on other web sites the hosting web site owner is paid revenue for the number of page impressions or the number of click throughs to the client web site. Banner advertising is much more sophisticated than when originally introduced to the web in the 1990s.
Banner exchange schemes
Method of networking whereby companies with complimentary products or services exchange banner adverts to increase traffic to their respective web sites. A cost-neutral marketing initiative.
Barriers to competition
Market forces which make entering the market difficult. Branding, advertising & promotion, patents, market entry restrictions and tariffs are examples of this. Marketers and investors often cite barrier to competition as a measure used to look at long term investment opportunity or revenue generation opportunity.
Barriers to market entry
The factors making successful new product development difficult to bring to market like the economy, laws and technical knowledge and ability. Barrier to market entry can often be increased for competitors by the successful acquisition of intellectual property rights such as patents or trademarks. These barriers to market entry can stop or slow down competition. This is a technique extensively used by marketers and patent agencies to prevent competition in the short-medium term.
Below-the-line cost
Any cost that is not itemised in a production budget.
Benefit segmentation
Dividing prospects and customers into groups based on what benefit they are looking for from a product. For example, some people choose bottled beers due to their perceived better taste whereas others may choose to drink them for 'trend or image' reasons.
Benefit selling
Where a salesperson states product benefits that closely match the prospective customers needs in order to win the sale. Marketing agencies employing senior or expert marketing consultants with a solid understanding of marketing principles will often work with clients to make sure that these benefit messages are relevant and successful when employed.
Beta product testing
Where software companies will freely distribute an early working version of a new product so that a mass user group can identify glitches and report back the problems to the product development team. Some companies such as apple choose not to adopt wide beta testing programmes and there is much debate about the effectiveness of beta programme testing.
Block plan
A store layout plan with actual sizes, shapes and locations off all store goods.
Body copy
The main text in an advert, company literature or web site. The body copy is used by marketing experts or nlp specialist marketing consultants to engage with client / customer groups in a way which persuades. You will buy from thinktank, methods which effectively mean that your body copy works better than ever before!
Bonus pack
A pack or carton giving extra away for free or a reduced price. A classic marketing tactic to enable customers to experience the product for the first time or to get more for free!
Boomerang method
A salesperson's method of turning an objection into a reason for acting immediately with the intention of strengthening the possibility of winning the sale.
Boston Growth Matrix
Cash cows, stars, problem child (question mark) and dogs. This tool developed by the boston consulting group is used to look for possible problems and helps with divesting and harvesting of products.
Brand
The brand is the name, logo and any special property that identifies a product or service in its own right. Legally it is referred to as a trademark if a company has applied for trademark status. The brand can be a single product, a group of products or the entire offer of a company (e.g., mcdonalds, coca cola, etc – these are all registered trademarks of their respective companies).
Brand awareness
The level of customer awareness of a brand's existence within a market. Experienced marketing consultants will know the difference between brand awareness and brand equity.
Brand choice
The purchase of one brand instead of another where a choice exists. Marketing services agencies know the power of brand choice by consumers or b2b customers.
Brand dilution
Weakening of brand image by launching too many line extensions or using the brand name across a wide variety of areas. There are rare examples of this actually working in practise like virgin, however, other factors have contributed to the success of brands like virgin and are beyond the scope of this text. Brand dilution as classically defined is not as relevant as it once was during the pre-internet era.
Brand equity
The value or perception of the qualities of a brand within a market, based on attitudes, beliefs and favourable consequences of using the brand. Marketing consultants understand the power of brand equity.
Brand extension (also called line extension)
The process of launching a new product line using an existing brand name and adding a 'tag' to identify it with. For example blackcurrant tango is a line extension of the tango brand.
Brand generic
Not the same as generic brand! A brand generic is the latter half of a brand identity. Hoover vacuum cleaner , hoover the brand and vacuum cleaner the generic.
Brand image
Perception of the brand in the mind of a prospective customer. People's beliefs, expectations and feelings about a brand.
Brand indifference
This is where the customer has no preference for one brand over another for whatever reason. Often these customers will purchase brands based on convenience, price or by chance (for further reading on chance try looking up the bernoulli principle in marketing textbooks).
Brand logo
The 'badge' of the brand, which may or may not include the brand name.
Brand loyalty
The bond of habit or tendency of a customer to buy a brand based on their beliefs, perception, attitudes and experience of use of that brand. Brand loyal customers have a very high barrier to 'switching' products (see brand switching).
Brand management
The management process carried out by a company and / or its agency responsible for developing all aspects of the brand.
Brand name
The part of a brand represented in letters or numerals. This does not include the logo. Brand positioning (see positioning)
Brand switching
Where a customer changes to another brand or exhibits buying behaviour that possesses no loyalty to buying one brand over another.
Break-even point
The period in time from product launch when the sales of a product equal the total cost of production, marketing administration and distribution of that product.
Break-even profit point
The time period when total sales costs since launch equals the total cost of product development and all other associated costs since launch. This time period always comes later than the break-even point.
Broadband
Also referred to as high speed internet, broadband is internet access at a high speed. There are various broadband speeds usually 8-20 times faster than a standard modem. Variations of high speed internet access are known as asdl (asymmetric digital subscriber line), dsl (digital subscriber line), t1, t2 etc.
Broadcast quality
This is a much higher quality production (and therefore more expensive) than needed for multimedia or vhs use.
Brown goods
Consumer electronic goods like tvs video's hi-fi.
Budget
Companies refer to the budget as 'sales budget' or 'marketing budget'. Sales budget refers to the amount of sales forecasted over a given period and marketing budget is the amount of money allocated to spend on marketing the product. It can be confusing sometimes.
Buying signal
Salespeople identify buying signals in order to 'close' a sale. These are often key phrases or visual signals given by customers.

All | # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
There are currently 206 names in this directory.

