Small Business Marketing Glossary
This is part of a three-blog series of glossaries for small businesses. I know exactly how overwhelming it can be when you start out.
Here’s my glossary of marketing terms to provide you with definitions for all those confusing phrases.
A/B Testing
This is the process of testing two versions of the same ‘thing’ (e.g. a web page, email, ad) to measure the performance of the two next to each other.
Advertising
Marketing through sponsored messages used to promote your product/service.
Affiliate Marketing
Essentially, affiliate marketing is earning commission through promoting other peoples products/services. You both earn a piece of the profit.
Audit
A close inspection of part of your business which focuses on finding ways to improve it.
Automation
This involves using technology and software to create workflows that run automatically when triggered. For example, a free download could be triggered by your email marketing software when someone signs up to your newsletter.
B2B, Business to Business
The act of selling from one business to another.
B2C, Business to Customer
The act of selling from a business to a customer or individual.
Baby Boomers
Characterised by being incredibly hard workers and using telephones to communicate, Baby Boomers were born between 1945-1964.
Banner Adverts
An advert that is embedded into a website to advertise on that webpage.
Blogs
A page on your website that is regularly updated with content. They are usually informal and chatty. In fact, you’re on a blog right now!
Bots
A piece of software which carries out a certain task. They are very varied and can be a form of automation.
Bounce Rate
This is a stat that represents the proportion of website visitors who enter a site and then leave quickly (or bounce). This is calculated by single page sessions divided by all page sessions.
Brand
This is how others see your business.
Click through rate
Used to measure the success of advertising campaigns, the click through rate is worked out by dividing the number of clicks by the number of viewers.
Cold Mailing/Calling
Sending emails or giving calls to people who you have not contacted before in a bid to sell.
Competitions
Running a competition in a bid to grow your audience, improve audience relations or maybe even to sell a product or service.
Competitors
A business who is doing or selling similar things to your own business.
Content Marketing
A method of marketing that involved creating and distributing content online. This could be a blog, newsletter or podcast for example.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of the number of people who have completed your goal out of the number who have seen your content.
Cookie
A tasty name. A cookie is a small piece of data sent between a website and computer to remember useful information whilst the site visitor is browsing.
Copy, or Copywriting
Copy is the text used on your website. Copywriting is the action of writing this text. And a copy writer? Yup, a person writing that text!
Cost per Lead
How much it costs you on average to get a lead in your business (so someone who is interested rather than a sale). The higher the cost per lead, the more inefficient your marketing.
Customer Acquisition Rate
This is slightly different to cost per lead as it’s how much it costs to convert someone to buy from you. Again, the higher the cost per acquisition, the more inefficient your marketing.
Customer AvatarThis is a detailed profile of your dream customer. It is usually heavily detailed and specific to one individual. An incredibly useful tool.
Digital Marketing
Marketing that uses the internet to speak to a brand’s customers or potential customers.
Direct Mail
Marketing that is delivered directly through someone’s letterbox. This could be a flyer or leaflet for example.
eCommerce, or Ecommerce
eCommerce covers all transactions made over the internet. Those ASOS orders, that online course and your favourite eBook are all examples of eCommerce.
Email Marketing
Using email to develop a relationship with - and sell - to your audience of subscribers.
Engagement Rate
A measurement of how well people are engaging (or interacting) with a piece of content. This tends to be likes, comments and shares.
GDPR, General Data Protection Regulation
GDPR is a legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from people in the EU.
Gen X
Characterised by working to live and using personal computers to communicate, Gen X were born between 1965-1980.
Gen Y, Millennials
Characterised by working their own way and using mobile phones, Millennials were born between around 1980-2000.
Gen Z, iGen
The iGen get their names from growing up on their mobile phones. They were born after around 2000. They are just beginning to enter the workforce.
Hashtag
A word or phrase that begins with a # to group together similar content on social media.
Inbound Marketing
Marketing that draws in a new audience by creating interesting content and experiences. This is usually done on your own social media channels and your website.
Influencer Marketing
Using paid endorsements or product placement from influencers or people with authority in their field.
Keyword
These are snippets or words that are inserted into your copy and site to help your website show up in search engines.
KPI, Key Performance Indicator
A measurable value which is used to demonstrate whether a company is achieving their objectives.
Market Research
Gathering information on your industry, audience and competitors.
Mood Board
A mood board is a collection of images and text that represent a style or feeling. It’s a good starting place for brand visuals.
Opt In, or Freebie or Lead Magnet
The method of providing a discount or free offer to an individual in exchange for their email address.
Outbound Marketing
This is marketing is reaching out to a new audience or new customers. This could be done through paid promotions, advertising, PR or sales.
Packaging
Materials used in transporting the product to a customer. Think boxes, bags, stickers and leaflets for a start.
PPC, Pay Per Click
Marketing used to drive traffic to your website. You pay the advertiser (like Google) each time the link is clicked.
Podcast
A series of audio files available to stream or download digitally ready for easy listening.
Pop Up
It does exactly what it says. It’s a form of advertising on your own website and involves a window ‘popping up’ to grab attention. It can be used to draw attention to an offer or ask for information such as an email address.
ROI, Return on Investment
How much money you make as a proportion of how much money you have a spent on a campaign.
Sales Funnel
A guide through steps your customer makes from first becoming aware of your business to buying from you.
Search Engine Marketing
Using paid advertisements that appear on search engines results pages.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation
The process of getting your site looking ship shape to get free traffic from search engine results pages such as Google or Bing.
Social Media Marketing
Using social media platforms to promote your business, product or services.
SWOT
This is a planning technique that identifies strengths (s), weaknesses (w), opportunities (o) and threats (t). This can be applies to your business as a whole, or individual projects within it.
Webinars
A free or paid seminar run over the internet using tools such as Crowdcast or Zoom. This could be a final product or it could be part of a larger marketing funnel.
Website
The digital home of your business, your website is a space owned by you online to showcase your products, services and content marketing.
