Principles of Marketing – Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts, strategies and processes from Chapters 1-3 of the Principles of Marketing lecture notes.

Marketing

A coordinated set of activities and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society.

Marketing Process

Five-step cycle: 1) understand marketplace & customer needs, 2) design a customer-driven strategy, 3) construct an integrated program, 4) build profitable relationships & customer delight, 5) capture value to create profits & equity.

Production Concept

Traditional orientation that assumes consumers prefer inexpensive, widely available products; firms focus on high volume and low cost rather than features.

Product Concept

Belief that consumers favor quality, performance and innovation; organizations concentrate on continual product improvements.

Selling Concept

Philosophy that aggressive promotion and selling effort are essential to persuade customers to buy; demand must be created, not just met.

Relationship Marketing Concept

Contemporary view that all marketing activity aims to establish, maintain and strengthen long-term, meaningful relationships with customers.

Marketing Concept (Contemporary)

Company success begins with understanding and satisfying consumer needs better than competitors while achieving organizational goals.

Social Marketing Concept

Extension of the marketing concept that seeks to balance company profits, consumer wants and society’s long-run interests.

Building Brand Awareness

Marketing goal focused on making a brand recognizable through content marketing, social media, influencers, PR, paid ads and sponsorships.

Supporting High Sales Volume

Goal that uses digital ads, SEO, referral programs, partnerships and events to maintain strong product demand.

Establishing Thought Leadership

Positioning the firm as an industry authority via high-quality content, events, academic collaborations and social engagement.

Boosting Sales

Tactical goal achieved with targeted ads, discounts, content marketing, social proof, upselling, influencer work and retargeting.

Increasing Brand Engagement

Objective of fostering interaction through valuable content, social media dialogue, personalization, influencer collaboration and loyalty programs.

Customer Value

Benefit a buyer receives versus what is given up; calculated as Total Customer Benefit minus Total Customer Cost.

Total Customer Benefit

Sum of product, service, personnel and image value delivered to the customer.

Total Customer Cost

Aggregate of monetary, time, energy and psychological costs incurred by a customer.

Product Value

Benefit derived from a product’s features, performance and quality.

Service Value

Benefit gained from services that accompany a product, such as delivery or installation.

Personnel Value

Benefit created by knowledgeable, helpful and courteous employees.

Image Value

Psychological benefit obtained from brand reputation and status.

Monetary Cost

Actual financial outlay a customer pays for a product or service.

Time Cost

Amount of time a customer spends acquiring and using the offering.

Energy Cost

Physical or mental effort expended by the customer during purchase and consumption.

Psychological Cost

Stress, anxiety or perceived risk associated with a purchase decision.

Basic Relationship Level

Marketing interaction limited to mass tactics such as ads, email or social posts.

Reactive Relationship Level

Firm responds to complaints or provides support only after a sale is made.

Accountable Relationship Level

Company actively seeks feedback to improve products and services.

Proactive Relationship Level

Business offers personalized recommendations and targeted offers based on customer behavior.

Partnership Relationship Level

Deep collaboration such as co-branding, joint promotions or strategic alliances.

Strategic Marketing

Long-range plan aligning marketing activities with company vision to identify profitable opportunities and competitive advantage.

Tactical Marketing

Short-term actions that execute strategy through specific product, price, place and promotion initiatives.

Strategic Marketing Process

Four phases: mission identification, situation analysis (SWOT), objective setting (SMART), and strategy development.

Mission Identification

Defining what an organization is, why it exists, its customers, products and geographic scope.

Situation Analysis (SWOT)

Assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats.

Objective Setting

Creating specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals.

Cost Leadership Strategy

Competing by achieving the industry’s lowest operational costs, enabling lower pricing.

Differentiation Strategy

Competing by offering unique product attributes valued by buyers.

Focus Strategy

Targeting a narrow, profitable market segment with tailored offerings.

Forward Integration

Gaining ownership or control over distributors or retailers downstream in the supply chain.

Backward Integration

Acquiring or controlling suppliers to secure inputs and reduce costs.

Horizontal Integration

Acquiring or merging with competitors to increase market power.

Market Penetration

Increasing share of existing products in current markets through more intense marketing.

Market Development

Entering new geographic areas or market segments with current products.

Product Development

Improving current products or creating new ones to boost sales in existing markets.

Related Diversification

Introducing new but related products or services that leverage existing capabilities.

Unrelated Diversification

Entering completely new industries without obvious link to existing business.

Retrenchment

Reducing costs or assets to halt declining sales and profits.

Divestiture

Selling a division or part of the organization to refocus resources.

Liquidation

Selling all company assets, in pieces or whole, for their tangible value.

Goals (Strategic Plan)

Broad, qualitative statements indicating desired future outcomes.

Objectives

Quantified, time-bound targets that make goals actionable and measurable.

Strategies (Marketing)

Broad approaches that outline how goals and objectives will be achieved.

Tactics (Marketing)

Concrete actions, tools or campaigns that implement strategies day to day.

Marketing Environment

Combination of internal, micro and macro factors that influence marketing operations.

Macroenvironment

External forces—political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal—that affect all firms.

Microenvironment

Immediate actors—organization, suppliers, customers, intermediaries and competitors—shaping a firm’s ability to serve the market.

Political Force

Government systems, tax laws and policy priorities impacting business.

Economic Force

Interest rates, inflation, money supply and income levels that affect purchasing power.

Social Force

Customs, values, beliefs and lifestyles prevalent in a society.

Technological Force

Advances in technology and communication, such as automation and AI.

Ecological Force

Energy use, environmental regulations, sustainability programs and climate change concerns.

Legal Force

Health, safety, consumer protection, copyright and patent laws governing business.

Organization (Microenvironment)

Owners, investors and employees constituting the firm’s internal stakeholders.

Suppliers

Firms or individuals providing resources needed to produce goods and services.

Customers

People or entities willing and able to purchase a company’s offerings.

Marketing Intermediaries

Independent organizations that help distribute and sell products to end users.

Competitors

Other firms offering similar goods or services in the marketplace.

Corporate Culture

Shared beliefs, values and practices guiding behavior within an organization.

Organizational Structure

Formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities and authority in a company.

Business Resources

Assets—financial, physical, human and informational—controlled by the firm.

Marketing Research

Systematic collection and analysis of data to solve specific marketing problems.

Quantitative Research

Marketing research that gathers numerical data for statistical analysis and data-driven decisions.

Qualitative Research

Research exploring the ‘why’ of customer behavior through non-numerical insights.

Exploratory Research

Preliminary study aimed at clarifying problems and identifying variables to measure.

Descriptive Research

Research that profiles characteristics and measures associations between variables.

Causal Research

Investigation of cause-and-effect relationships between marketing variables.

Marketing Research Process

Five steps: state objectives, determine methodology, collect data, interpret results, present findings.