Adoption process (the buying process)
Any method that explains the step-by-step way that consumers behave in buying products where they begin with ignorance of a product and move through the 'steps or stages' to purchasing. This is a commonly used expression by marketing consultants or marketing agencies.
Advertising
The placing of a persuasive announcement in audio, video, electronic, online or printed form with for the purposes of promotion of products or services. Advertising is often seen as a ‘sexy form’ of marketing promotion.
Advertising agency
An advertising agency is an organisation providing a range of services related to advertising (see marketing agency (also called marketing services agency) to compare and contrast the advertising agencies and marketing services) and design services. Generally the larger ones (found primarily in Manchester in the Northwest of England) will have marketing services expertise and may provide video or multimedia services- however this is often 'farmed out' to specialist video production companies or multimedia agencies. Very few marketing or marketing services companies or advertising agencies like thinktank have in-house marketing services together with advertising services and high-end video production facilities.
Anchor effect
Used by a marketing services agency or advertising agency, the anchor effect or anchoring is a very powerful method of marketing promotion where consumers compare product prices against an established product, like the market leader. The bias created attracts consumers towards this price - the anchor effect.
Ansoff matrix
A four box matrix used by marketing consultants and in-house marketing teams for looking at taking existing products / services into new markets new products into existing markets.
Antitrust laws
Commonly large companies such as software houses are in the press for breaching antitrust laws that are laws found in the us, forbidding monopolies, unfair competition and restraints of trade. The laws also forbid lessening of competition by exclusive dealing and price discrimination.
Average customer lifetime
The average time (in days, months or years) a customer buys from your business. Marketing consultants use this information (especially relationship marketing experts as found at thinktank marketing) to improve company profitability.
Average lifetime value
The total amount of money spent during the average lifetime (see average lifetime) by a customer. Marketing services consultants use average lifetime value to improve a company’s overall profitability by maximising the average customer lifetime value.
Average-cost pricing
Basing product pricing by using a method of adding a fixed percentage onto the total cost of producing the product. This crude method of pricing is often used by companies with large volumes of products, or by companies who choose not to market their products or services using marketing methodology.
B-roll
Commonly also called cutaways. B-roll is footage filmed to tell the story, very often to support a contributor or narrative within a corporate film or documentary
Bait & switch advertising
A misleading advertising offer intended to mislead the prospective customer into thinking that the company is selling a product at a price which the company has no intention of doing so. The purpose is to increase inquiries and thus switch the consumer to buy from the company. Some companies regard this as unethical marketing or unethical advertising
Balance of trade
The difference between a country's exports and imports.
Banner advertising
A small rectangular banner placed by companies on other web sites the hosting web site owner is paid revenue for the number of page impressions or the number of click throughs to the client web site. Banner advertising is much more sophisticated than when originally introduced to the web in the 1990s.
Banner exchange schemes
Method of networking whereby companies with complimentary products or services exchange banner adverts to increase traffic to their respective web sites. A cost-neutral marketing initiative.
Barriers to competition
Market forces which make entering the market difficult. Branding, advertising & promotion, patents, market entry restrictions and tariffs are examples of this. Marketers and investors often cite barrier to competition as a measure used to look at long term investment opportunity or revenue generation opportunity.
Barriers to market entry
The factors making successful new product development difficult to bring to market like the economy, laws and technical knowledge and ability. Barrier to market entry can often be increased for competitors by the successful acquisition of intellectual property rights such as patents or trademarks. These barriers to market entry can stop or slow down competition. This is a technique extensively used by marketers and patent agencies to prevent competition in the short-medium term.
Below-the-line cost
Any cost that is not itemised in a production budget.
Benefit segmentation
Dividing prospects and customers into groups based on what benefit they are looking for from a product. For example, some people choose bottled beers due to their perceived better taste whereas others may choose to drink them for 'trend or image' reasons.
Benefit selling
Where a salesperson states product benefits that closely match the prospective customers needs in order to win the sale. Marketing agencies employing senior or expert marketing consultants with a solid understanding of marketing principles will often work with clients to make sure that these benefit messages are relevant and successful when employed.
Beta product testing
Where software companies will freely distribute an early working version of a new product so that a mass user group can identify glitches and report back the problems to the product development team. Some companies such as apple choose not to adopt wide beta testing programmes and there is much debate about the effectiveness of beta programme testing.
Block plan
A store layout plan with actual sizes, shapes and locations off all store goods.
Body copy
The main text in an advert, company literature or web site. The body copy is used by marketing experts or nlp specialist marketing consultants to engage with client / customer groups in a way which persuades. You will buy from thinktank, methods which effectively mean that your body copy works better than ever before!
Bonus pack
A pack or carton giving extra away for free or a reduced price. A classic marketing tactic to enable customers to experience the product for the first time or to get more for free!
Boomerang method
A salesperson's method of turning an objection into a reason for acting immediately with the intention of strengthening the possibility of winning the sale.
Boston Growth Matrix
Cash cows, stars, problem child (question mark) and dogs. This tool developed by the boston consulting group is used to look for possible problems and helps with divesting and harvesting of products.
Brand
The brand is the name, logo and any special property that identifies a product or service in its own right. Legally it is referred to as a trademark if a company has applied for trademark status. The brand can be a single product, a group of products or the entire offer of a company (e.g., mcdonalds, coca cola, etc – these are all registered trademarks of their respective companies).
Brand awareness
The level of customer awareness of a brand's existence within a market. Experienced marketing consultants will know the difference between brand awareness and brand equity.
Brand choice
The purchase of one brand instead of another where a choice exists. Marketing services agencies know the power of brand choice by consumers or b2b customers.
Brand dilution
Weakening of brand image by launching too many line extensions or using the brand name across a wide variety of areas. There are rare examples of this actually working in practise like virgin, however, other factors have contributed to the success of brands like virgin and are beyond the scope of this text. Brand dilution as classically defined is not as relevant as it once was during the pre-internet era.
Brand equity
The value or perception of the qualities of a brand within a market, based on attitudes, beliefs and favourable consequences of using the brand. Marketing consultants understand the power of brand equity.
Brand extension (also called line extension)
The process of launching a new product line using an existing brand name and adding a 'tag' to identify it with. For example blackcurrant tango is a line extension of the tango brand.
Brand generic
Not the same as generic brand! A brand generic is the latter half of a brand identity. Hoover vacuum cleaner , hoover the brand and vacuum cleaner the generic.
Brand image
Perception of the brand in the mind of a prospective customer. People's beliefs, expectations and feelings about a brand.
Brand indifference
This is where the customer has no preference for one brand over another for whatever reason. Often these customers will purchase brands based on convenience, price or by chance (for further reading on chance try looking up the bernoulli principle in marketing textbooks).
