A MARKETING GLOSSARY: Account Manager Vendor representative in charge of specific customers or partners.

Affiliate A website that will drive traffic to another site for a percentage of sales. Affinity Marketing Marketing targeted at individuals sharing common interests related to a product. Also, a campaign jointly sponsored different organisations. Attribute Characteristic, peculiarity, or distinctive feature of a product. Banner An ad on a Web page that is usually linked to the advertiser's site. B2B B2B is an acronym for "business-to-business" referring to commerce between businesses. Most commonly used in connection with e-commerce and advertising, when you are targeting businesses as opposed to consumers. Brand A name, term, sign or symbol used for identification and recognition purposes of products or services. Both a physical and emotional trigger to create a relationship between consumers and the product or service. Brand Attributes Functional or emotional associations that are assigned to a brand by its customers and prospects. Brand attributes can be either negative or positive and can have varying degrees of relevance and importance to different customer segments. Brand Equity The value - both tangible and intangible that a brand adds to a product/service. Brand Extension Using an existing brand for new products or services. Brand Loyalty The strength of preference for a brand compared to other similar available options. Often measured in terms of purchase behavior or price sensitivity. Brand Management The process of managing an organisations brands in order to increase long-term brand equity.

Brand Positioning The space a brand is perceived to occupy; the part of the brand identity that is to be actively communicated in a way that meaningfully sets it apart from the competition. Brand Repositioning Effort to change common perception of a brand. Broadcasting Delivering content through radio or television to a "broad" audience" over the airwaves. See "Narrowcasting". Business to Business (B2B) Sales focused on business customers, either for internal use or resale. Business to Consumer (B2C) Sales focused on consumers, typically for personal consumption. Buzz "Word-of-mouth" marketing, where product information is communicated by consumers. Call Center The word for an inbound telephone division in a company. The operators are called Agents. The call center uses an ACD (automatic call distributor) to manage the calls efficiently. Call to Action Whatever you want your customer to do through a given marketing effort. Some examples would include purchasing a product, signing up for your service, filling out a form, etc. Churning The practice of customers switching to another supplier based on special discount offers. Click-through The percentage of ad views on a Web page that resulted in an ad click. Competitive Advantage The product, proposition or benefit that puts a company ahead of its competitors. Cost Per Thousand (CPM) Standard measurement for determining the cost effectiveness for advertising, by comparing the cost to impressions for a target audience.

CRM Acronym for Customer Relationship Management, which is also applied to Customer Relationship Management software. CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer, whether it be sales or service related. Cross-Sell Encouraging customers to buy products from other departments or categories. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Profitability of a customer during the lifetime of the relationship, as opposed to profitability of one transaction. Customer Service Process designed for assuring customers a positive buying experience. When executed correctly, it can improve customer loyalty, increase cross-selling, and promote positive word-of-mouth. Data-mining Using technology to break down information, often used to aid forecasting and prediction of marketing data. Decision Makers In business-to-business, executives who have the authority to make or influence a purchase. Also known as Business Decision Maker (BDM). Demographics Statisitcs that describe characteristics of a population (e.g., sex, race, age, geographic location) Differentiation Identification, definition, and communication of a product's uniqure selling proposition or USP. See "Uniqure Selling Proposition". Direct Marketing All activities which make it possible to offer goods or services or to transmit other messages to a segment of the population by post, telephone, e-mail or other direct means. E-Commerce/E-Marketing Sales or marketing conducted through the Internet. Frequency Amount of exposure your target market has to your marketing message, or how many times someone buys a product. Focus Group

Study of a cross section of people used to predict response to a product or service. Often conducted with group of customers who are assembled together in a conference room to discuss a particular product. Four M's Money, Material, Machine and Manpower. Business resources referenced in a marketing plan. Four P's Product, Price, Placement and Promotion. The basic foundational elements of traditional marketing. Impressions Every exposure to an advertising message is an "impression." Influentials People who can influence buying habits of others. Integrated Marketing Communications This is a concept of marketing communications that recognizes the added value of assuring that all communication vehicles (including sales force, customer services, and any other employees who have customer contact) portray a clear and consistent message about the company, business, or product that follows and illustrates the company's vision and mission. Lead A prospect who has responded is called a Lead. Mailing list A list of customers or prospects used to mail catalogs or sale announcements. It is not a marketing database because it does not provide for a two-way communication with customers. Marketing Communications All methods used by a firm to communicate with its customers and prospective customers. Marketing Metrics Measurements that help with the quantification of marketing performance, such as market share, advertising spend, and response rates elicited by advertising and direct marketing. Marketing Mix Variety of the elements in marketing efforts. Can iclude details such as pricing, product features, packaging, advertising, merchandising, distribution, and budget.

