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What is Income Tax?

2022-11-03T23:59:00.007-07:00

Taxes conscribed on the earnings of companies and individualities are appertained to as income taxes. Earnings subject to income levies can come from different sources, including stipend, hires, tips, interest, royalties, rents, laying winnings, and product deals. In the United States, income duty is one of the biggest sources of profit for the civil government.

When people talk about income levies, they generally mean individual income levies, paid by workers or other people who earn income. still, companies, estates, trusts, and numerous other types of realities also pay income levies grounded on profit or income.

Individual income duty utmost people don't pay duty on all of their earnings. rather, the Internal Service profit( IRS) offers a series of deductions, grounded on mortgage interest, a chance of medical and dental bills, education expenditures, and numerous other expenditures. People abate these deductions from their gross income to determine their taxable income.

Business income duty Businesses small businesses, tone- employed contractors, hookups, and pots are needed to pay income duty grounded on their profit. These realities report their business profit and also abate capital and operating charges. The difference is their taxable income.

Top Ten Skills Tips You Need to Master Content Marketing

2016-08-23T12:23:00.002-07:00

1. In-Depth analysis

Unless you’re the foremost knowledgeable material skilled, everything you produce can got to have some analysis behind it. Any content seller will browse widespread sites, do a touch analysis, and brainstorm some topics. Effective content marketers go deeper by:

Researching the audience to completely perceive their pain points and interests
Discovering what channels the audience pays attention to for effective distribution
Knowing the nomenclature the audience uses once looking
Uncovering search queries they use to seek out answers and solutions
Using platforms like BuzzSumo to find the foremost widespread content on a given topic
Using a tool like Ahrefs to uncover link quality for various content
Digging into content comments, social teams, and discussion threads for audience concerns/interests
Identifying totally different audience segments, applicable demographics, and psychographics
Tracking trends in promoting and their trade
Determining that content formats offer the foremost audience reach and engagement
Marketers World Health Organization wish epic results can keep researching till they need associate degree complete assortment of knowledge for his or her strategy and campaign. That persistence sets the simplest content marketers aside from the remainder.

2. Leverage Trends
Trends are available in tons of forms. each trade has trends and things that area unit on the minds of their audience at any given time. trade trends area unit necessary to follow, however therefore area unit the trends outside your trade that capture the eye of your audience.

A smart seller perpetually keeps their eyes open for trending topics to remain prior to the curve.

Being the primary to leap on new trade trends to leverage them for your content campaigns could be a good way to position yourself ahead of a particular audience. however you can’t neglect alternative trending topics that create the highest of the news and obtain listed in social channels with hashtags.

While some trends could also be fully orthogonal to your business, others are often designed to form a correlation that puts your content ahead of a way larger audience.

Texas-based LawnStarter jumped on native trends, that includes town growth in their journal. It rumored that its home town of Austin had crossed a significant growth milestone, and therefore the story was quickly featured in BizJournal and Patch.com. By taking note to what individuals cared regarding and leverage trends, they expanded their reach to over 1,000,000 individuals.

3. Effectively Promote and Distribute

The average seller will some social promotion once new content is revealed and leaves the remainder to organic traffic from search. however if you would like additional reach and traffic from your content, you have got to utilize each out there channel for promoting new content.

When Jay Baer publishes a replacement video for his show, Jay Today, his team at once begins promoting it through multiple channels. This promotion includes:

Uploading it on YouTube
Distributing video and audio podcasts on iTunes
Posting to 2 websites (Convince & Convert and Jay Today)
Promoting it on social shops like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Cross-posting to LinkedIn Pulse and Medium
In addition to mistreatment those self same channels, you'll be able to use tools like Quuu to market your content, send email notifications to subscribers, raise your connections and influencers you recognize to share it, and sponsor the content through numerous social channels.

4. savvy to scan the information
Being able to inform a story is very important, however knowing what to try to to thereupon story matters even additional. Since every bit of content is made for a purpose, the foremost productive content marketers savvy to investigate knowledge to confirm that goals area unit being met and therefore the content is playing well.

But, examining uncountable knowledge are often exhausting and inefficient, and therefore the metrics you ought to ultimately look forward to can vary supported your goals. to work out what the foremost necessary metrics for content promoting area unit for your business, you wish to develop associate degree economical method for decoding knowledge, which may solely come back from extremely understanding what you’re observing.

