Key Business Functions Overview

Accounting

The process of recording, maintaining, and reporting an organization's financial transactions and records.

Finance

Focuses on the management of the assets, liabilities, equity, and cash flow of an organization, financial analysis like ROI and ROE, and financial planning of future growth.

Human Resources

Refers to the people assets who work for an organization, and the business function responsible for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, evaluating, and terminating employees.

Information Management

A business function that involves people, processes, and systems that collect, organize, store and secure relevant data and information, and makes it accessible and useful for making informed decisions.

Management

Planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and leading people, processes, and assets in order to achieve a goal or task in the best way possible.

Marketing

The enterprise and pursuit of ideation, creation, communication, and delivery of profitable products and services to targeted customers for their benefit and for the benefit of society as a whole.

Operations

The daily functioning of an organization, managing the inputs and outputs, and includes manufacturing, purchasing, and logistics.

Economics

Study of how individuals and societies make decisions about resources, production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services.

Macroeconomics

The study of the behavior, performance, structure, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.

Microeconomics

The study of behavior and decision-making of individuals and businesses in an economy.

Economic Want

Desire for goods, services or intangible items that can only be acquired by spending money - items like a car, or a haircut, or a patent.

Economic Good

A good or service that has benefit to society, has value and therefore can be traded and exchanged using money, and has some degree of scarcity.

Economic Utility

Something's usefulness and the degree to which wants are satisfied.

Noneconomic Want

Desires that don't require money to be obtained, like talking to a friend.

Information Utility

Adding value by communicating with the customer. This can include personal selling, packaging and labeling, as well as advertising.

Time Utility

Adding value by making products available when they are needed.

Place Utility

Adding value by making products available where they are needed.

Possession Utility

Adding value by making it convenient to purchase a product.

Form Utility

Adding value by changing raw materials to make them more useful.

Partnership

In this form of business ownership there is an agreement in place outlining responsibilities and liabilities among the owners.

Franchise

In this form of business ownership, the owner pays for the rights to use a brand and its products.

C Corp

In this form of business ownership, shares are sold to the general public.

Sole Proprietorship

In this form of business ownership, one person receives all the profits and bears all the losses.

Non Profit

In this form of business ownership, the focus is on investing profits back into the greater good. Think Salvation Army.

S Corp

In this form of business ownership, there is a maximum of 100 owners.

B Corp

In this form of business ownership, there is a focus on public benefit, in addition to making a profit. Think Ben & Jerry's.

Market

All the people and organizations that might purchase a product.

Target Market

A specific group of customers whose needs and wants a company will focus on satisfying.

Segmentation

The process of dividing a larger market into smaller groups.

Geographic Segmentation

Segmenting a market based on where customers live.

Demographic Segmentation

Segmenting a market based on personal characteristics.

Psychographic Segmentation

Segmenting a market based on hobbies, interests, preferences and lifestyle choices.

Behavioral Segmentation

Segmenting a market based on the relationship between customers and products.

B2B

Buys products for use in a business rather than personal consumption.

B2C

Buys products from businesses for personal use.

Producer

Manufactures finished goods.

Reseller

Buys finished goods to sell to consumers.

Service Business

Does something for someone else.

Institution

Public or private organization.

Brand Positioning

When a company, through various marketing efforts, forms an image for customers to react to and connect with in the target market.

Product Service Management

Improving existing products and developing new products in order to meet customer demands.

Product Life Cycle

The stages a product moves through, including introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Product Mix

The complete set of products offered by a company, also referred to as product assortment or portfolio.

Product Line

A group of related products a company creates and markets under a single brand name, category, or model.

Product Item

A product is something that meets a customer's want or need and has value in the marketplace, whether a tangible good or an intangible service. All marketing activities start with and revolve around the product.

Width

The number of product lines that a company offers.

Length

The total number of items in all product lines.

Depth

The total number of variations within a product line.

Alteration

When a company makes changes to its existing products or product lines.

Brand Extension

Leveraging an existing brand to introduce new products.

Consistency

This refers to how closely related a company's product lines are to one another.

Contraction

nWhen a company stops carrying a product or reduces the size of the product line.

Expansion

Adding products or product lines to a company's product mix.

Line Extension

Adding related products to an existing product line in an existing target market to meet different needs.

Trading Down

Adding lower priced products or product lines to your product mix

Trading Up

Adding higher priced products or product lines to your product mix.

Emotional Purchasing

Buying based on impulse and feelings.

Rational Purchasing

Buying based on logical reasoning and research.

Patronage Purachasing

Buying based on loyalty to a brand.

Social Buying Motive

Buying influenced by family, peers, or influencers.

Situational Buying Motive

Buying influenced by circumstances such as weather or time of day.

Psychological Buying Motive

Buying influenced by emotions, perceptions, or sense of belonging.Words, numbers, or letters that can be read or spoken such as Mountain Dew.

Logo

Picture, design, or graphic image that represents a brand, such as the Golden Arches for McDonalds.

Trade Character

Object used to advertise with human like characteristics.

Brand Promise

Statement that tells customers what they can expect from the brand's products.

Brand Consistency

The good or service is the same everywhere you go.

Brand Perception

Mental image a person has about a brand or its products.

National Brand

Created by a manufacturer for use in a variety of stores.

Private Brand

Products owned by and created for a specific retailer.

Generic Brand

Brands not advertised, lacks labels and manufacturer is not evident.