2021 Guide to Marketing Terminology

ABC analysis

Priority analysis. A categorization technique that ranks A, B, and C by their importance to the business.

Account-based marketing

A method in B2B marketing in which key business accounts are focused on as units of one, to provide a more personalized buying experience.

AIDMA

The old consumer behavior model which consisted of attention, interest, desire, memory, and action.

AISAS

The new consumer behavior model advocated to replace AIDMA: attention, interest, search, action, and share.

Attribution

The process of evaluating the ROI of each marketing touchpoint along the buyer’s journey.

Bounce rate

The percentage of users who enter a page on your website and then leave without viewing another page or engaging with the page in some way (like by commenting).

Brand identity

How your brand can visually be distinguished from other brands. Brand identity consists of your logo, brand colors, packaging, website design, and your employees’ uniforms.

Branding

The process of actively shaping your organization and products/services with meaning, familiarity and fondness in the consumer’s mind.

BOFU (Bottom of the funnel)

The last stage in the marketing funnel, in which highly-qualified leads are close to making their decision to buy.

Chasm theory

Discussed in depth by Geoffrey A. Moore in Crossing the Chasm, this theory describes the process in which a new technology is diffused through the market, and the challenge of transitioning through the “chasm” or gap between the innovator and mainstream markets.

Click-through rate (CTR)

The percent of users who click on a specific link out of the total users who view it on an advertisement, webpage, or email campaign.

Cluster analysis

A data-mining tool in which you classify objects into groups based on their similarities.

Cohort analysis

A method of grouping people by a shared characteristic and analyzing their behavior over a certain period of time.

Content syndication

The re-publishing and promotion of web-based content on a third-party site, to create backlinks and boost SEO.

CPC (cost per click)

The average amount you’ve been charged for a click on your ad.

CPL (Cost per lead)

The cost of acquiring one lead (potential customer) from an advertising campaign.

Critical mass

The turning point for a business where it experiences a surge of growth and becomes a self-sustaining entity.

CRM (Customer relationship management)

The management and analysis of interactions with customers throughout the customer lifecycle. May also refer to a CRM tool.

CRO (Conversion rate optimization)

The systematic process of optimizing your website so that more visitors will complete a desired action (typically, filling in a form and providing their personal information).

Cross media communication

A marketing strategy built across multiple media channels.

Cross selling

The act of selling an additional or complementary product/service to an existing customer.

CTA (Call to action)

A prompt for the user to take a specific action, like to “click this link” or “book a demo.”

Customer journey

The complete sum of interactions or touchpoints a customer has with your brand over time. It is important to map out the customer journey to make sure they are able to come into contact with your brand, access pertinent information, and easily navigate their way through your website and eventual purchase.

CVR (Conversion rate)

The percentage of website visitors who make it to the intended goal (a conversion) out of the total number of visitors.

Data-driven

An approach in which you rely on data to form decisions and base each component of your business strategy off of.

Data mining

The practice of going through and analyzing large blocks of data to discover meaningful patterns and new information.

Decile analysis

An analytical method that involves dividing all customers into 10 equal parts and then ranking them.

Demand generation

The creation of interest or awareness in a brand through targeted marketing activities.

Diffusion of innovation theory

DOI Theory, developed by E.M. Rogers in 1962, examines the rate at which new technologies or ideas typically spread through a population.

Direct marketing

A promotional method where information is communicated directly to the customer, via advertisements and media.

DMP (Data management platform）

A software used for collecting and analyzing first-, second-, and third-party data and makes it available to other platforms.

Drip marketing

A marketing strategy in which a series of pre-written messages are sent to a customer automatically over time.

Earned media

Any content mentioning your brand that you haven’t paid for or created yourself, ranging from an article on an external news site to a customer raving about your product on Twitter.

Engagement

Two-way dialogue between brand and customer, in which the customer can respond and interact with the marketing campaign.

Evergreen content

A topic that stays relevant over the passing years and changing culture. A good example is a case study, which can be repeatedly referenced over the years with no updating necessary.

Exit rate

A ratio that compares the number of people who left the page after landing on it with the total number of views the page received.

Flywheel

A model introduced by Hubspot in 2018 to replace the marketing funnel. The flywheel model takes into account the influential role of consumers in brand promotion, and then positions them at the center of the business.

Gamification

Insertion of game-design elements and principles into non-game contexts. In the marketing sphere, this can refer to brandification (advertising in virtual spaces for real world products) and advergames (video games created solely for the promotion of a product).

Gated content

Highly useful resources, such as ebooks or whitepapers, that are accessible by filling out an online form.

Geographic segmentation

Segmenting your target customers by the area they live or work in.

Growth hacking

A relatively new type of marketing centered around business growth. The goal is to increase the number of users as much as possible while spending the least amount of money.

GRP (Gross rating point)

A metric used to measure advertising impact, on the basis of what percentage of the intended audience will have seen the ad.

Ideal customer profile (ICP)

The hypothetical company that would be a perfect fit for your products/services, have the quickest sales process and the best customer retention rates.

Inbound marketing

A type of marketing where you create reasons for prospects to come to you. This strategy focuses on offering useful content and resources to attract new customers organically to your site.