Brand logo
The 'badge' of the brand, which may or may not include the brand name.
Brand loyalty
The bond of habit or tendency of a customer to buy a brand based on their beliefs, perception, attitudes and experience of use of that brand. Brand loyal customers have a very high barrier to 'switching' products (see brand switching).
Brand management
The management process carried out by a company and / or its agency responsible for developing all aspects of the brand.
Brand name
The part of a brand represented in letters or numerals. This does not include the logo. Brand positioning (see positioning)
Brand switching
Where a customer changes to another brand or exhibits buying behaviour that possesses no loyalty to buying one brand over another.
Break-even point
The period in time from product launch when the sales of a product equal the total cost of production, marketing administration and distribution of that product.
Break-even profit point
The time period when total sales costs since launch equals the total cost of product development and all other associated costs since launch. This time period always comes later than the break-even point.
Broadband
Also referred to as high speed internet, broadband is internet access at a high speed. There are various broadband speeds usually 8-20 times faster than a standard modem. Variations of high speed internet access are known as asdl (asymmetric digital subscriber line), dsl (digital subscriber line), t1, t2 etc.
Broadcast quality
This is a much higher quality production (and therefore more expensive) than needed for multimedia or vhs use.
Brown goods
Consumer electronic goods like tvs video's hi-fi.
Budget
Companies refer to the budget as 'sales budget' or 'marketing budget'. Sales budget refers to the amount of sales forecasted over a given period and marketing budget is the amount of money allocated to spend on marketing the product. It can be confusing sometimes.
Buying signal
Salespeople identify buying signals in order to 'close' a sale. These are often key phrases or visual signals given by customers.
CAD
Computer aided design
Captive market
Where a customer is in an environment like a motorway service station or airport and has no other alternative source from which to purchase. Pricing often reflects the restriction of choice for the customer
Cartel
An immoral arrangement where like minded businesses fix or set prices to maximise profit.
Category killer
A large store (physical or virtual) that concentrates solely on a very narrow range of products and offers poor service but prices the products very low.
Cause related marketing
A marketing policy using an approach which appeals to the greater good of humanity. For example organic foods or body shop. These companies aim to do business and protect and respect animal life or the planet. A company adopting this approach must ensure that all of its activities are carried out in a way which supports their claim to be green and eco-friendly.
Channel (also called distribution channel)
The network of organisations and systems for getting the product from the producer to purchaser.
Close
The point at which the salesperson attempts to finish the deal when selling.
Club plan selling
Using existing customers or members to gain reward for 'introducing another person' to a product or service.
Comparative advertising
An advert in which reference or inference to another competitive product is made and compares or invites the customer to compare the two. Taking the 'pepsi challenge' is a good example of this.
Competitive advantage
Where one company has an advantage over another because of things like lower production costs, superior product quality or uniqueness.
Contingency planning
The image that a company portrays to the outside world.
Convergence
A term often used to denote the 'coming together' of tv/video/pc/telephone into an integrated household unit.
Corporate Identity (Corporate ID)
The image of a company. This term is also loosely used to describe a company or brand logo, typeface etc.
Corporate strategy
The main company plan containing a 'mission' human and financial resource strategies together with all the business strategies of the company in priority order.
Cost-plus pricing
Selling a range of products by setting the price on the basis of adding a fixed mark-up to the total costs of production and associated costs.
Crisis management
An organised method of minimising the impact of a serious event, product failure or adverse publicity.
Customer promiscuity
The number or proportion of customers who defect from buying your brand every year.
Customer retention -the number or proportion of customers who are retained (stay doing business with a company) every year. This is usually expressed as a percentage or by using the average customer lifetime value (see above)
Customer retention -the number or proportion of customers who are retained (stay doing business with a company) every year. This is usually expressed as a percentage or by using the average customer lifetime value (see above)
Customer satisfaction
The study of looking at customers experience of a product or service against their expectations.
D-commerce
Using new technologies like digital tv to sell products and services. This term is no longer used anymore.
Database marketing
The management process of developing relationships with existing customers and new business prospects by electronically storing and analysing data to produce useful information on which to make future marketing decisions.
Decision Making Unit (DMU)
The individual or team responsible for making the final buying decision (see also influencers).
Demand curve
A graph showing how price affects the sales of a product with all other variables being constant.
Demand oriented pricing
Setting the price on the basis of demand at various prices.
Demographics
Human factors such as age, sex, education, religion, earnings, occupation and geography which are used to classify customers for building target customer groups.
Depth interview
A detailed interview used in market research where the individual expresses a range of views rather than answering yes or no. These are used to a gain deep insight and understanding of issues.
Dichotomous question
A market research question where the answer can either be one choice or another, e.g., yes or no.
Digital Print
A cost effective way of printing when only a small amount of printed material is required. It differs from lithographic (standard) printing in both quality and cost.
Direct advertising
Mass promotion where the advertising material goes to a known target audience, like direct mail.
Direct channel
Where the company sells or 'divests' a product service or category for strategic reasons.
DMA
Data & marketing association
Downsizing
Reducing the number of employees and restructuring the company in order to increase profitability.
E-commerce
The exchange of money (and data) via the internet to buy goods, gain information from remote sources and transfer money (on-line banking).
Early Adopters
Before mass take-up of a product but after the innovators who will buy at an earlier stage.
Early and late majority
People who will wait to buy a product until after it has been tried and tested by the innovators and early adopters but buy before the product has become well-established.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
Exchange of data between companies to facilitate day-to-day business.
EFTPOS (Electronic Fund Transfer at Point-of-Sale)
Selling products to consumers by electronically taking money at the point of sale , e.g., supermarket checkout.
Elasticity
Elasticity measures how increasing or decreasing the price affects demand for a product.
Export marketing
The process of marketing goods or services outside the parent companies home country.
Extranet
A closed computer network link to share information between different companies.
Flash
Animation produced for the web or multimedia using a product calling macromedia flash.
Fonts
A typeface, for example arial, helvetica, times new roman etc.
Forum
A web page which is used to exchange views about a particular subject or subjects where viewers generally have similar interests.
Fragmentation
The fine splitting of markets into segments then fragments as consumers become more selective in their buying behaviour or where there is a plethora of product choice.
Frequency
The number of times you get your promotional message across to the average target customer during the period of a campaign.
Full-line pricing
Where there is a dependency of pricing between one product and another in a line of goods sold by that company.
Gap Analysis
A complex process identifying the gap between what is being done now in the marketing of a product and where it should be to fall into line with overall strategic objectives. Gap analysis identifies what needs to be done and assesses the cost and probability of achieving it.
GATT
The total value of goods and services produced by a country over a given time.
