A

Advertising
Paid, nonpersonal communication through various media by a business firm, not-for-profit organization, or individual identified in the message with the hope of informing or persuading members of a particular audience.
Advertising agency
Marketing specialist firm that assists advertisers in planning and implementing advertising programs.
Approach
Salesperson's initial contact with a prospective customer.
Auction house
An establishment that gathers buyers and sellers in one location where buyers can examine merchandise before submitting competing purchase offers.

B

Benchmarking
Process in which an organization continuously compares and measures itself against business leaders anywhere in the world to learn how it could improve performance.
Bid
Written sales proposal from a vendor.
Brand
A name, term, sign, symbol, design, or some combination that identifies the products of a firm.
Brand name
The part of a brand consisting of words or letters that form a name to identify and distinguish a firm's offerings.
Business-to-business marketing
Organizational purchase of goods and services to support production of other goods and services or daily company operations or for resale.
Buyer's market
Marketplace characterized by an abundance of goods and/or services.

C

Cash discount
A price reduction offered to a consumer, industrial user, or marketing intermediary in return for prompt payment.
Credit Card Processing
Accept credit cards and other electronic payments to increase the payment options for your customers.
Cross promotion
A technique in which marketing partners share the cost of a promotional campaign that meets their mutual needs.

D

Data mining
The process of searching through customer information files to detect patterns that guide marketing decision-making.
Database marketing
The use of computers to identify and target messages toward specific group of potential customers.
Direct marketing
Direct communications other than personal sales contacts between buyer and seller.

E

Electronic data interchange (EDI)
Computer-to-computer exchanges of invoices, orders, and other business documents.

F

Follow-up
Post sale activities that often determine whether a one-time purchase will lead a buyer to become a repeat customer.

G

Global sourcing
Contracting to purchase goods and services from suppliers worldwide.

I

Interactive marketing
Buyer-seller communications in which the customer controls the amount and type of information received from a marketer through such channels as the Internet, CD-ROM disks, interactive 800 telephone numbers, and virtual reality kiosks.
Interactive media
Communications channels that induce message recipients to participate actively in the promotional effort.
Internet
An all-purpose global network composed of 48,000 or more different networks around the globe that, within limits, let anyone with access to a personal computer send and receive images and data anywhere.

M

Market
People or institutions with sufficient purchasing power, authority, and willingness to buy.

O

Order processing
Selling, mostly at the wholesale and retail levels, that involves identifying customer needs, pointing them out to customers, and completing orders.
Outsourcing
Acquiring inputs from outside vendors for goods and services formerly produced in-house.

P

Percentage-of-sales method
Allocating funds for promotion during a given time period based on a specified percentage of either past or forecasted sales.
Perception
Meaning that an individual creates by interpreting a stimulus.
Place Marketing
Marketing efforts to attract people and organizations to a particular geographic area.
Planning
The process of anticipating future events and conditions and determining the courses of action necessary to achieve organizational objectives.
Public Relations
Firm's communications and relationships with its various publics.

R

Relationship Marketing
Development and maintenance of long-term, cost-effective exchange relationships with individual customers, suppliers, employees, and other partners for mutual benefit.

S

Sales Analysis
In-depth evaluation of a firm's sales.
Sales Forecast
An estimate of company sales for a specified future period.
Storage Warehouse
A warehouse that holds goods for moderate to long periods prior to shipment, usually to buffer seasonal demand.
Strategic Planning
The process of determining an organization's primary objectives, allocating funds, and then initiating actions designed to achieve those objectives.

T

Target Market
Group of people toward whom a firm markets its goods, services, or ideas with a strategy designed to satisfy their specific needs and preferences.
Trend Analysis
A quantitative sales forecasting method that estimates future sales through statistical analysis of historical sales patterns.

U

Unfair-trade law
A state law requiring sellers to maintain minimum prices for comparable merchandise.

V

Virtual Storefront Form of interactive media that allows customers to view and order merchandise.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
A 125-member organization that succeeds GATT in overseeing trade agreements, mediating disputes, and reducing trade barriers; unlike GATT provisions, WTO decisions are binding.