Market Penetration The percentage of actual customers as compared with the total number selected as the market. Market position The perception of a product or an organisation from the view of the consumer. Mass Marketing Selling to everyone through mass media such as radio, TV, or a newspaper, as opposed to database marketing which is aimed at a small selected audience. Narrowcasting Delivering targeted content over a broadcasting system, but directed to audiences with special or "narrow" interests. See "Broadcasting". Newsgroup Internet discussion group devoted to talking about a specific topic. Niche Marketing The process of concentrating your resources and efforts on one particular segment. Opt-in Opt-in email lists are lists where Internet users have voluntarily signed up to receive commercial e-mail about topics of interest. Page Views Number of times a user requests a Web page. Indicative of the number of times an ad was potentially seen, or "gross impressions." May overstate ad impressions if users choose to turn off graphics. Packaging Material used to protect goods, and used as an opportunity to present the brand and logo. Peer to Peer (P2P) Marketing Technique of encouraging customers to promote a product person-to-person (peer-to-peer) on the Internet. See also "Word of Mouth". Personalization The process of including personal references in marketing efforts, such as a Web site or a letter. POS Point of Sale. A cash register.

Positioning Marketing efforts aimed at defining a product or company in the consumer's mind. Product Life Cycle The five stages of a product's life include: 1. Introduction, during which costs typically exceed revenue. 2. Growth, during which sales rapidly increase. 3. Maturity, during which there is more competition, pricing tends to decline, and product loyalty is emphasized in advertising. 4. Saturation, during which sales slow and advertising strategy shifts to reinforcement. 5. Decline, at which point the market has shrunk and advertising and distribution costs are cut drastically to reduce losses Product Placement Use of a product or service within a television show or film. Promotional Mix Components of a promotional campaign, including advertising, public relations, direct marketing, packaging, and sales promotion. Prospect A potential customer who you have targeted. Pull Promotion Promotion that addresses the customer directly, intended to get them to demand the product, and "pull" through the distribution chain. Push Promotion Promotion relies on the next link in the channel - e.g. a wholesaler or retailer - to "push" products to the customer. Reach Total number of individual prospects exposed to your message. Relationship Marketing Strategy of establishing a relationship with a customer that lasts beyond the initial purchase. Response Rate The percentage of people who responded to your offer. A typical direct mail response rate to prospects is 2%. Retention

The tendency to keep customers buying. Success is measured by retention of customers. Rich Media Rich media is a term for advanced technology used in Internet ads, such as streaming video, applets that allow user interaction, and special effects. SMB Acronym for Small to Medium Business. Also known as SME, for Small to Medium Enterprise. Segmentation The process of dividing a market into groups that display similar behaviour and characteristics. Spin The attempt to manipulate the depiction of news or events in the media through artful public relations - often used with derogatory connotations. Splash Page Also known as a "jump page," a Web page set up for visitors who clicked on a link in an advertisement. Can be used to promote special offers or to measure the response to an advertisement. SWOT Analysis Analysis method which examines Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Often used as part of a marketing plan. Targeting Selection of specific market segments for a campaign. Telemarketing Talking on the telephone to prospects or customers. Inbound telemarketing is usually customers or prospects calling your toll free number. Outbound telemarketing is when you place the call to a prospect or customer. Telemarketing can be done by your in-house staff or by an external telemarketing company. Unique Selling Propostion (USP) Product features or benefits that cannot be claimed by the competition. Up-Sell Prompting customers to buy upgraded products when they had intended to buy something of lower value. Value Proposition

The functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits delivered by product, service, or brand, that provide value to the customer, and the rationale for making one brand choice over another. Word of Mouth Spread of information through human interaction alone.