Generic advertising
A product named by its generic class, e.g., dvd player, video etc.
Global advertising
An advertising campaign that is run across many countries and continents with a similar message, modified only slightly for each target country.
Global brand
A brand name used world-wide (like coca cola).
GNP (Gross National Product)
A country's total financial output and services output over a given period of time.
Group testing
An expression used in market research where many people are gathered together in the same environment to discuss, taste or test products, services or advertising.
Halo effect
An expression used in data management and general business. Data collection defines the term as the carry-over effect seen when data with sample error is used in other calculations. In business, the term often refers to the added effect of one thing upon another.
Hard goods
Goods like home furnishings, hardware, finishing and appliances.
Harvesting
A strategy used when a company is in need of money or forecasts a downturn in the long-term market. The company usually maximises the amount of turnover from a product by a variety of ways, such as lowering the price, saturating the market etc. To achieve this.
Headline
The main heading of an advert.
Hierarchy of needs (See Maslow)
Hierarchy of needs (see maslow)
Hit rate
The number of times a particular web site or page on a web site has been visited by people surfing the web.
Horizontal integration
The acquisition of businesses in the same market place to strengthen the business and reduce competition.
Hosting
The place or company where a web site is stored so that people can see the site when using the internet.
HTML email
Email with graphics/pictures used for promotion, usually sent by the thousands.
IDM
Institute of direct marketing
Impulse purchase
A quick buying decision that is made without the customer going through an 'adoption process' first. An example of this is the buying of chocolate at a supermarket checkout.
Influencers
The individuals in a company that have a direct influence on the final decision of any buying choice. These people may be end users, lower management in large companies or any individual that has the ear of anyone on the decision making unit (see decision making unit).
Innovators
People who buy a product soon after launch and without the need for seeking other opinions or experience.
Intranet
A company's internal communication network on which employees can access information and newsletters via a graphics interface such as a browser like internet explorer or netscape. The intranet may be connected to the internet for employees to access information, however, people outside the company cannot gain access to the intranet.
JIT (Just in Time)
A manufacturing method used to reduce stock levels by planning to receive goods exactly when they are needed.
JIT II (Just in time II)
An advanced version of jit where there is a greater relationship between the manufacturer and its suppliers. Often the suppliers will have their personnel working within the manufacturers plant.
Joint venture
A company's major account holders.
KVI (Known Value Items)
A set of key brands within a retail environment where their prices are well known by the average consumer. Consumers cannot be aware of every price and so the kvis are the brands that will make a store look cheap or expensive.
Laggards
People who will not buy a product until after it has become well established and owned by a great number of people.
Law of diminishing return
This states that there is a point after which adding things like product features or increasing quality will not be worthwhile as there will be a low return for the company in doing this.
Life cycle
The evolution of a brand from its launch (birth), through to the end of its natural life where the product is deleted from a company's portfolio. There are different kinds of product life cycle depending on the market however and life cycles can range from as little as one year in a high tech environment like computers through to many decades. The life cycle is characterised by a period of slow growth at launch, followed quickly by fast exponential sales growth. The growth in sales slows at the product reaches a maturity phase and later goes into decline. This is then followed by product withdrawal for financial reasons.
Line extension
A new product that has carries the name of an existing brand normally new sizes, tastes, colours, models etc.
List price
The published price of an item, excluding any discount offered by a reseller.
Lithographic printing
A term used to describe the process for printing what is called the 'traditional' way. Most printing of promotional brochures is done in this way (see also digital printing).
Loyalty schemes
A method used for building relationship with customers by obtaining detailed information about their habits, rewarding the for buying from your business and attempting to stop them switching business to a competitor.
Macro / micro segmentation
A mulitstep approach to business looking at a company's macro environment such as its customers sic code and size of the buying firm through to micro issues such as order size and urgency.
Macromarketing
This looks at larger marketing issues such as the economy, political situation, changes in legislation etc. On a broad level.
Mark-up
The extra price that the company sells its product using the cost of production price for the basis of calculating the mark-up.
Market coverage
A measure of how many outlets in a given area (compared to the total number of outlets) stock a product.
Market index
An analytical technique used to express two or several factors into numerical form. This is used for a number of reasons including targeting.
Market penetration
A strategy that aims to increase businesses within a market or to maintain business if defending competition from competitors.
Market research
The process of selecting methods of gathering, recording and analysing market data for marketing purposes.
Market segment
A group of customers in a market with a defined set of needs. Markets usually have a number of these groups and thus are called segments. Further subdivision of segments is known as market fragments.
Market segmentation
The process of looking at the different customer needs within a market and dividing them into different segments based on these needs. (see market segments).
Market share
The percentage of unit or £ sales of any product within its market.
Marketing
(not the technical definition) the process of managing a company's products or services to maximise the profitability of the company (unless the organisation is non-profit making) . It evaluates current and changing customer needs and market conditions to develop new products or services. The process ensures that all aspects of the product, optimum places for selling, setting prices and its promotion, are conducted in the best way. These same principles are also applied to existing products and company portfolios.
Marketing Agency
Full-service and non full-service. The majority of marketing agencies provide a high level of marketing advice and expertise on marketing matters. A full service agency, like thinktank marketing provides a full service in-house with expert understanding of strategy, design, e-business, multimedia, web site development and direct marketing / database development.
Marketing mix
Assigning financial resources to the various elements of the marketing of a product or service. The four p's , product, price, place and promotion are all allocated a budget for marketing purposes (also see promotional mix).
Marketing plan
A detailed instruction plan outlining the methods needed for a product to be successful within a market. It evaluates market conditions, previous sales history, swot (see swot analysis), and future promotion plans. This document is usually for one product or a group of products, however, in smaller businesses it may form the entire company plan.
Maslow's hierarchical needs
A well established theory of abram maslow that examines the way humans are motivated and seeks to explain their aspirations. A good tool for use in both marketing and sales.
Media buying
The analysis of client needs by a marketing or advertising agency for subsequent purchase of advertising space on behalf of the client.
Media mix
The study of the marketing activities of a company.
Mission statement
A public statement of a company's intent. This includes the purpose and strategic aims of the company. The mission forms the basis for all company activities.
Multibrand strategy
The act of a company having one or more products in the same competing market. Soap powder and shampoo are good examples of this.
Multimedia agency
An organisation providing 2-d and 3-d interactive presentations for use with computers, web sites and touch-screen kiosks. These agencies rarely deal with traditional design or marketing.
Multiple packaging
A term used for various things including a product that has more than one layer of packaging, such as a foil container inside a cardboard carton.
