For any business, marketing and sales form an integral part as they allow the organization to promote and sell its products and/or services. In this article, we have listed some commonly used marketing terms.
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Marketing Terminologies/Marketing Terms
Advertising
Advertising is a paid form of presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services. It is usually done through mass media like newspapers, television, radio, the internet, etc.
After-Sales Service
When a consumer purchases a commodity or a service, the organization offers certain services to him. Also, the after-sales service is usually provided as a part of a warranty or guarantee scheme associated with the product/ service.
Agent
In the marketing context, an agent is a part of the distribution channel. Effectively, an agent is a wholesaler representing both the buyer and the seller on a relatively permanent basis. Also, an agent performs a few functions but never takes title to the goods.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing the products and services of a business against its competitors in a market. The business can also compare with leading businesses in other markets. The objective of this comparison is to find ways of improving the quality and performance of its products and/or services.
For benchmarking, the business analyzes competitor strengths and weaknesses to evaluate its relative competitive position. Further, it also helps the organization to find opportunities and assess its success or failure in improving its products or services.
Brand
Another one of the important marketing terms is brand. A brand is a specific type of product or service. It has an identity that helps consumers distinguish it from its competitive products/services. It has a brand name, symbol, logo, design, packaging, etc.
Brand Equity
Brand Equity is the value of a brand. It is based on aspects like brand loyalty, awareness, perceived quality, and product associations. It also includes intangible assets like patents, trademarks, etc.
Brand Loyalty
The next of the marketing terms is Brand Loyalty. Brand Loyalty is a strongly motivated and long-standing decision of a consumer to purchase a particular product or service. It denotes the preference of a consumer to a particular brand.
Brand Recognition or Awareness
When a consumer wants to buy a particular product or service, certain brands come to his mind. If a firm’s brand falls on that list, then it has brand recognition or awareness. This is a result of branding.
Buying Behavior
Every buyer goes through a process when deciding on purchasing a certain product or service. This is buying behavior. Further, a business can influence this behavior using different external factors and motivations which include marketing activities.
Cross-Selling
Most businesses offer certain products and services to consumers based on their buying history. For example, if a customer has purchased a car, then the business can provide a car alarm or music system to him at a discounted price.
Customer Satisfaction
Every business wants its customers satisfied. A business obtains customer satisfaction when it fulfills his expectations in terms of quality and service in relation to the price.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is a process of marketing products and services directly to consumers based on their interests. For example, a business selling holiday packages can send direct text messages or emails to people who travel every year in the month of December.
Distribution Channel
In order to distribute goods or services to consumers, a business needs a network of organizations. This is the distribution channel. Therefore, it potentially consists of manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, etc.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce is the use of technologies like the internet, electronic data exchange or industry extranets to streamline business transactions.
Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
Of all the goods that consumers buy from the market, there are some which sell in high volumes, have low unit value, and have fast repurchases. These are fast-moving consumer goods. Some examples of FMCGs are soaps, oils, toothpaste, ketchup, jams, etc.
Internal Marketing
Apart from promoting its products and services to outside buyers, a business also requires to keep its employees aware of its products/services or marketing campaigns or the overall business strategy. In order to do so, the organization designs an internal marketing plan.
Market Positioning
When a business launches a new product /service and plans to introduce it into the market, it needs to create a strategy to position the new offering against its competitors. This is market positioning.
For example, if a firm launches a new soap, then it needs to decide which features of the soap does it want to highlight in its advertising campaigns. This helps the firm in positioning the product as desired.
Market Segmentation
In order to deliver products/services to the right set of consumers, businesses need to divide consumers into groups based on different characteristics. For example, a business offering holiday packages would divide the buyers into different groups based on age or location preferences or travel budgets.
Marketing
Marketing is a science and art which explores, creates, and delivers value satisfying the needs of a target market at a profit to the firm. Hence, we can say that marketing identifies needs and desires which require fulfillment.
Further, it defines, measures, and quantifies the size of the market and the potential for profit. It also highlights segments that the firm is best capable of serving. Finally, it designs and promotes appropriate products and services.
Niche Marketing
Many businesses exploit a small sub-section of the market based on certain parameters. They concentrate their marketing efforts on this niche segment for maximum results. For example, Diet Cola is targeted at the health-conscious consumers of aerated drinks.
Sales Promotion
Firms indulge in various activities to increase the sale of a product or service. These activities are sales promotion activities. These include advertising campaigns, PR activities, free-sample campaigns, exhibitions, telemarketing, door-to-door selling, etc.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
In the competitive market, every product/service offers a unique benefit that no other product/service does. This is the USP of the said product/service.
Now that we have gone through enough marketing terms let’s take a look at an example for better comprehension.
Solved Question on Marketing Terms
Q1. Why does a firm design an internal marketing plan?
Answer: A business requires its employees to support its objectives and encourage them to promote its goals. Therefore, the firm designs an internal marketing plan with one or more of the following objectives:
- Increasing awareness of products/ services
- Keeping the employees updated on the marketing campaigns
- Explaining the overall business strategy, etc.
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