Glossary of Marketing Terms

Customer (needs and wants), cost, convenience, and communication. The 4C's was offered as an update to the 4P's to be more customer-focused. The 4C's is a framework of thinking to identify some of the key marketing decisions central to creating value for a specific target market. Each of the(...)

Price, product, place (distribution), and promotion. The 4P's is a framework of thinking to identify some of the key marketing decisions central to creating value for a specific target market. Each of the 4P's should work together to create an appealing marketplace offering. This is the(...)

Price, product, place (distribution), promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. The 7P's is an extension of the 4P's to recognize people, process, and physical evidence as key marketing decisions in the context of a service industry. Each of the 7P's should work together to create(...)

An experiment where two similar versions of marketing content are randomly shown to potential customers and tested for effectiveness. For example, a marketer could randomly substitute "half off" for "50% off" in an otherwise identical online ad and statistically test for differences in(...)

A psychological "catch all" term describing any type of internal feeling, mood, or emotion.

Active cognitive engagement with specific information, often while "tuning out" other stimuli.

A word or design used to identify and differentiate an organization or marketplace offering(s) from other entities.

The value a brand adds to a marketplace offering beyond its other intangible and physical attributes. An organization’s brand equity represents the goodwill and reputation it has earned from positive customer interactions.

The number of clicks an online ad received divided by the number of times is was displayed. Abbreviated CTR.

The degree to which customers want different things in a given product category. Low preference heterogeneity would indicate that most customers want/need the same features or attributes in a given product.

A pricing strategy where retailers offer consistently low prices to consumers. Everyday low prices are generally quite competitive. However, with some effort and time, consumers can usually find a lower price. From the consumers' perspective, the appeal of everyday low pricing is a guaranteed(...)

A price comparison provided by a retailer. For example, regular price $100, sale price $80. External reference prices are generally used to increase consumers' perceptions of price savings. Abbreviated ERP. Technically, any price displayed by a retailer is an ERP, even in the absence of(...)

A pricing strategy where retailers alternate between high and low prices for a given marketplace A pricing strategy where retailers alternate between high and low prices for a given marketplace offering. The high price is usually well above what most consumers would consider a competitive(...)

The price consumers expect to pay for a marketplace offering. Internal references prices are primarily based on observed price history as well as observed trends (for example, is the pricing consistently going up?). Recent price observations are probably more influential in determining price(...)

The incorrect assumption that organizations should always target the largest market segment(s). Competition to serve the largest market segment(s) is often fierce. Fierce competition tends to lower prices and increase costs. Serving smaller market segments can be more profitable.

A subset of potential customers with similar wants and needs related to a category of goods or services. Members of a market segment should also respond to marketing appeals and messages in a similar way. Consumers in the same market segment may share similar demographic, psychographic,(...)

The set of key and controllable factors that form a marketing strategy. The 4P's (price, product, place, and promotion), 7P's (add people, process, and proof of service), and 4C's (customer, cost, convenience, and communication) each represent different marketing mix models. Each model should(...)

The reason for an action. How cognitions and affect influence behavior. Motivation is often framed as a miss-match between current and desired states. Motivation can be intrinsic (in search of personal pleasure) or extrinsic (in search of an external reward).

A "catch all" term used to recognize that people (employees) are central to delivering value to current and potential customers. People create, sell, and service an organization's marketplace offering. Hiring, training, and retaining the right people is critical for most organizations(...)

The process of receiving and interpreting sensory information. Collected information is filtered through past experience, knowledge, and cognitions to arrive at an interpretation.

A "catch all" term to describe the atmosphere and equipment which facilitate a marketplace interaction. It also refers to physical objects given to customers to remind them of a service experience, such as a diploma when you graduate college or a printed and bound copy of a marketing research(...)

How a marketplace offering is made available to potential customers. One of the 4P's.

A "catch all" term used to describe the perceived value offered by a brand or product, who the brand or product is for, and how it compares to other marketplace offerings from the consumer’s perspective. Organizations can try to create a given perceived position by adopting a purpose-built(...)

Price is the monetary and non-monetary (time, effort, frustration, etc.) cost of acquiring a product or using a service. One of the 4P's.

An organization's procedures for delivering consistent value to its customers. Said differently, it is how a customer experiences a marketplace interaction. A good process is especially critical in the service industry. One of the 7P's.

What you are selling. Products can be physical goods, services, or ideas. Products should offer some form of tangible and/or intangible value to their target market. One of the 4P's.

A "catch all" term for all forms of communication (advertising, public relations, owned media, personal selling, etc.) and incentives (sales, coupons, free samples, contests, etc.) used by an organization to advance its goals. All promotions should be created and distributed with their(...)

Enjoying an experience less the more it is repeated. Satiation is more likely to occur when consumption takes place in rapid succession. Satiation is often discussed in the context of food, but the phenomenon seems to apply to most forms of consumption. It is similar to the concept of(...)

The process of identifying groups of consumers who share similar wants or needs related to a product category. Demographics, psychographics, geography, and behavioral characteristics are often used to segment consumer markets. Organization size, geography,  and industry are often used to(...)

A pricing strategy where firms slowly increase a product's price over time. This strategy is designed to incentivize consumers to buy now or risk (and regret) having to pay a higher price later. This pricing strategy works best in product categories where consumers frequently monitor the(...)

A pricing strategy where firms slowly lower a product's price as it becomes less valuable to potential customers. For example, as certain products age (fashion and electronics), they become less valuable. As such, firms must lower their prices to continue selling their products to new(...)

The market segment a product or service is designed to serve. All related marketing efforts should attempt to reach and communicate value to the target market. Organizations may serve multiple target markets.