Mystery shopping
A research method where a representative of the market research company will pose as a customer to assess the level of service provided by a company.
National brand
A brand that is marketed throughout one country. However, a national brand may be marketed in different countries under a different name.
Negative advertising
A method of advertising aimed at exposing the weaknesses of competitor products.
New product development
The process of identifying customer needs and bringing a product or service to the market that matches these needs.
Niche marketing
A product aimed at a specific market segment or segments. (see market segments).
Non-price competition
Marketing a product without focusing on price. In this situation there will usually be focus on service levels, product choice etc.
Non-profit making organisation
A government or charity organisation with a remit to serve the public or to benefit good causes.
OEM
Companies that buy other companies goods to make its products. Pc manufacturers (digital, dell, ibm etc.) Are examples of an oem.
On-line
An activity that takes place over the internet.
Organogram
A company's organisation chart.
Parallel pricing
Pricing goods in line with the competition.
Perito's Principle
Also referred to as the 80:20 rule. 80% of your business comes directly from 20% of your customers.
Point of sale advertising
Advertising features, display racks and cardboard cut-outs positioned at the place where customers buy products.
Portal
A term often used to refer to a company that hosts a number of banner adverts with the main aim of generating significant amounts of revenue.
Portfolio management
Managing a range or 'portfolio' of products or services and new developments in an integrated way, analysing the competitors in each market and recommending methods for optimising the future portfolio.
Pre-marketing
Marketing activities prior to product launch.
Premium price
A product with a high price, usually sold on style, quality uniqueness or rarity. These 'exclusive' products are normally sold through selected outlets.
Product line
A company's product or group of products with similar characteristics. Product lines may contain a subdivision of further product lines.
Product manager/ product marketing manager
An individual in a company who is responsible for the marketing of a product or group of products. In larger companies this post reports into the marketing director.
Promotional mix
Assigning financial resources to the various elements needed for promoting a product or service. This 'mix' is used as a basis of promoting the product.
Public relations
The process of developing relations and finding positive angles for gaining press and media exposure.
Public sector
Governmental organisations set-up to meet the needs of the country. These bodies generally exist to serve without making a profit.
Pull strategy
A method of gaining extra sales by use of point-of-sale advertising, stocking offers to resellers etc. The purpose here is to pull the product through the distribution channel and push it to customers. This is termed 'push-pull'.
Qualitative
Market research used to generate detailed information rather than numbers or percentages.
Qualitative into quantitative research
A method of usage qualitative research as a primary tool in order to develop the ideal way to carry out quantitative market research.
Quantitative
Market research used to generate a numerical evaluation of a given parameter in a market place like 'awareness', number of times used etc.
R&D (Research & Development)
The process and team responsible for bringing new products to market and improving existing products.
Rate card
The published rate at which a newspaper, tv or radio station sells advertising space or time.
Re-branding
Changing the name, image or logo of a current brand on the market.
Relational purchasing
The way customers buy products or services based on their beliefs about a product or company and their relationship with that brand or company. An 'emotional' purchase. (see transactional purchasing for contrast).
Relationship marketing
Marketing by development of relationships with customers through tactics like mailings, clubs, magazines etc. The marketing relies on building an effective database of customer and their needs.
Respondent
An individual or company who completes a request like filling in a form, taking part in market research or returning a reply from a mailshot.
Response driven mechanism
A reply paid card or device used to collect data or gain further interest / sale of a product.
Retailing mix
The development of a plan outlining the optimum way to attract customers, including store position, layout, store design, services offered, advertising and promotion budget.
Sample
In market research, a selection of individuals for research that contains a representative sample of the market. In promotion a sample is a small pack of goods distributed to prospective customers in order to experience the product.
Sampling error
Normally this process takes time to see the outcomes before a comparison can be made.
Search Engine Optimisation
The process of improving and optimising a web site on the internet..
Search engines
An internet term for a site where you can search for what you are looking for when you insert a series of key words or phrases.
Selected outlets
Often to maintain exclusivity of the product and a high price.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
An agreement between two parties (either in the same company or with suppliers or customers) that clearly defines the expectations required from one or both parties.
Shared values approach
Method of placing products of similar perceived quality within the same promotional setting, or companies product portfolio. It justifies the extra 'premium price' of relatively unknown brands.
SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)
Products and establishments are divided into sic codes depending on various factors. The system was developed by the us department of commerce.
Strategic market planning
The decision making process that examines and recommends the best strategies for a company to market new and existing products.
Surfing
Spending time using the internet visiting various sites.
SWOT analysis
A matrix used for examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for companies, products or service within a market. The idea is to maximise the strengths and opportunities and minimise the weaknesses or threats. Swot can also be in a quantitative form whereby weighting factors are added to each element of the swot.
Tactics
Detailed short-term ways of achieving the marketing strategy.
Target customers
A list of customers with common interests that form the focus of your promotion. The list can be individual names or in the case of mass marketing just common characteristics like age, sex income etc. Used to generate campaigns that will get to these people.
Target market
The chosen market for a particular product or service.
Test marketing
Using various geographical areas to test the likely uptake of a product or service. Factors such as price, advertising campaigns and distribution channels can be changed in the different areas to measure the optimum route to market for product launch.
Transactional purchasing
The way customers buy products or services based on facts and availability like price. This way assumes that the customer has no preference for supplier or brand. The internet has increased the level of transactional purchasing and as such businesses require a different approach to internet marketing in many circumstances. A ' non-emotional' purchase decision (see relational purchasing for contrast).
Unit pricing
A product that is sold by weights or measures.
USP
(USP) Also referred to as Unique Selling Principle) - a brand's unique property or characteristic that clearly differentiates it from the competition. A marketing company can develop a powerful USP for new products or services.
Vertical integration
The merger or acquisition of two companies within a market but compliment each other because they are within different parts of the channel, e.g., a manufacturer merging with a retail chain, or a supplier merging with a company that buys its products in order to market their goods.
Weak product
A product in decline or easily vulnerable to attack due to its poor quality or marketing power.
White goods
The methods used in such industries as airlines and hotels to maximise the amount of profit per unit sold.
WIIFM
What's in it for me. A good way of summarising what customers want when choosing to buy something.
X-Factor
The 'little something' that makes a product or service extra special.
YouTube
A platform for sharing video content founded on Valentine's Day 2005 by workers of PayPal.
Yuppie
A 1980's label, mostly used as a negative term, describing a successful young person perceived as flashy, self-centred and lacking respect for other people.
Zapping
The phenomenon of consumers using the tv remote control during adverts, thus reducing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

