Business Marketing

Decision Trees

A quantitative decision-making tool that allows a firm to visualize the possible outcomes of different options, including their costs, probabilities, and expected values.

Ansoff Matrix

A growth strategy tool that identifies four ways a business can grow

Descriptive Stats

The use of data to describe the basic features of a study, such as the mean, median, mode, and range, to help interpret business information.

SWOT Analysis

A strategic planning tool used to identify a business's internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and its external Opportunities and Threats.

STEEPLE Analysis

An analytical framework used to examine the external environment factors affecting a business

Business Plans

A formal document that outlines a company's goals, the strategies to achieve them, and the time frame for execution.

Marketing

The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

Marketing Strategy

A long-term plan for achieving a company's marketing goals through the coordinated use of the marketing mix.

Marketing Objective

The specific targets or goals that the marketing function of a business aims to achieve (e.g., increasing brand awareness).

Market Size

The total level of sales (either by volume or value) for all businesses within a specific market.

Market Share

The percentage of total market sales accounted for by a single organization.

Market Leader

The firm with the highest market share in a particular industry.

Market Growth

The percentage change in the total size of a market (volume or value) over a specific period.

Marketing Plan

A document outlining a firm’s marketing objectives and the marketing strategy to be used to achieve these objectives.

Marketing Mix

The set of tools (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) that a firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.

Market Segment

A sub-group of a whole market in which consumers share common characteristics (e.g., age, gender, income).

Segmentation

The process of dividing a broad consumer or business market into sub-groups of consumers based on shared characteristics.

Target Market

The specific group of consumers at which a company aims its products and services.

Targeting

The process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter.

Positioning

The process of creating a consistent and recognized customer perception of a brand or product in relation to competitors.

Position Map

A visual tool that reveals customer perceptions of a business's products or brands in relation to those of its competitors.

Niche Market

A small, specialized segment of a much larger market.

Mass Market

A very large market of consumers with undifferentiated needs and wants.

Unique Selling Point (USP)

Any aspect of a product that makes it stand out from those offered by rival businesses.

Product Differentiation

The process of making a product distinct from others in the market to make it more attractive to a target segment.

Market Research

The process of collecting, recording, and analyzing data about customers, competitors, and the market.

Customer

An individual or organization that purchases a product or service from a business.

Consumer

The ultimate user or "end-user" of a product or service.

Customer and Consumer Needs

The essential necessities that humans must have to survive (e.g., food, shelter).

Customer and Consumer Wants

Desires that are not essential for survival but are "nice to have" (e.g., a luxury car).

Reliability

The extent to which market research results are consistent and can be repeated.

Validity

The extent to which market research actually measures what it was intended to measure.

Primary Market Research

The collection of first-hand, "new" data specifically for the business's current needs (e.g., surveys, interviews).

Secondary Market Research

The collection of data that already exists and was gathered by others for a different purpose (e.g., government reports, news articles).

Focus Group

A small group of people who are asked about their perceptions, opinions, and attitudes toward a product or advertisement.

Sample

A sub-group of the total population selected for market research to represent the views of the whole population.