Here you can find key theories and marketing terms that will help you in your own learning and development. This page is constantly updated to give you the most up to date definitions.
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
A
Ad Impression or ‘Ad View’ – A metric used to measure how often users were shown your ad classed as one impression per ‘view.’
Affiliate Marketing – based on performance a company uses third-party ‘affiliate’s’ to promote and recommend it’s products; in return the ‘affiliates’ receive a % of the profits on each item successfully sold.
AI – Artificial Intelligence using computer software to enhance your customer experience online through your website.
Ambient Marketing – A strategy of promoting a brand through popular locations like shopping centres and train stations using stickers and projections. It can also be as simple as a logo on beer mats and in telephone booths.
Ansoff’s matrix – A tool used by marketer’s to judge how penetrated a market is and where to place new products in the market.
AR – Augmented Reality – Using state of the art immersion technology to give your customers a real world experience which could be through virtual tours or gaming.
Automation – A way to streamline and measure marketing tasks within an organisation to increase operational efficiency.
Autoresponder – Computer programme that automatically responds to e-mail sent to it, this can vary in complexity depending on the preferences of the organisation.
B
B2B – Business to Business Marketing
B2C – Business to Consumer Marketing
Behavioural Marketing – focused on the user’s/prospective customer’s past behaviour on websites which can generate ‘targeted ads’ for a positive response instead of auto generated ads.
Big Data – A very controversial subject that relates to personal data collected by large organisations who then analyse the mountains of data to recognize patterns and future trends.
Bounce Rate – % of visitors to a website who leave the site quickly after viewing only one page this could be a sign of serious issues within your website and navigation.
Brand – A brand is a unique entity that is used to differentiate between two products that are the same, it can offer intangible assets that can help the business profit.
Brand Ambassador – A third party individual hired by the brand to promote and represent a positive image of the brand. It is usually someone who has a high following like a celebrity, the importance of the individual and brand sharing the same values and ideals should be priority otherwise it can lead to damage for the brand.
Brand Awareness – Is the recognizability and recall of the brand to the consumer. It is has both ‘Breadth‘ (measures variety of purchase/consumption) and ‘Depth’ (likelihood consumers recognise brand.)
Brand Equity – The perceived worth of the brand not related to a monetary value, this is useful when brands are extending their product line or in comparing to it’s competitors.
Brand Extension – Once a brand has been well established in a category they can use the same image and identity to develop a new product in a new category this can then be used as a leverage for Brand Equity.
Brand Image – The perceptions of a brand based on the consumer/customer interactions over time if this is positive it can help increase and promote brand loyalty.
Brand Knowledge – can be identified in two components; Brand Awareness & Brand image
Brand Slogan – A short memorable slogan that is identified with the brand which builds both awareness & image.
Brand Story – Often developed over time it is a collection of the brand’s history which can generate a story in the minds of the consumer/customer that is positive to reinforce loyalty.
Buzz Marketing – A method used to amplify the original marketing message and evoke strong feelings which can either be positive or negative.
C
Cause Marketing – When an organisation joins with a non profit organisation to create a campaign that promotes the cause but also increases profits for the organisation.
Channel Equity – Different to brand equity this relates exclusively to business relationships between distributors & retailers and their effect on equity.
CTR – Click Through Rate is a metric gathering the ratio of users who click on a specific link to reach the organisations page it can be a link to; website, social media, email or messaging, this is helpful to businesses who can streamline their online presence and more effectively share links to their page through the right channels.
Competitive Analysis – strategic analysis used to identify competitors in the current marketplace and potential competitors, whilst also evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of competitors to develop a strong product or brand placement.
Consumer – individuals who ‘consume’ or use the product.
Content Marketing – focused entirely on the content used for offline and online strategies creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to generate profitable action.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – An organisation supporting environmental or social projects gaining publicity for the good of community over company value or profit though the company gains a better reputation and brand equity.
CPC – Cost Per Click – used predominantly to drive traffic to websites an advertiser pays a publisher when the ad is clicked.
Customer – individuals who buy the goods or services from the seller but don’t ‘consume’ them.
Customer Journey – The sum of experiences a consumer/customer goes through from first awareness of the brand to purchase and potential long term loyalty.
Customer Based Brand Equity – Established by Kevin Lane Keller (2012) to build a strong brand you must recognise customers and attempt to shape how they perceive and feel about the brand.
4C’s; Consumer needs & wants/Cost to Satisfy/ Convenience to Buy and Communication.(Lauterborn, 1990)
D
Data – facts and statistics collated together for analysis.
E
Ethics – Business practices and laws that govern business practices in relation to promoting products and services.
Email Marketing – Digital marketing strategy that uses emails to communicate with customers often sending reminders and newsletters.
Employee Based Brand Equity – This area of brand equity relates to employees that add or subtract the value of the brand.
Engagement – How organisations communicate with their audience through content and interactions over time to understand the ‘individuals’ within the audience base. Most organisations use social media for this.
F
Fads – Often they are quick into market, adopted, peak early and decline fast.
FAQ – Frequently asked Questions usually displayed prominently on websites to help users navigate popular issues that may arise.
Financial Based Brand Equity – This approach quantifies the financial value the brand has often using the firms balance sheets and cash flows.
Flanker brands – New brands that are established by the dominant brand in the same category to compete at a different price without damaging the established brand.