56 terms shown in the B view.

B-Roll

B-roll is supporting footage used alongside main interviews, narration or story content. It may show people, places, products, details, processes, environments or activity that helps illustrate the message.

Good B-roll makes a video more visual, useful and engaging by showing the viewer what the story is about.

B2B Demand Generation

B2B demand generation creates and develops interest from relevant business buyers, helping to build a stronger pipeline of prospects before and during the sales process. It brings together market focus, proposition, content, campaigns, digital activity, sales alignment and measurement so the business attracts organisations with a realistic reason to engage.

Effective demand generation improves the quality and momentum of commercial interest, giving sales and marketing a stronger basis for future conversations.

Behavioural Segmentation

Behavioural segmentation groups people or organisations by what they do. It may consider purchase history, usage, loyalty, engagement, website behaviour, campaign response, enquiry patterns, content consumption, product interest or buying stage.

This helps marketing respond to real actions, making communication, offers and follow-up more relevant to the way the audience is behaving.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking compares performance, activity, cost, quality, service or market position against a relevant standard. That standard may come from competitors, sector norms, previous performance, industry data, best practice or agreed internal targets.

In marketing, benchmarking helps a business understand where it stands, what level of performance is realistic, and where improvement may create commercial advantage.

Bento Design

Bento design uses a grid of modular content blocks, often with different sizes and visual weights, to present information in a structured but visually engaging way. It is commonly used on modern websites, dashboards and landing pages.

In marketing websites, bento design can help organise services, proof, messages and calls to action while creating a more dynamic visual rhythm.

Beta Launch

A beta launch releases a product, service, platform or feature to a controlled audience before full launch. It is often used to test usability, performance, messaging, customer response, technical behaviour and practical market readiness.

A well-managed beta launch helps the business gather evidence, improve the offer and build early users, advocates or case material before wider promotion.

Billboard Advertising

Billboard advertising uses large-format outdoor displays to reach people in public spaces. It can support brand awareness, local visibility, product launches, campaign reinforcement and high-impact messaging.

A strong billboard works quickly, using a clear idea, concise copy and distinctive visual treatment that can be understood at speed.

Bleed

Bleed is the extra artwork area that extends beyond the final trimmed edge of a printed piece. It ensures that colour, images or background designs reach the edge after trimming.

Correct bleed helps printed material look professional and avoids unwanted white edges around the final piece.

Book A Call

Book a call is a call to action that invites a prospect to schedule a conversation with the business. It can be used on service pages, landing pages, email campaigns, proposals, sales material and paid campaigns.

A strong book-a-call route makes the next step feel clear, professional and appropriate to the stage of interest.

Brand Advocacy

Brand advocacy describes the support created when customers, employees, partners or other stakeholders speak positively about a brand. It may involve recommendation, public endorsement, social sharing, referrals, reviews, case studies or informal influence.

In marketing, brand advocacy strengthens credibility because the message is supported by people outside the organisation itself.

Brand Ambassador

A brand ambassador is a person who represents, promotes or supports a brand over time. They may be a customer, employee, celebrity, influencer, expert, partner or public figure.

A good ambassador relationship works when the person has credibility with the audience and a natural connection with the brand.

Brand Approval

Brand approval checks that communication, design, content or campaign material is aligned with the brand's identity, tone, messaging and standards. It can apply to websites, adverts, brochures, videos, social content, signage, presentations and partner material.

Good brand approval protects consistency while helping the finished work present the business with clarity and confidence.

Brand Architecture

Brand architecture defines how different brands, sub-brands, products, services or divisions relate to each other within one organisation. It helps clarify naming, hierarchy, ownership, customer understanding and the relationship between the corporate brand and individual offers.

Good brand architecture makes the organisation easier to understand, especially where there are several products, services, markets or audiences involved.

Brand Assets

Brand assets are the materials and elements used to present a brand consistently. They may include logos, icons, colours, typefaces, templates, photography, illustrations, tone guidance, messaging, video elements and graphic devices.

Well-managed assets help teams create communication more efficiently while protecting brand consistency.

Brand Audit

A brand audit reviews how a brand is currently positioned, presented and perceived. It may examine identity, messaging, website, sales material, customer feedback, competitor position, visual consistency, reputation, tone of voice and market relevance.

