MARKABULARY – The Marketing Glossary

1. Marketing: Marketing is identifying and meeting the needs and wants of customers,
profitably. It includes all the activities right from the production of the goods to their
consumption

2. Sales: The activity or business of selling products or services. Act of converting prospects
to actual paying customers

3. Customer: The one who pays for the product

4. Consumer: The one who consumes for the product

5. B2B: Business-to-Business dealings – when companies deal with institutions rather than
individuals

6. B2C: Business-to-Customer dealings – when companies address the needs, interests, and
challenges of people in their everyday lives.

7. STP
a. Segmentation: The process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous
market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or
demand characteristics

b. Targeting: Choosing one relevant and profitable segment to focus your

marketing efforts is called Targeting. The targeted group (or Target Segment)
is called as the TG, which will be the core user base of your product.

i. Target Audience: People you should aim your attention to

ii. Buyer Persona: A buyer persona is a research-based profile that
depicts a target customer. Buyer personas describe who your ideal
customers are, what their days are like, the challenges they face and
how they make decisions.
(https://www.wordtracker.com/blog/marketing/how-to-create-
and-use-buyer-personas-to-drive-sales)

c. Positioning: Developing a product and brand image in the minds of

consumers

8. Value Proposition: The functional, economic or emotional benefits offered by your

brand

9. Repositioning: Changing the customer’s understanding of what product is.

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10. Points of Parity (PoP): Attributes similar to other products in the category

11. Points of Difference (PoD): Attributes that differentiate the products from others in the
category

12. ATL: Above the Line Marketing: Directing the communication to an undifferentiated
segment, meaning no specific TG has been targeted. Channels – TV, Print Media, Radio,
etc.

13. BTL: Below the Line Marketing: Directing the communication to a specific group of
customers i.e. the TG of the product. Channels – SMS, Emails, Social Media Posts,
Billboards, etc.

14. Loss Leaders: A loss leader is a product or service that is offered at a price that is not
profitable, but it is sold to attract new customers or to sell additional products and
services to those customers. For e.g. Big Bazaar turning groceries into loss leaders by
giving huge discounts, in order attract customers and indirectly expose them to other
profitable products.

15. Brand: a name, term, sign symbol or design or a combination of them intended to identify
the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those
of competitors.

a. Branding: The process of building the brand, to elicit a positive rational or

emotional response from the market.

b. Umbrella Branding: Umbrella branding is referred to as a marketing practice

which involves selling several related products under the name of a single brand.
Example – Google, Phillips

c. Brand Equity: It is the value of the brand in terms of perceptions in the minds of
the consumer.

d. Brand Resonance: It is the intensity of customer’s psychological connection with

the brand and the randomness to recall the brand in different consumption
situations

e. Brand Extension: An instance of using an established brand name or trademark

on new products, to increase sales.

f. Brand Revitalization: Process of rejuvenating your brand when your products

reach the Maturity stage and profits start to decline. It is an attempt to increase
the freshness of the product and thus, boost sales.

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai
 g. Brand Identity: Brand identity is how you want your brand to be perceived and it
includes everything from the language you use, through to your color palette, and
your organizational values.

h. Brand Image: Brand image is the actual result of the branding efforts, successful
or unsuccessful.

i. Rebranding: Focuses on changing what customers associate with the brand. This
usually entails a change in the brand’s promise and its personality. Sometimes the
identity itself is updated or refreshed to reinforce the change in the brand’s
positioning.

16. House of Brands: Different brands under a parent corporate brand. For example: Lux
and Axe are two different brands under the HUL umbrella. These brands have their own
identity and positioning. ITC and P&G are also examples of House of Brands strategy.

17. Branded House: Exact opposite of House of Brands. Products are promoted under a
single parent Brand name. For example: Google – All the products and services by
Google share the Google Brand identity. Tata is also another example of a Branded
House.

18. Challenger firm: A firm that in a market that is usually positioned just below the market
leader i.e. at No. 2 or No. 3.

19. Flanking: The Flank attack is the marketing strategy adopted by the challenger firm and
is intended to attack the weak points or blind spots of the competitor, especially a
leader.

a. Upward Flanking: When a brand in a lower product segment enters a higher

segment to take advantage of the market potential and compete with market
leaders. E.g. Toyota entering the luxury car segment with Lexus

b. Downward Flanking: When a brand already in a higher product segment enters

a lower segment to eat up the market share of the competitors. HUL launching
Wheel alongside the higher-end product Surf Excel to compete with Nirma.

20. Product Line: An array of closely related products. Dairy products, smartphones, skin-
care products, hygiene products, etc. are examples of different product lines. The
products under one product line have a great extent of functional similarity between
them.