Knowing a way to scan the information will assist you decide that topics to scrap and that top-performing topics you'll be able to repurpose into new, traffic-generating content.

5. Superior Strategy and Organization

Just thirty second of content marketers have a documented content strategy. in keeping with LinkedIn, firms with documented methods area unit three hundred and sixty five days additional probably to achieve their efforts.

A clear-cut content strategy helps you outline goals, track your analysis, set up your content, record your progress, match content to your audience and stages of the funnel, and keep organized for consistent and effective preparation. a close editorial calendar associate degreed content strategy area unit signs of an all-star content seller.

6. Write higher Than the typical seller
Writing well for a digital audience might sound obvious, nonetheless tons of marketers struggle during this department. With additional and additional stress on content promoting and makes troubled to catch up, I still see marketers pushing amount over quality.

Content promoting is over simply obtaining content written, and sensible writing is over simply avoiding grammatical errors and typos. the simplest content is high price, long form, associate degreed filled with most price that it'd agree an overfilled water balloon on the verge of exploding.

Moz’s battle writing 10x content ought to be the minimum customary you draw a bead on to line for your content output.

7. Being a aggressive Designer

You could do absolutely fine and obtain nice results while not having any style chops, however you’ll have to be compelled to draw upon another resources, source style parts, and deal out cash to form it all happen.

Or, you'll work on your style skills and gain additional independence altogether components of the content promoting method. you'll} quickly push extremely nice content if you’re able to produce and edit pictures that tell a compelling story. whether or not it’s associate degree eye-grabbing feature image or some inline graphics, having even a basic planning skillset would be massively helpful.

You don’t would like a dear Photoshop subscription to accomplish this. simply learn the way to use Pixlr for in-browser image piece of writing or Canva to form unbelievable, professional-looking pictures.

8. Telling a Compelling Story
57% of marketers say that making a compelling story and creating content additional participating area unit their main priorities, however hour of marketers still struggle to supply participating content for his or her audiences.

Storytelling will take tons of forms, and there’s no magic define for doing it right. the foremost productive content marketers area unit those World Health Organization will elicit emotional responses from readers in ways in which additional connect them to the whole.

Warby Parker uses storytelling to market social consciousness by manufacturing content that brings attention to individuals in would like. the corporate is well-known for donating over 2 million pairs of glasses, with one combine given to an individual in would like anytime one combine is purchased.

9. Be Versatile
I might bring forth articles all day long and do practically, generating organic search and referral traffic for my agency. however I don’t settle as a result of I’m additional versatile than that for my purchasers, likewise as my very own content strategy.

Effective content marketers don’t place all their eggs in one basket. They believe over one variety of content to achieve their audience, as a result of they apprehend their audience digests content in numerous ways that. Your customers scan articles, hear podcasts, watch video, scan infographics, examine case studies, and browse through whitepapers for brand new insights.

Producing a range of quality content can get you ahead of a way larger audience.

10. Knowing a way to Collaborate

Steve Jobs believed it absolutely was necessary to kindle facilitate and meet others once facilitate was required. additional specifically he aforesaid, “Now, I’ve really continually found one thing to be terribly true, that is the majority don’t get those experiences as a result of they ne'er raise. I’ve ne'er found anybody World Health Organization didn’t wish {to facilitate|to assist} American state once I’ve asked them for help.”

The ability to collaborate and obtain help from others could be a valuable ability that the simplest marketers leverage for his or her content efforts. after you partner with somebody, particularly associate degree influencer at intervals your trade, you’re greatly increasing your touch a way larger audience.

For example, I teamed up with Neil Patel to supply a comprehensive guide to putting together a journal audience. it absolutely was a mutualist collaboration as a result of we tend to were ready to leverage every other’s skills and resources to supply a extremely valuable piece of content that continues to deliver results.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have connections nonetheless. the simplest collaborations continually begin with a thought.

Conclusion
This isn’t a full list of skills that each content seller ought to have, however developing these 10 skills is important if you would like to face aside from the endless torrent of “so-so” content that’s being shoved ahead of your audience’s eyes.

Want to be associate degree all-star content seller and obtain epic results? Master the 10 skills i discussed, and you’ll be on your method.

What ability does one suppose is most crucial for obtaining huge results from your content promoting efforts? Share your thoughts with American state below.