Influencer marketing

A subfield of social media marketing in which an external content creator, with a large following, publicly endorses your brand or product.

Integrated marketing communication (IMC)

The idea of coordinating marketing messages across a diverse mix of channels to maximize its effectiveness.

Intent data

Behavioral data collected on prospects at the company level, which helps you identify B2B buying intent.

Lead

Any individual or organization with an interest in your products/services, making them a potential customer (aka prospect).

Lead generation

The process of attracting and converting strangers into leads, via advertising, SEO, emails, etc.

Lead nurturing

The process of cultivating relationships with customers and promoting interest in your products/services by providing the right content at every stage of the sales funnel.

LPO (Landing page optimization)

The practice of re-evaluating and enhancing your website to increase conversions. Often involves A/B testing to see which elements have the best response from website visitors.

Lead qualification

Narrowing down your list to the leads that are most likely to make an actual purchase. This process allows you to allocate your resources (salesmen, time, money) efficiently and effectively.

Lead scoring

A method for ranking leads based on their engagement with your website and content. Each customer action is worth a certain amount of points- visiting the pricing page is worth 1 point, watching a video is worth 3 points, downloading a whitepaper is worth 5 points - and once they reach 30 points, for example, they will be qualified as a hot lead.

MA (Marketing automation)

Software that allows you to track the online behavior of your customers and organize, automate, and analyze marketing campaigns all in one place. Download our whitepaper on marketing automation to learn more.

Marketing funnel

A model that breaks down the stages of the customer journey, from becoming aware of a need to the final purchase decision.

Marketing mix

The focus areas for marketing strategy. Generally thought to be four: product, price, place, and promotion.

Mere-exposure effect

The phenomenon in which people are more likely to view things they have been repeatedly exposed to and are familiar with, more positively.

MOFU (Middle of the funnel)

The stage of the funnel that focuses on lead nurturing and identifying high quality leads.

MQL (Marketing qualified lead)

A lead that has indicated interest by engaging with a brand, and could eventually become a customer through lead nurturing.

Neuromarketing

The application of neuropsychology to marketing in order to better understand how consumers respond to branding and make purchasing decisions.

O2O (Online to offline)

Using online channels to motivate users to make purchases in offline stores.

Omnichannel

A strategic approach where marketing and sales activities are integrated and the various channels blend together to provide a seamless customer experience.

Opt-in / opt-out

When an organization requests a user’s permission before adding their personal information to the mailing list, they can choose to opt-in (“sure, why not”) or opt-out (“no thanks”).

Outbound marketing

Also called interruption marketing, outbound marketing is when a company initiates the conversation by attending trade shows, cold-calling, and paying for advertisements.

Owned media

Any online property owned and run by a brand, such as blog sites and social media channels.

Paid media

When businesses promote their content via boosted social media posts, paid ads, paid search results, video ads, etc.

Permission marketing

A form of marketing where the audience is given the choice of opting in to be sent marketing offers and announcements from a brand.

Persona

A semi-fictional depiction of your target customer, down to their personality, job titles, motivations, challenges, and so on.

Prospecting

The first step of the sales process, in which you qualify high quality leads that fit into your target.

Recommender system

A data filtering system that can provide customers with relevant, personalized recommendations in real-time.

SEO (Search engine optimization)

The process of manipulating webpages to show up higher SERPS (search engine result pages) rankings. The consideration of SEO factors is critical to improving web traffic to your website, and works as a useful method for attracting new leads.

Session

A series of contiguous actions on a website within a given time frame.

Smart content

Targeted website content that adjusts based on past interactions and preferences of the viewer.

SMM (Social media marketing)

The use of social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and so on, to boost brand awareness, increase user engagement, and drive website traffic. By the way, did you know WhatsApp can be used for marketing too? Check out our intro to WhatsApp marketing here.

SMO (Social media optimization)

The evaluation and subsequent improvement of social media channels to best communicate the brand’s message and stay in line with the best practices for social media marketing. 

STP Strategy

STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) is a model in marketing that focuses on finding the most valuable customer segments and then planning a specific marketing strategy for each segment.

TARP (Target audience rating point)

The percentage of an advertiser’s target audience viewing a campaign or program.

TOFU (Top of the funnel)

The first stage of the customer’s journey, where marketers focus on raising brand awareness and attracting new prospects.

Traceability

The capability to track incoming website traffic from email and ads, and internal traffic throughout your site.

UGC (User-generated Content)

Unsponsored content related to your brand that is created by ordinary people.

UU (Unique user)

An individual user visiting your website. You typically track the number of unique users visiting from a single IP address of a company.u

UX (User experience)

All aspects of the end user’s interactions with a product, system, or service. User experiences are shaped by the product’s usability, utility, and efficiency.

Value proposition

A compelling reason why consumers would invest in your products/services; the value or benefit you promise to deliver via those products/services.

Viral marketing

A strategy that relies on organic promotion by consumers, mainly on social media.

Webinar

A virtual event including video presentations, workshops, or lectures.

Whitepaper

A long-form piece of content, that is well-researched and authoritative, and generally begins by presenting a common problem, explains the background context and previous studies, then concludes by offering a solution. Check out our beginner's guide to writing a whitepaper.