21. Product Depth: The total number of products under one product line is called the
Product Depth. For example, for the smartphones product line of OnePlus, assuming 4

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai
 models in the sale currently – OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro,
the Product Depth will be 4.

22. Product Width: The width of the Product mix is equal to the number of product lines
within a company. For example, consider P&G having the products broadly in two
categories – Detergents (Arial, Tide, etc.) and shampoos (Head and Shoulders, Pantene,
etc.) then the product width will be 2.

23. Product Mix: A combination of all the Product Lines within a company is broadly
referred to as the Product Mix of that company. Product Life cycle.

24. Product Life Cycle: The Product Life Cycle (PLC) describes the stages of a product from
launch to being discontinued. Different stages are: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and
Decline.

25. SWOT: A SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix) is a structured planning method
used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a
project or a business venture.

26. Porter’s Five Forces: Model used to study the attractiveness (profit potential) of a particular
industry. It is done mainly while launching a new product or a service in a particular
category or when you want to make changes in your existing corporate strategy.
The five forces are: Rivalry amongst Existing firms, Bargaining Power of Suppliers,
Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitutes, Threat of New Entrants

27. PESTEL Matrix: Describe some of the macro-environmental factors that affect
organizations. PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental
and Legal.

28. BCG Matrix: It helps to identify what stage a particular brand is in and what is its
contribution to revenue, and its future potential. The portfolio can be categorized into -

a. Question Marks: Small Market share in a high growth market

b. Stars: High Market share in a high growth market
c. Cash Cows: High Market share in a low growth market. Generate high revenue
with little investments.
d. Dogs: Low Market share in a low growth market. Companies would likely get rid
of such products

29. FCB Grid: (Tool proposed by Foote, Cone and Belding) The FCB Grid helps us understand
where a product stands in the mind of a consumer, by estimating whether or not purchase
requires a highly involved emotional decision or a highly involved intellectual decision

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai
30. IMC: At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, as we’ll call
it, means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in harmony.

31. GTM: A go-to-market strategy (GTM strategy) is an action plan that specifies how a
company will reach customers and achieve competitive advantage

32. Ansoff’s Matrix: Ansoff matrix is used when companies want to look at opportunities to
grow, and hence need to choose one of the various growth strategies – Diversification,
Market Development, Market Penetration, and Market Development. Also known as the
Product-Market Matrix.

33. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains the different stages in
which humans evolve in terms of their needs and desires. Various stages are Physiological,
Safety, Social, Self-Esteem, Self-Actualization

34. AIDA: There are a series of stages that a customer goes through before being called as a
customer/user of the product. The AIDA model structures this journey and categorizes it
into 4 stages – Attention, Interest, Desire and Action

35. Distribution

a. Intensive distribution: Used commonly to distribute low priced or impulse

purchase products. E.g.: chocolates, soft drinks.

b. Exclusive distribution: Involves limiting distribution to a single outlet. The

product is usually highly-priced, and requires the intermediary to place much
detail in the sale. E.g.: Sale of vehicles through exclusive dealers.

c. Selective Distribution: A small number of retail outlets are chosen to distribute

the product. Selective distribution is common with products such as
computers, televisions household appliances, where consumers are willing to
shop around and where manufacturers want a large geographical spread. Ex:
Whirlpool selling a majority of its appliances through select dealers.

d. Direct Channel: When companies sell directly to the consumers without

involving any intermediary (Distributor, retailer, etc.) in between.

e. Indirect Channel: Indirect channel is reaching the customers through

intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, retailers etc.

f. C&FA: Carrying and Forward Agents undertake the activities of receiving the
goods from manufacturers, warehousing the goods, and dispatching them as
per the directions of the manufacturer.

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai
 g. Distributor: An entity that buys noncompeting products or product lines,
warehouses them, and resells them to retailers or direct to the end-users or
customers

h. Stockists: The Stockists are region wise agents who store products of a
company. They may or may not be exclusive.

i. Wholesaler: Person or firm that buys a large number of goods from various
producers or vendors, warehouses them and resells to retailers.

j. Retailer/Dealer: The retailer is the end customer. This person will stock many
competing goods and sells the products to the end consumer.