A good brand audit gives the business a clearer view of whether the brand is supporting its commercial ambitions and where refinement, repositioning or development may be needed.

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness describes how familiar a market or audience is with a business, product or service. It can include recognition of the name, understanding of what the business does, recall of the brand in a buying situation, and association with particular qualities or sectors.

Awareness matters because buyers often feel more comfortable considering a business they recognise, especially when the brand is linked with relevance, credibility and a clear market position.

Brand Consistency

Brand consistency means presenting a brand in a coherent way across different channels, materials, teams and customer touchpoints. It can apply to visual identity, messaging, tone of voice, service experience, sales material, advertising, social content and internal communication.

Consistency helps build recognition and confidence because people encounter the brand in a way that feels connected and deliberate.

Brand Development

Brand development strengthens how a business, product or service is positioned, presented, recognised and experienced in the market. It can involve brand strategy, positioning, repositioning, identity, messaging, visual style, tone of voice, line extensions, customer perception and the wider experience people associate with the brand.

Good brand development gives the business a clearer and more consistent presence, helping the brand support recognition, confidence, commercial growth and future market opportunities.

Brand Equity

Brand equity is the commercial value created by the strength of a brand in the market. It reflects factors such as recognition, reputation, trust, loyalty, perceived quality, associations, preference and the influence the brand has on buying decisions.

Strong brand equity can support pricing, repeat business, customer confidence, launch activity and resilience, because the brand carries value beyond the immediate features of the product or service.

Brand Essence

Brand essence is the core idea or feeling a brand wants to be known for. It distils the brand into a simple strategic expression that can guide messaging, design, behaviour and customer experience.

A clear brand essence helps keep communication focused, especially when the brand appears across many channels, services or markets.

Brand Extension

Brand extension uses an existing brand name to introduce a new product, service, category or market offer. It can help build confidence more quickly by carrying existing awareness, reputation or trust into a new area.

A strong brand extension needs a credible connection with the parent brand, so the market can understand why the new offer belongs and why it deserves attention.

Brand Governance

Brand governance manages how a brand is used across an organisation and by external partners. It may cover guidelines, approvals, training, asset libraries, templates, tone, messaging, identity rules and review processes.

Strong brand governance protects recognition and professionalism while making it easier for people to use the brand correctly.

Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines set out how a brand should be presented across different materials, channels and situations. They may cover logo use, colour, typography, imagery, tone of voice, messaging, layout, templates, accessibility and examples of correct application.

Clear guidelines help protect consistency while giving teams, suppliers and partners a practical reference for producing brand-aligned communication.

Brand Hierarchy

Brand hierarchy organises brands, sub-brands, products, services or ranges into a clear structure. It shows which names sit at the top, which sit underneath, and how each part should be presented to the market.

A clear hierarchy helps customers understand the relationship between offers and helps the business manage identity, messaging, sales material and future growth more coherently.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the set of elements used to present a brand consistently and recognisably. It can include name, logo, colours, typography, imagery, tone of voice, design style, messaging, templates and the visual or verbal cues people associate with the brand.

A strong brand identity gives the brand a clearer presence, helping the market recognise it, understand it and connect it with the position the business wants to hold.

Brand Mapping

Brand mapping is the process of comparing how brands are positioned, perceived or structured within a market. It may look at competitors, customer associations, price position, emotional territory, visual style, service level, reputation and the gaps or overlaps between brands.

Good brand mapping helps a business understand where it currently sits, where it could move and how future positioning, messaging or identity work should be shaped.

Brand Mark

A brand mark is a symbol, icon or graphic element used to represent a brand, often alongside or separately from the name. It can support recognition across small spaces, social profiles, app icons, packaging and visual systems.

A strong brand mark should be distinctive, usable and connected to the wider identity.

Brand Message

A brand message expresses an important idea about what a brand stands for, offers or means to its market. It may communicate position, promise, value, personality, expertise, difference, confidence or customer relevance.

Strong brand messages give communication a more consistent direction, helping the brand sound clearer and more recognisable across different channels and materials.

Brand Mood Board

A brand mood board explores the visual and emotional direction of a brand. It can help define or test style, colour, typography, imagery, tone, personality and the type of market impression the brand should create.

A good brand mood board gives the early brand development process a more concrete visual reference.

Brand Perception

Brand perception is how people see, interpret and feel about a brand. It may be shaped by communication, experience, reputation, reviews, design, pricing, service, word of mouth, competitors and the expectations created by the market.

Understanding perception helps a business see whether the brand is being judged in the way it intends and whether communication or experience needs to be strengthened.

Brand Personality

Brand personality describes the human qualities a brand is intended to express through its communication, behaviour and presentation. It may feel confident, expert, friendly, innovative, practical, premium, specialist, warm, direct or reassuring.

A clear brand personality helps shape tone, design, content and customer experience, giving the brand a more distinctive and consistent character.

Brand Platform

A brand platform is the strategic foundation that defines how a brand should be understood and expressed. It may include positioning, values, proposition, personality, audience, proof, tone of voice, visual principles and key messages.

A good brand platform gives teams and suppliers a shared reference for creating communication that feels coherent and commercially aligned.

Brand Positioning

Brand positioning defines the place a business, product or service should hold within its market compared with competitors and alternatives. It considers the shape of the market, the positions already occupied, the commercial space available, the strengths of the offer, and the role the brand needs to play in the buyer’s decision.

Strong positioning helps stop a product or service being treated as a cheaper copy, a weaker alternative or an unclear choice. It creates the strategic basis for later messaging, communication statements, campaign ideas, design work and sales material.

Brand Promise

A brand promise expresses the expectation a business wants customers to associate with the brand. It may relate to quality, service, expertise, reliability, innovation, value, confidence, experience or the outcome the customer can expect.

A strong brand promise should be credible, relevant and supported by the way the business actually behaves, so communication and customer experience work together.

Brand Proposition

A brand proposition sets out the core value a brand offers to its intended market. It brings together the audience, need, difference, benefit, proof and reason the brand deserves consideration.

