marketing - glossary

Macro forecasting is concerned with forecasting markets in total. This is about determining the existing level of Market Demand and considering what will happen to market demand in the future.

Groups of consumers selected to represent a market or market segment who agree to be regularly interviewed by mail

Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their chosen brand name. The producer is responsible for marketing the brand. The brand is owned by the producer. By building their brand names, manufacturers can gain widespread distribution (for example by retailers who want to sell the brand) and build customer

The business in a market with the largest market share. The market leader, particularly one with a dominant market share, is often “followed” by competitors in terms of pricing and product strategy

A market is the demand for a particular product or service, often measured by sales during a specified period.

A business in a market that is fighting hard to increase its market share

Market concentration is the proportion of market value that is owned by the leading brands or products/companies in the market. Where the market leaders own a large part of the overall market, the market is said to be highly concentrated. By contrast, where the market leader has a relatively small market share and there are many other competitors, a market is said to be “fragmented”

The process of growing sales by offering existing products (or new versions of them) to new customer groups (as opposed to simply attempting to increase the company’s share of current markets).

The launch of a new product into a new or existing market. A different strategy is required depending on whether the product is an early or late entrant to the market; the first entrant usually has an automatic advantage, while later entrants need to demonstrate that their products are better, cheaper and so on.

A firm that is happy to follow the leaders in a market place without challenging them, perhaps taking advantages of opportunities created by leaders without the need for much marketing investment of its own - see also 'market challenger' and 'market leader'

A marketing strategy that will position a business’ products and services against those of its competitors in the minds of consumers. To achieve positioning success it is suggested that there are four basic competitive strategies that a company can follow (based on work by Porter):

- Cost leadership - the company tries to achieve lowest costs of production and distribution

- Differentiation - making use of specific marketing mixes

- Focus - paying attention to a few market segments

The fourth strategy is a losing strategy in which a business pursues a middle-of-the-road path. Businesses that try to be good at everything are rarely particularly good at anything.

The systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services

A customer group within the market that has special characteristics which are significant to marketing strategy

Segmentation involves subdividing markets, channels or customers into groups with different needs, to deliver tailored propositions which meet these needs as precisely as possible.

Market share can be defined as the percentage of all sales within a market that is held by one brand / product or company.

Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segment and selecting the most attractive segments to enter with a particular product or product line.

The all-embracing function that links the business with customer needs and wants in order to get the right product to the right place at the right time”

A systematic examination of a business’s marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view to identifying key strategic issues, threats and opportunities.

The marketing concept is about matching a business’ capabilities with customer wants.

The composite of all data and ideas available within an organisation that assists in decision-making.

A detailed statement (usually prepared annually) of how a company's marketing mix will be used to achieve its market objectives. A marketing plan is usually prepared following a marketing audit.

The stage during which a product's sales curve peaks and starts to decline, and profits continue to decline.

Media analysis is a term used in advertising. It refers to an investigation into the relative effectiveness and the relative costs of using the various advertising media in an advertising campaign

Micro forecasting is concerned with detailed unit sales forecasts. This is about determining a product’s market share in a particular industry and considering what will happen to that market share in the future

A mission describes the organisation’s basic function in society, in terms of the products and services it produces for its customers.

A mission statement is a formal description of the mission of a business.

When a business distributes its products through more than one distribution channel, this is known as multi-channel marketing. Retail chains, for example Argos, besides using the shops to distribute their products, quite often also use catalogue selling. The main purpose of multi-channel marketing is to more effectively reach different customer segments

A strategy by which a business directs its marketing efforts towards two or more market segments by developing a marketing mix for each