Marketing definitions

By Nigel Temple

Where a marketing technique appears after the word, e.g.: (advertising), this indicates where this concept is usually used.

AIDA (Advertising): Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. The cycle that a prospective customer goes through before they buy from you.

Above the line: Marketing which is clearly identified as being paid for by an interested party. For example, advertising in magazines and newspapers.

Adoption process: The series of steps, from first hearing about a new product or service, to trying it out and finally becoming a repeat customer.

Advertising: A paid for message which seeks to persuade or influence people. The two main cost elements are advertisement production and the cost of buying the space which the advert is seen in (e.g. newspaper page). The two key things to watch for in your advertising are the BIG IDEA (this is like the plot in a film) and DELIVERY (how good the film director is).

Advocate: Someone who recommends you to others. Treat them well!

Barter: Exchanging goods or services, without involving cash. This may be a straight exchange between two parties - or membership on a barter organisation (such as Bartercard in the UK and Australia).

Below the line: Non advertising spend, e.g. PR.

Benefit: The result which a product or service delivers. For example, a feature of a coffee mug is that has a handle. However, the benefit is that, besides making it easier to pick up, it stops your hand from being scorched. The only important benefits are those which are understood and valued by the prospective purchaser. (Someone may not care about handles because they have huge hands and they never drink hot drinks).

Brand: A brand can be a company, product or service which has been given a distinct identity and which has been consistently promoted.

Breakeven pricing: Planning to breakeven (i.e. not make a profit), having allowed for the costs of producing your product or delivering your service and your marketing costs. This is one way of breaking into a market.

Brief: The terms of understanding between you and, say your advertising agency on a particular job. My advice is to put it in writing.  This process firstly imposes on you the discipline of thinking about what is required and actually writing it down; secondly, if there are problems - then you are covered by the brief.

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing: As its name implies, this is where one business is selling to another business. This type of marketing has grown enormously over the last few decades, as the economy has become more complex.

Case study (PR / Corporate Literature): An article on a company or individual using your firm's products or services.

Celebrities (PR and Advertising): Often used in product endorsements, corporate events etc. Find out more at: The Celebrity Group

Channel: The intermediary layers of distribution between manufacturer and the final customer. This is a widely used term in the computer industry (hence 'channel marketing' - whereby you find, motivate and help channel partners to sell your products).

Client: Someone who buys from you regularly.

Closing: (or ‘the close’) (Selling): The point at which you ask for the order. For example, the ‘alternative close’: “Shall we deliver on Monday or Tuesday”; or: “Would you like to pay by card or cash.”

Cognitive Dissonance: Buyer unease, following a purchase. This feeling is of course potentially much worse after a major purchase - hence the need for follow and reassurance.

Competitor Analysis: Identifying your main competitors and researching their products, services, strategies, strengths and weaknesses. The key is to be objective!

Contact sheet: The outcome of a photographic session - a sheet of photographic paper which has a grid of small photographs on it. You can then easily choose which photograph(s) you want prints of - say, for your press release.

Copy (Advertising, PR, Corporate Literature): This is word which advertisers use for the words in a printed advertisement. Hence, ‘Copywriter’ and ‘Cooperating’.

Corporate advertising: Awareness building of your company name, product range, values etc., which doesn't specifically sell any particular product or service. Not to be recommended for small businesses!

Corporate literature: Printed matter such as brochures, leaflets, flyers, printed case studies, etc.

Cost plus pricing: Where a standard markup is added to the cost of an item. This is a very simplistic approach - often used in small businesses. Doesn't take into account profit targets.

Creative Thinking: The process of producing many alternative useful ideas for a given problem, challenge or situation. Originally known as 'problem solving'. If you want to learn more, jump to the Creative Thinking section of Nigel Temple's website.

Cromalin proof: These are proofs for 4 colour process jobs. The proof is created by exposing each separation film on to a sheet of photosensitised clear plastic. The four sheets - one for each process colour - are superimposed and laminated so that you can handle them.

Culture (company or corporate): The assumed and shared set of values, beliefs, perceptions and behaviours within an organisation. May not be apparent to those within it!

Customer: Someone who has bought from you once (however, people usually refer to everybody as 'customers').

Database: Computer software which stores information, such as customer details (see 'sales and marketing database').

Deadline (PR): The date when the editor says your article must be in by. Usually three days before it actually has to be. Learn from this - and always give out deadlines yourself for material that you need.

