business marketing

Advertising

Advertising

A method of communicating information about the product; the business pays for advertising time/space.

Brand image

The consumers' perception of the brand; its character, qualities and shortcomings. It is developed over time and operates as a consistent theme through advertising campaigns.

Channels of distribution

The route the ownership of the product transfers from the seller to the buyer; it may be a single transaction or pass through others such as wholesalers, distributors, agents and retailers.

Competitive pricing

Setting the price of a product so that it is in line with competitors' prices.

Cost-plus pricing

Setting the price of a good or service at an amount higher than the cost of producing it so that a profit is made.

Customer engagement

The relationship between the business and the customer that puts the customer's requirements at the centre of the operation to build brand loyalty.

Extension strategies

Methods that can be used to prolong the life of a product; could include price reductions, modifications to the product or relaunch.

Focus groups

A small number of people from the target market brought together to discuss a particular product; produces qualitative data about their preferences and opinions.

Loss leader

A good or service sold at below cost price to bring customers into the shop with the intention that, once there, they may purchase full-priced items too.

Market research

Collecting information about the customers' needs, wants and preferences that will help the business to make design, production and marketing decisions.

Marketing

The coordination of activities that ensure that customers get what they want, in the amounts they want, when they want it and at a price that suits them.

Marketing mix

The combination of four areas of marketing activities (price, product, promotion and place) to make sure that customers' needs and wants are met while generating optimum revenue.

Point of sale

Opportunities to communicate information about the product in the place where it is sold (retail outlet); window displays, hanging signs or shelf signs.

PR

Managing the relations with groups such as consumers, the media, pressure groups or investors to present a favourable impression and generate interest.

Price penetration

Fixing a low price when a new product is first introduced (into an established market) so that the product gains market share quickly. Once the product is established, the price is then raised so that profit is increased.

Price skimming

Setting a very high price when a product (often technology item) is first introduced to the market in relatively small numbers; only those who can afford to pay high prices to own the latest models will be able to purchase the product. The price is later reduced so that others can afford to buy.

Primary research

Collecting information first-hand direct from the public; field research including surveys, questionnaires and testing designed specifically for the market/product.

Product differentiation

Developing the features that set a product apart from others in the market (such as benefits, style, price) and using that as part of advertising and promotion.

Product life cycle

The stages through which a product travels during its journey from being an idea to being old and dated: research and development, introduction, growth, maturity, decline.

Product portfolio

The range of products offered by one producer

Promotion

Communicating information about the product to make consumers aware of a product, remind customers about a product & persuade customers to buy.

Qualitative market research

Collecting information about potential customers' opinions and preferences about the attributes/characteristics/properties of a product; open questions allow respondents to express their own views by not limiting their responses.

Quantitative market research

Using sampling techniques such as surveys where the findings are expressed numerically; closed questions allow a limited choice of responses and are easy to turn into statistics for analysis.

Retailer

A business or person that sells goods to the consumer.

Secondary research

Examining information from published sources; desk research using information that has been collected for other purposes.

Segmentation

Breaking the whole market for a product into different groups or types of consumers with similar needs/wants/characteristics; enables the marketing mix to be designed to meet their needs more precisely.

Telesales

Attempting to sell a good/service by making the initial contact by telephone.

Unique selling point (USP)

The key benefit of a good/service; it differentiates the product from others and will be the focus of advertising and promotion.

Wholesaler

A business or person that buys goods in large quantities from producers, stores them in warehouses and sells them on to retailers.

Sales Volume

Measures the number of items sold.

Sales Value

Measure the revenue generated.

Boston matrix

A tool for analysing the contribution made by each product in a business' product portfolio. It plots each product's position according to its market share and the rate of growth of the market.

Interdeiary

The link in the distribution channel between the producer and the consumer.

Direct marketing

Occurs when there is a direct link from the producer to the consumer with no intermediaries.