FMCG – Fast Moving Consumer Goods usually refer to low cost household goods like toiletries or packaged foods.
G
H
HTML – Hypertext Markup Language is a common programming language used to develop the basic attributes of a functioning website.
HTTPS – Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is the primary protocol used to send data between a web browser and website.
I
Inbound Marketing – a strategy for drawing customers to products and services through several means; content marketing, social media marketing, SEO and Branding.
Influencer Marketing – An organisation uses ‘influencers’ usually people with large social media followings and celebrities to promote their products and services instead of marketing to a larger group in the population.
IMC – Integrated Marketing Communications A concept that ensures all communications and messages are the same to ensure a holistic purpose driven communications approach.
J
JS JavaScript – A programming language that allows more complicated and complex imagery and design in a website which can be used in conjunction to HTML.
K
Keyword Bidding – This service allows an organisation to purchase certain words that users would search to appear higher or highest in those search results. Bids can vary in price depending on competitors and market sector which is something to bear in mind.
KPI – Key Performance Indictors a set of measurable metrics that allows the organisation to respond to missed targets or overperformance.
L
Line Extension – When a brand uses an established product for a new item in the same category with the same name. E.g. New flavours, colours or package sizes.
Lifetime Value – A prediction used by organisations to predict net profit for the entire future relationship with customer.
M
Marketing Communication Manager usually have control over messages, content, who should receive the messages, total spend and can evaluate goals met and targets throughout the process.
Metrics – A set of measurements and values the organisation chooses to monitor. This will change and alter depending on decisions made by the company and can help set targets and goals with an ability to monitor the progress throughout the period of development.
Multi – Channel Marketing – A strategy involving multiple channels of communication both indirect and direct to interact with customers.
N
‘Niche’ – appeals only to small group of individuals with specific interests and behaviours that the organisation has selected as their ideal consumers.
Network Advertising – Most commonly used by independent companies that connect advertisers to websites that want to host advertisements.
NPS – Net Promoter Score – A management tool that can measure the loyalty of a firm’s customer relationships.
O
Organic Listing – refers to natural or unpaid listings that use search terms to match to the content of the listing the higher the match the higher the listing.
Organic Search – when a user searches terms that lead them to the organisations website without targeted ads or links.
P
Page Views – a metric used to determine how many visitors have viewed that specific page in a period of time.
Pay for Presentation – another way of advertising that doesn’t require the user to click on the ad i.e. automatic ads before YouTube videos.
PESTLE – Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental issues that affect the marketplace and your business strategy.
PIMs – Performance Indicator Measures performing standards for specific industry which can be easily influenced.
POP – Point of Purchase usually promotional material to encourage sales before transaction. I.e. Promotional Display carefully placed in an aisle of a supermarket.
POS – Point of Sale usually promotional material at the point of transaction. I.e. Products placed in the checkout aisle to encourage last minute purchase while queuing.
PPC – Pay Per Click – A company that placed an advertisement on an independent website pays when a user of the website clicks on the ad.
PR – Public Relations managing relationship with stakeholders more often media; damage limitations/crisis management (building awareness of brand not actually selling.)
Product Anatomy – every product has four basic elements; Core – actual product the functional or emotional benefit. Tangible – Physical good or service of product Augmented – support or post purchase extended service usually warranties or service support. Potential – adding more to the existing range or service usually termed; brand, range or line extension. (see definitions)
Product Lifecyle Stages – There are four main stages of a product according to Phillip Kotler; Introduction, Growth, (rapid market acceptance and product popular) Maturity, (Slowdown in sale growth/product stabilise) and Decline (sale down and profit decline.)
Push & Pull Strategy; Push – promotional material of product/service to wholesalers/retailers to distribute through the supply chain to highlight their product (benefits special deals etc.) Pull – bring customers into retail stores using adverts. (literally pull them in to buy product)
Q
QR Code – a type of unique matrix barcode which contains information about the product that it is attached or associated with. Can be used to offer discounts or track delivery items.
R
Range Extension – in the same way as line extension a range extension extends to an entire collection of new products with the same branding and logo which can boost the brand.
ROI – Return on Investment a ratio between overall net profit and costs.
S
Sales Copy – usually focused on the ‘product story’ is often difficult to write and requires a clear purpose and audience in mind.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization a process ensuring your website or products appear higher in search results on search engines like Google.
Search Advertising – Placing online advertisements on search result web pages which usually appear higher in the search results than organic listings.
Social Media – websites and online platforms that allow users to publish and share their own unique content to friends and followers. Businesses can use social media to connect to their consumers and customers using unique content at a lower cost than large scale advertising campaigns on TV.
STP – Segmentation Target Positioning is a strategy used to identify target markets for your product and the grouping of these individuals to make focused communications that have a real benefit.
SMB – Small to Medium Business usually companies that have between 10 – 500 employees.
T
Trademark – allowing the business or organisation exclusive rights to the item in question can be; brand name, logo or even a colour scheme.
U
Unique Visitors – a term used to reference someone who visits a website at least once during the period of measurement.
Umbrella brand – a brand that owns a collection of brands but doesn’t usually advertise on the products instead keeping the original logo.
V
Viral Content – When brands or individuals create content that is popular on the internet with high levels of reactions, shares and exposure.
W
WOM – Word of Mouth refers to existing customers recommending your brand or services to their friends and family with the goal of increasing your customer base.
Marketing Explained 