DEFINITIONS

The process of forming ideas from conception to implementation, most often in a business setting. Ideation is expressed via graphical, written, or verbal methods, and arises from past or present knowledge, influences, opinions, experiences, and personal convictions.

A feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something, that gives you new and creative ideas.

A person or thing that brings something into existence.

Attribute used most often is number of employees; small businesses are usually defined as organizations with fewer than 100 employees; midsize enterprises are those organizations with 100 to 999 employees.

A “person” with bona fide expert knowledge about what it takes to do a particular job.

A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.

A plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.

The object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

A person who has recently started a particular activity: Beginner, Novice, Newcomer.

A person thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom.

Goods to be bought and sold.

A digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

A product, identity, or image that generates awareness and separates your business from others.

The process of creating a distinct identity for a business in the minds of your target audience and the general population. At its core, branding consists of a company’s name and logo, visual identity design, mission, values, and tone of voice.

A very specific segment of a larger market.

A specific factor that differentiates your product or service from your direct competitor (e.g., cost, quality, added use).

Multiple areas of focus as part of a comprehensive marketing plan. The term often refers to a common classification that began as the four Ps: product, price, placement, and promotion.  Other P’s include people, positioning, processes, and performance.

The action or activity of gathering information about consumers’ needs and preferences so you can provide just the right product or service.

A measure of the extent of a product’s sales volume relative to the total sales volume of all competing products.

Digital (i.e., internet-based) marketing that includes podcasts, video, email broadcasts, social media, ebooks, and SEO.

The characteristics of your ideal buyer.

Testing two versions (an A version and a B version) to see which one performs better.

Data from a variety of sources used to inform marketing efforts.

How often people visit your website and leave without clicking on anything.

Click Through Rate tells you how many people are moving through your website toward purchasing your product or service.

Short for Content Management System and refers to a program (usually software) that manages all aspects of creating digital content.

Percentage of people who take a desired action (usually on your website).

 Short for Customer Relationship Management. Refers to software that helps you organize your marketing activity.

Short for Cost Per Lead and refers to the total marketing cost necessary to acquire a lead (potential buyer).

Data points that apply to your target market, such as age, sex, income, and family status.

Online marketing is the promotion of brands to connect with potential customers using the internet and other forms of digital communication. This includes not only email, social media, and web-based advertising, but also text and multimedia messages as a marketing channel.

Content that is valuable to a consumer regardless of when it is read.

Any aspect of your image, brand, product, or website that is hard to understand (causes friction between it and the consumer).

Content that combines words and images to make complex information easy to understand.

Pay Per Click — advertising on the internet where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

Search Engine Optimization — optimizing your website so that it ranks higher on the results page of a search engine.

Social Engine Marketing is method of promotion and advertising to help companies’ content rank higher among search engine traffic.

Social Media Marketing (also known as digital marketing and e-marketing) is the use of social media—the platforms on which users build social networks and share information—to build a company’s brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

The entire sales process as a whole.

Top Of The Funnel refers to the initial stages of the sales funnel, where the consumer is looking for answers to a problem that may involve your product or service.

Middle Of The Funnel refers to the middle stages of the sales funnel, where your business positions itself as the solution to the consumer’s problem.

Bottom Of The Funnel refers to the end stages of the sales funnel, where a consumer is ready to buy.

User Experience is the total experience — from purchase and beyond — a user has with your brand.

User Interface is anything a user may interact with to use a digital product or service. This includes everything from screens and touch-screens, keyboards, sounds, and even lights.

The practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet.

Return on investment (ROI) refers to all the benefits — monetary or otherwise — received from an investment.

Make money from a product or activity.

A product or service developed by a business.

Profit from a product or service after all expenses have been covered. Often referred to as a percentage.

A record of the money you owe to the people and businesses that helped you create your product or service.

A record of the money that other people and businesses owe to you.

Costs you must pay whether your business is doing well or not. Expenses such as utilities, rent, and employee salaries are considered fixed costs.

Expenses that fluctuate based on your volume of business. They include:

• Shipping
• Commissions
• Supplies
• Hourly wages

Gross refers to the total amount or quantity BEFORE deductions or expenses.

Refers to the amount or quantity AFTER deductions or expenses.

Provide an incentive (a motivation) for using a product or service.

Short for business-to-business and describes a business transaction with another business.

Short for Business-to-Consumer and describes transactions with individual consumers.

Short for Business-to-Government and describes transactions with government entities.

The process by which you measure various aspects of your systems (e.g., speed, efficiency, cost, amount of product).

An acronym that refers to a form of analysis that examines your:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

An acronym that stands for Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are usually numbers that tell you how effective your business is in a specific area.

Any quantifiable (countable) measurement your business uses to assess performance.

A performance review is a process by which a manager evaluates each member of his or her team. During the performance review, the manager provides feedback and helps the employee see how they can improve.

Short for research and development.

Able to be changed in size.

This term refers to a website that changes based on the type of device (tablet, phone, laptop, desktop) used to view it.

A core competency is a defining capability or advantage that distinguishes you from your competitors.

An essential written document that provides a description and overview of your company’s future including business strategy and your key goals to get from where you are now to where you want to be in the future.

DBA stands for “doing business as”.An individual or business entity can also choose to conduct business under a name that is different than its legal name by filing a DBA.  A DBA name is also referred to as a “trade name”, “assumed name”, or “fictitious business name”.

Step up your efforts.

We’re not discussing that right now.

Used to refer to a simple task.

A timeline that is too short and doesn’t provide enough room to get everything finished.

Football metaphor that means you’re close to the end and you need to put everything you have into reaching completion.

Move the facts around in your favor.

We’ll get back to that if we have time.

Estimate something.

Come up with some new ideas.

Not enough people working on a task.

Mundane organization and project issues.

Fire a large group of people.

To bring together two or more things which are normally thought to be so different that they cannot exist together.

Someone or something that brings in a lot of money.