Decision maker(s): The individual or group within an organisation which makes the final purchasing decision.

Demographics: Profiles of a country or market by age, gender, socio-economics, etc.

Differentiation: Deciding what is unique or different about your business - and hammering this message home through marketing.

Digital printing: The process of printing straight from a computerised digital media. No film or plates are involved. Rapid turnaround is possible. Ideal for testing a brochure or other printed item - and for the personalisation of text and images. However - for longer print runs, traditional off-set litho is cheaper.

Direct marketing: Communication with individuals (either in their role as consumer or as job holder within an organisation), seeking a direct response back to you (by fax, phone, reply paid card etc). Compare this approach with awareness building through 'corporate advertising'.

'DL': a standard envelope size, being one third of A4. This is also a standard size for leaflets, which will fit into DL envelopes.

Dupe: Copy of a photographic transparency. Alternatively, another name for a PR Account Executive.

Embossing (Printing): Where an image is raised or recessed using an un-inked block.

Exclusive (PR): When you give a story to a journalist on the basis that he or she is the only one to receive it. You may want to negotiate the possibility of giving the story to other media at a later date.

Fmcg: Fast Moving Consumer Goods. Foodstuffs, toiletries, etc. Typically the products which you will find in any supermarket. The emphasis here is on low price and high volume of sales.

Feature (Sales): An aspect, part or function of a product or service. A feature of a coffee mug, for example, is that it has a handle (now check out 'benefit'). Features on their own don't sell anything - people are only really interested in benefits.

Feature (PR): A planned section of a magazine, newspaper or journal which is centred around a particular topic. Generally speaking, features are put together in order to attract advertising from relevant companies.

Four Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Gatekeeper: Someone who controls access to others in an organisation (particularly 'decision makers').

ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company which provides access to the internet. They may simply give a connection and an email address – or provide lots of goodies (such as free webspace for you to build a web site on) and information as well. 

Influencers: People who influence, but don't actually make, the buying decision. Can be a very important group to target.

Internal marketing: The use of professional marketing systems and techniques within an organisation, in order to facilitate communication and understanding. In-company newsletters are widely used internal marketing method. This method can be a good way of helping staff to communicate better with customers (as they know more about what is going on).

Internet: The global computer 'network of networks'. Originally developed by the US military as a strategy to avoid their computer systems being easily destroyed in the event of nuclear war, the technology and applications of the internet rocketed ahead in the 1990s.

Internal customer: The manager or member of staff who you are supplying goods or services to.

KVI: Known Value Item. Typically petrol, milk, a newspaper. What are the KVI's in your business? (Raise their price at your peril!)

Lifetime Value: The cumulative value of a client over the time that you do business with them. You should bear the potential lifetime value in mind when you make initial, small sales to a new customer - or just help them in some way.

Localisation: The process of adapting your marketing mix for another culture. For example - when you are establishing yourself in another country.

Marcoms (or 'marketing communications'): A business-to-business function whereby the Marcoms Manager takes care of sales support with corporate literature, PR, events, etc.

Market: All of the potential buyers of a product or service.

Market research: The collection and analysis of information concerning particular characteristics of a market.

Marketing: The creation of a positive perception of your company which generates trust, relationships, sales and profits.

Marketing management: The process of analysing, planning, implementing and controlling the marketing programme.

Marketing mix: The combination of marketing techniques which you use to promote your product / service. Also known as the four Ps.

Media: Mass communication channels, including broadcast media (radio, television); print media (magazines, newspapers); display media (posters, signs).

NLP: Neuro Linguistic Programming, the study of human excellence, founded by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. NLP is a modern branch of psychology, with numerous marketing, sales and communication applications. If you haven't come across it yet, check out this fascinating subject.

NPD (New Product Development): The process of systematically researching, testing and producing new products and product variations.

News value (PR): The value that the editor will place on whatever you are trying to sell to him or her. Some things are newsworthy - but a lot aren't.

Niche marketing: Relatively small sections of the market with distinct characteristics. If you study a particular market - you can divide the products or services which are sold into it by price and functionality. If you spot a niche which isn't well served - this may well be a great opportunity for you.

Off-set lithography: The technique most in used in printing companies. Once the metal plates have been made up, they are attached to the printing press. Each colour is run through in turn - with different rollers being used, whereby the ink is transferred (or 'off-set') from one roller to another.