36. Digital Marketing: Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services
using digital channels to reach consumers in a personal and cost-effective manner.

a. Search-Engine Marketing (SEM): A phrase sometimes used in contrast with

“SEO” to describe paid search activities, SEM may also more generally refer to
the broad range of search- marketing activities, either paid or organic. The
sponsored ads that you see when you search something on google are a part
of Google’s SEM, using Google AdWords.

b. Search-Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of using website analysis and

copy/design/structural adjustments to ensure both the highest possible
positioning on desired search-engine results pages and the best experience
for a given site’s users. This enables websites to appear on the top of the
search results. The aim should be to make your site relevant, useful and easy
to use for the users.

c. Pay-Per-Click: PPC stands for pay-per-click, a model of internet marketing in

which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially,
it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those
visits organically.

d. Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Cost Per Click (CPC) refers to the actual price you pay for
each click in your pay-per-click (PPC) marketing campaigns.

e. CPM: This is the “cost-per-thousand” views of an advertisement. Often,

advertisers agree to pay a certain amount for every 1,000 customers who see
their ad, regardless of conversion rates or click-thrus.

f. Click-Thru Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who actually click on a link
(e.g., in an e-mail message or sponsored ad) after seeing it. CTR = CPC/CPM

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 g. Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA): Represents the ratio of the total cost of a pay-
per-click (PPC) campaign to the total number of leads or customers, often
called “CPA” or “conversion cost”

h. Inbound Link: A link from another website directed to yours, also known as a
“backlink.” Related marketing areas that focus on inbound links include link
popularity, social media and online PR, all of which explore ways to collect
quality links from other websites.

i. Bounce Rate: The bounce rate is the percentage of people, who landed on
your website, but instead of browsing further they exited your website.

j. A/B Testing: A/B testing (also sometimes referred to as split testing) is the
practice of showing 2 variants of the same web page to different segments of
visitors at the same time and comparing which variant drives more
conversions

37. Blue Ocean and Red Ocean (Known GD Topic)

Red Ocean Strategy: Competing in an already competitive and established market (Red
ocean for the war-like bloodshed conditions in existing markets). E.g. FMCG products like
soaps, chips, shampoo etc.
Blue Ocean Strategy: Creating and capturing new and uncontested markets (no
bloodshed metaphorically due to lack of competitors). E.g. Electric and self-driving cars,
Amazon Echo, iTunes (when it was launched), Airbnb, etc.

38. Customer Lifetime Value: CLV is a measurement of how valuable a customer is to your
company with an unlimited time span as opposed to just the first purchase. This metric
helps you understand a reasonable cost per acquisition. (If you have a knack for
formulas, do search this term up to see how CLV is calculated)

39. First Mover advantage: The competitive advantage gained by the first significant
company to enter a new market. Being first typically enables a company to establish
strong brand recognition and customer loyalty before competitors enter the arena.

40. Medium Mix: A media mix is the combination of communication channels your business
can use to meet its marketing objectives. Typically, these include newspapers, radio,
television, billboards, websites, email, direct mail, the Internet and social media.

41. Marketing Mix: The 4Ps/7Ps framework

42. Advertising Mix: (Or the promotion mix) The Promotion in the 4P framework. It is the

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai
 blend of several promotional tools used by the business to create, maintain and increase
the demand for goods and services. Consists of Print Media, Outdoor Advertising, Radio
and Television

43. Experiential Marketing: “The power of experience”.

It is all about creating a meaningful connection between a brand and its customers. More
than just promoting a certain product to a passive audience, experiential marketing is
designed to have customers actively engage with a brand’s identity and its core values.
The Coca-Cola campaign involving India and Pakistan is a good example of Experiential
Marketing. See the ad here - https://youtu.be/ts_4vOUDImE

44. Ambush Marketing: The practice of hijacking or co-opting another advertiser’s campaign
to raise awareness of another company or brand. E.g. Flipkart and Snapdeal ads during
the time of Sale

45. Guerilla Marketing: Guerrilla Marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on low-
cost unconventional marketing tactics that yield maximum results.

46. Affiliate Marketing: Involves referring a product or service by sharing it on a blog, social
media platforms, or website. The affiliate earns a commission each time someone
makes a purchase through the unique link associated with their recommendation

47. Omni channel Marketing: Use of multiple sales channels to seamlessly reach out to your
customers. Multiple channels can be Desktop Websites and portals, mobile applications,
offline brick and mortar stores, catalogues etc.

48. Ingredient Marketing: Ingredient branding is a marketing strategy where a component of

the business is branded as a separate entity. This helps to add more value to the parent
company and make their product/service seem superior to its competitors. E.g. Colgate
Max Fresh Gel with Cooling Crystals OR Garnier face wash with Charcoal scrub.

49. Content Marketing: Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly
relevant and useful content/information to your prospects and customers to help them
solve their issues – that is content marketing

50. Brand activation: Brand activations are in-person events, experiences, and interactions
that forge lasting emotional connections between a brand and its target audience. It is
the process of giving life to your brand, especially when you are about to start.

Created and Curated by Not just Marketing – The Marketing Cell, NMIMS, Mumbai