Marketing, Sales, Business Growth Glossary / Dictionary | ExecutiveStride - Josh Pocock

Marketers run experiments called A/B tests to determine which marketing tactic yields the best results. For example, a digital marketer may conduct an A/B test that will serve up two different versions of a webpage—typically the current page versus a new iteration—to users to determine which performs better. This is a simple scientific approach for comparing the effectiveness of a control group versus a variation.

In marketing, analytics refers to the process of analyzing data to determine the return on investment of a particular marketing activity. Marketers may also use the term analytics to talk about the dashboard or system they use to review and track this data.

This acronym is shorthand for business-to-business marketing. B2B companies are those that market their products or services to other businesses.

This acronym stands for business-to-consumer marketing. B2C companies sell their products or services directly to the end consumer.

The percentage at which an email was unable to be delivered to a user’s inbox. This is a negative event, and you’ll want to understand the deliverability issues with that email address. 

A brand is the way a company is perceived and experienced by potential customers. Pieces of a brand include its logo and other design elements, the voice it uses when interacting with customers and the target customers it’s known for serving.

Buyer personas are the imaginary people marketers target when they design ads or create content like website copy. Although buyer personas aren’t real people, they are created based on data from actual consumers. These personas are then used to inform the audience, tactics and tone of the messages delivered.

Campaign

Case studies are a type of content that showcases a company’s work with a past customer, usually with a focus on statistics that prove the company achieved the desired results.

This marketing method focuses on creating relevant, consistent content to attract new leads and turn them into customers. Blog posts, email newsletters, vlogs and podcasts can all be pieces of a content marketing strategy.

Content management systems are a type of web publishing tool designed to manage the digital content marketers create for the web. These typically offer an easy-to-use interface for editing the layout or other elements of a webpage.

A click-through rate is a metric that measures how many people click an ad after seeing it.

A conversion rate is a metric that measures how many users took a certain action, like filling out a form or clicking on a specific link. Typically this is tied to actions leading to a purchase, but the goal action can vary.

Email marketing is content sent via email to current or potential customers who subscribed to a marketing email list. Check your inbox—you’ve seen countless examples.

Engagement refers to the connection and relationship marketers build over time with their customers. In digital marketing, engagement can sometimes be measured as actions a visitor takes, such as clicking a link or commenting on a social media post.

This marketing method uses strategies like content marketing and social media marketing to attract new customers. Rather than pursuing customers with a hard sell, inbound marketers forge connections with people by meeting them where they’re at in the purchase process. Ideally, this approach draws them in to learn more about the brand. For example, a grill manufacturer writing an article comparing the pros and cons of gas grills versus charcoal grills. This provides helpful information about a topic people commonly ask the brand about and may lead to more direct sales questions, e.g., “Which gas grill should I purchase?”

Key performance indicators are specific metrics that show whether a company is meeting its marketing goals.

A landing page is a static, stand-alone website page that includes a strong call to action as part of a marketing campaign.

Leads are potential buyers who have engaged with a brand in the past and are likely to make a purchase in the future.

A lead magnet is an incentive, such as a coupon code or a free ebook download that potential customers receive in exchange for their contact information.

Metrics are measurable indicators that tell marketers how well their campaigns are performing. Common metrics include click-through rate, cost per lead, bounce rate and conversion rate.

This traditional type of marketing seeks to get the attention of potential buyers by interrupting them in their daily lives using techniques like cold calls or direct mail campaigns.

Public relations involves managing the spread of information about a company. PR professionals work to spread positive news about their brand and minimize the impact of negative news.

Every marketing campaign requires an initial investment of time and/or money. Return on investment is a metric that measures whether a campaign earned enough money to be worth the initial cost.

A sales funnel refers to the buying journey new leads take before they make a purchase. The sales funnel includes several steps, from learning that a brand exists to becoming a loyal customer.

This digital marketing method uses social media channels to introduce potential customers to a brand and to gradually build a connection through regular interaction.

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon in which people are more likely to trust or purchase from a brand if they’ve heard positive reviews from their friends or peers.

Testimonials are a type of social proof in which past customers make a positive statement about their experience with a brand.

User experience refers to the design process of making a website (or app) easy for visitors to understand and navigate.

The act of focusing marketing efforts toward a specific company, including the creation of unique marketing content and assets. Often used when targeting enterprise-level clients for a high-ticket sale.

This is a broad term that indicates a coordinated series of linked advertisements with a single idea or theme. Ad campaigns typically have a specific time period when they run.

This is a term specific to Facebook ads that is part of its three tiers of organizational hierarchy—Campaign, Ad Set, and Ads. Major details such as audience targeting, date range, placement, and budget are determined at the Ad Set level.

The audience selection process that determines who your ads get shown to. Targeting options include geography, demographics, web or app behavior, past purchases, video engagement, and many other variables.

A specific format or type of ad. For example, Facebook has separate ad units for video view and website traffic campaign objectives.

A system or agreement in which the publisher (website) makes a commission from the advertiser based on traffic or user actions like form submissions, online purchases, etc.

A set of rules or specified instructions required for performing a task or solving a problem. This includes written code as well as other bits of information working together in an attempt to get you what you’re looking for. A social media newsfeed, for example, has an algorithm designed to display content that is interesting to you as the viewer and determines how far your own content reaches when shared.

Revenue that a business can count on receiving every year.

The ratio of the height to the width of an image or video. There are typically square, wide, and vertical aspect ratios to fit your desired screen size. For example, images with vertical aspect ratios work best with Instagram stories, wide are good for YouTube videos, and square are most common.

The process of identifying which activity is responsible for a user action. There are different models of attribution for digital analytics including first-touch, last-touch, multi-touch, time-decay, etc. More on the specific models of digital attribution here.

A term that refers to a potential buyer or lead who has already gone through the awareness and consideration stages. Examples of bottom of the funnel marketing actions include a call from a sales rep, a demo, or a free consultation.

The percentage of people who arrive on your website and leave without any further action. This is usually considered a negative event, as marketers generally prefer to have users click, engage, and navigate to additional web pages.