A strong proposition gives future messaging, campaigns, sales material and content a clearer foundation.

Brand Recall

Brand recall is the ability of people to remember a brand when thinking about a product, service, category or buying need. It is stronger than simple recognition because the brand comes to mind without needing to be shown first.

In marketing, brand recall is valuable because buyers often start with the names they already remember when they begin to compare options.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition is the ability of people to identify a brand from its name, logo, colours, design style, packaging, tone, message or other distinctive cues. It helps a business become more familiar and easier to recall in relevant buying situations.

Strong recognition supports visibility and confidence, especially when the brand is associated with a clear market position and positive experience.

Brand Refresh

A brand refresh updates the way a brand looks, sounds or presents itself while retaining the core recognition or equity already built. It may involve visual identity, messaging, tone of voice, website, sales material, photography, templates or customer-facing assets.

A good refresh helps the brand feel more current, relevant and commercially aligned while preserving the value that already exists.

Brand Repositioning

Brand repositioning changes the market position a business, product or service is trying to hold. It may respond to a shift in customer expectations, competitor pressure, pricing issues, product development, new markets, declining relevance or a stronger commercial opportunity.

A clear repositioning exercise reshapes how the brand is presented and understood, giving future messaging, identity, campaigns, sales material and customer communication a stronger strategic basis.

Brand Strategy

Brand strategy defines how a brand should support the commercial direction of a business, product or service. It considers market position, audience, reputation, differentiation, value, personality, messaging, identity and the role the brand needs to play in growth.

A strong brand strategy gives the brand a clearer purpose, helping future communication, design, campaigns and customer experience work together with greater consistency.

Brand Template

A brand template is a reusable design format created to keep materials consistent. Templates may be used for presentations, social posts, adverts, brochures, reports, proposals, email headers, case studies or internal documents.

Good templates save time and help maintain a professional brand standard across repeated communications.

Brand Values

Brand values are the principles or qualities a brand wants to be associated with and guided by. They may influence tone, behaviour, customer experience, culture, hiring, service delivery and communication.

Strong brand values are useful when they shape real decisions and help the business present a more consistent and credible identity.

Brand Video

A brand video expresses the identity, position, values, story or personality of a brand through moving image and sound. It may focus on reputation, purpose, customer experience, expertise, culture, product world or emotional connection.

Strong brand video gives the brand a more memorable and human way to communicate what it stands for and why it matters.

Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumb navigation shows the path between the page a visitor is on and the wider structure of the website. It often appears near the top of a page and may show the section, sub-section and current page.

Good breadcrumb navigation helps visitors understand where they are, move back through related sections and see how the page fits within the wider site.

Brochure Design

Brochure design presents information about a business, product, service or proposition in a structured and visually considered format. It brings together copy, layout, imagery, hierarchy, proof, design style and calls to action to help the reader understand the offer and its relevance.

A good brochure should act as a sales-support tool, giving prospects, customers or stakeholders a clear and credible reason to keep considering the business.

Broken Link

A broken link is a link that no longer leads to the intended page or file. It may produce an error, send users to the wrong place or interrupt the website journey.

Fixing broken links improves user experience, supports search quality and helps preserve the professionalism of the website.

Browser Testing

Browser testing checks how a website works across different browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox. It helps identify layout, performance, interaction or compatibility issues that may affect users.

Good browser testing supports a more reliable website experience across the platforms people use to visit the site.

Burst Campaign

A burst campaign uses concentrated marketing activity over a short period to create stronger visibility or response. It may support a launch, event, offer, recruitment drive, product push or tactical sales period.

A well-planned burst campaign needs sharp creative, clear targeting and a fast route to action because the activity is deliberately concentrated.

Bus Advertising

Bus advertising uses buses as moving or static advertising space. It may include side panels, rear panels, interior cards, bus wraps or shelter-linked activity.

Bus advertising can support local visibility, frequency and geographic coverage, especially where routes match the audience the campaign wants to reach.

Business Case

A business case sets out the rationale for a proposed decision, investment, project or course of action. It normally considers objectives, options, costs, benefits, risks, resources, timescales, implementation and expected outcomes.

A clear business case helps people make decisions with a stronger understanding of the commercial, operational and strategic reasons behind the proposal.

Business Consultancy

Business consultancy provides external expertise, challenge and guidance on the decisions affecting business performance and growth. It may support areas such as strategy, market direction, operations, sales, marketing, structure, planning, funding, leadership or commercial priorities.

Good consultancy helps management step back from day-to-day activity, assess the bigger picture and make more confident decisions about where the business is going and what needs to change.

Business Growth Strategy

Business growth strategy defines how a business intends to increase revenue, market share, profitability, customer value, capacity or long-term commercial strength. It may involve new markets, new products, pricing, sales development, partnerships, acquisitions, marketing investment or operational change.

Marketing plays an important role by supporting the market-facing decisions that help growth become credible, visible and achievable.

Buyer Guide

A buyer guide helps potential customers understand how to assess a product, service, supplier or decision. It may explain criteria, questions to ask, risks, options, pricing factors, proof, process and signs of quality.

A strong buyer guide supports trust by helping the audience make a more informed decision.

Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a working profile of a type of buyer or decision-maker a business wants to reach. It may include their role, priorities, pressures, questions, objections, information needs, buying influence and the factors that shape their decision.

A useful persona helps marketing and sales communicate with more relevance, especially where different people in the buying process care about different issues.

Buying Journey

The buying journey describes the process a buyer goes through when recognising a need, exploring options, comparing suppliers, assessing risk and making a decision. It may involve several stages, touchpoints and people, especially in B2B markets.

Good marketing supports the buying journey by providing the right information, reassurance and proof at the stages where the buyer needs them most.

Buying Signal

A buying signal is a behaviour, question or action that suggests a prospect may be moving closer to a decision. It may include repeat visits, pricing enquiries, comparison questions, meeting requests, downloads, detailed technical questions, stakeholder involvement or a request for a proposal.

Reading buying signals helps marketing and sales respond with the right level of information, support and follow-up at the right stage.