Packaging: The container / wrapping around a product.

Pantone reference (Graphic Design): A numbering system used to classify all of the colours and tones in the rainbow. A logo, for example, will have specific pantone reference numbers for each colour it contains.

Pipeline (Sales): A list of your best sales prospects, from which you can reasonably accurately forecast sales revenue over the coming months.

Positioning: Placing your company, product or service in a clearly defined area of the market. For example, 'cheap and readily available' versus 'reassuringly expensive and exclusive'.

Press day (PR): The day(s) that a weekly or monthly magazine is wrapping up an issue - just before it goes to the printing stage.

Press pack or press kit (PR): A folder full of specially prepared information for the media about your company.

Press relations: The process of communicating with the media in order to influence them to publish / broadcast information on your organisation, service, or product.

Press release (PR): A short (hopefully two pages or less) piece of writing which conveys news to a number of different media recipients.

Product Life Cycle: The stages which a product goes through during its natural 'lifecycle', i.e: product development; launch; growth; maturity; decline. Admittedly, some products never seem to reach the decline stage (e.g. some lucky chocolate bars).

Price elasticity: The way in which demand changes to variations in price. You would expect demand to increase when the price goes down. However, in non-commodity goods, there are many examples of demand going up when the price goes up (due to the perception that high quality = high price).

Pricing: A key aspect of marketing. If your pricing is higher than your competition, demand (i.e. your sales) may well suffer. However, if you price too low – you may not generate sufficient profits to cover your costs. Eeek!

Product set: A group of products which share characteristics and are marketed to the same market segment(s).

Promotional gifts: Clocks, diaries, executive toys, umbrellas etc which have your company name / logo on them.

Prospects (Selling): An individual, company, or organisation whom you have qualified as a potential customer. For example, you will have discovered that the relevant decision maker has a need for your product / service, a budget and timescale for purchase.

Public Relations: The process of sustained communication with interested publics (such as customers, shareholders, the local community, government etc) over time.

Relationship marketing: The building and development of strong, meaningful relationships with clients. In particular - doing this in a systematic, professional way - as opposed to leaving it to chance.

SME: Small to Medium sized Enterprise.

SIC codes: Standard Industry Classification codes. For example, 'marketing consultants' have a code and so do 'drain cleaners'. Very useful when it comes to categorising your clients or conducting large scale direct mail projects etc.

Sales and marketing database: A database which has been specifically built for the needs of sales and marketing professionals. Name, address and other contact information is entered and then manipulated - for example to process mailshots or customer profiling.

Spokesperson (PR): This is the person who you are 'positioning' as the voice of your company. Usually, the Managing Director is a spokesperson. Most organisations have at least two, and sometimes more. However, if you have too many, it gets difficult to manage and the media won't be able to easily recollect who the names are.

Suspects (Selling): An individual, company, or organisation that fits your marketing criteria, with whom you would like to do business.

Survey (PR): An analysis of a particular type of product, company or other entity. In the trade press, there is usually a list - including suppliers and possibly telephone numbers!

SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. A quick (or sometimes very time consuming) way of analysing your company, product or service.

Targets (Sales): Usually set by the sales manager / director. Often seen as wildly over the top by the salesforce, but nothing to write home about by the board of directors.

Telemarketing: Using the telephone to promote your product or service. Can be used to generate literature requests. However - it is widely used in business to business marketing in order to generate appointments for salespeople.

Telesales: Using the telephone to try and make direct sales. Only (usually) works where the transaction price is low. However, the author has been subjected to two equity salesmen (i.e. stockbrokers) trying to sell him company shares by phone from New York (the author lives near London, in the UK).

Testing: Trying out a new marketing approach to see what happens (i.e. without 'betting the farm' on a great result from a huge initiative). Testing is something which the author strongly advocates.

Target marketing: The process of selecting particular individuals, groups or organisations which have similar profiles.

Transparency: A photograph on semi-transparent material which is visible when back-lit.

USP: Unique Selling Proposition. A feature/benefit of your product/service which is truly unique. Your USP should clearly differentiate you from your competition.

Varnish (Printing): Varnishing or lacquering sections or images of a brochure, etc., to enhance its appearance. Varnishing adds to the 'quality' feel of the brochure.

Written by Nigel Temple, the UK based marketing consultant, trainer, speaker and author. Visit: www.nigeltemple.com