Branding : Know How to Do it in a Right way

2016-08-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

In a extremely competitive and clattery marketplace, it’s crucial that you simply distinguish yourself and your business with solid stigmatisation. This company buzz word sounds catchy and reassuringly precise, however there's no ballroom dance method you'll use to outline the essence of an organization or a business person. stigmatisation execution needs a multi-channel, “full-court press” strategy and therefore the ability to ascertain things from a birds-eye-view. winning stigmatisation needs that you simply produce and systematically maintain many alternative social media, online, and offline channels for optimum impact.

The find method inherent in making a stigmatisation and promoting strategy will even assist you to contour your skilled services and goals. Given AN investment of your time and energy, a strategically positioned personal whole can boost your skilled exposure, influence, and opportunities.

Ask Yourself the laborious queries
The first step towards establishing whole consistency is to sit down down and raise yourself key queries pertaining each to the black and white aspects of your business, likewise on the a lot of abstract – your mission. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. shaping all of those parts in AN organized manner before you ever post on-line can give clear communication direction within the long-term.

Who area unit you? however would you describe your business to somebody unfamiliar your trade, during a nutshell?
What area unit your mission and values?
When was your business established?
What services will your company give, how, and where?
Do you have a specialty? What differentiates you from the competition?
What area unit you hoping to attain as a results of your branding: to come up with new leads, to drive sales, to determine yourself because the foremost professional in your field, or boost traffic on your web site? United Nations agency is your customer? wherever do they wish to pay time on-line and offline?

Take Stock of Your Content
Once you've got established all of those answers, use this content reference document. This valuable document can assist you to remain targeted and on message as you develop and launch your skilled persona.

Armed with this reference material, it’s currently time to require inventory of different existing assets to spot whether or not they area unit still relevant, need AN update, or ought to be archived.

Social Media Profiles: area unit these originated already, or does one got to produce and launch these channels? area unit their logos and self-importance URLs consistent? Do they need further imaging to strengthen your whole visually (such as hero shots, cowl photos, custom backgrounds, PR imagery)? Be simple to search out by making certain you've got a similar social media handles on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, if attainable. Take it a step more and establish self-importance URLs for your business likewise.

Website: does one have a website? Is it up-to-date and engaging, or is it time for a change? maybe now's the time to explore a website platform you'll manage yourself, admire WordPress. make certain to put in plug-ins that stream social media content in period of time.
Visual Assets: does one have a brand, and if so, will it mirror your business today? For updates, you'll contract a contract graphics creator on-line or raise a colleague for an area referral. garner and organize any photography assets (products, event photos, work samples, etc.) you are feeling are going to be valuable for posting on social media and your website. ensure all pictures area unit of ample quality and area unit consistent.

Written Content: valuate previous business content you may use as a resource, as well as flyers, newsletters, advertisements, handbooks, catalogs, product guides, yearly reports, etc. maybe you'll recycle a number of the diction and data for social media posts, your website, or portfolio.
Be Consistent

In our diagrammatically minded culture, visuals count. international house-name brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, or UPS will trace their longevity to their consistency. you mostly understand that a Coca-Cola ad can embrace red and therefore the same brand design; it’s ne'er distorted. ensure that your brand forever seems a similar approach (legible, crisp, and professional) on all social channels and websites.

Consistency in visual and written electronic communication reinforces your business’ integrity, reassuring purchasers you're trustworthy and here to remain. Here’s wherever your whole define makes putting in your on-line channels and maintaining consistency a breeze. You’ve already established the key electronic communication briefly, punchy phrases. Now, copy and paste this content into the bio profiles on each social channel and “About Us” section on-line.

Make sure that diction, job titles, product descriptions, and work samples area unit a similar across the board, where they seem. Of course, you'll got to adapt content by channel, shortening copy for Twitter, adapting phrasing for Pinterest, or continuation text for your web site, however ensure that the spirit and integrity of the content stay a similar.

Get Personal
Now it’s time to dive in and tell the globe United Nations agency you're and what you've got to supply. Use your whole persona to guide you as you post on social media and write content, every time.

Imagine your whole as someone – is that person luxurious, friendly, approachable, educational, or helpful? after you outline a whole voice, post diction comes naturally. Now, aim for consistency in planning.

It pays to induce to grasp (and to nurture) your audience. after you understand who’s following you, you get an improved plan of what to post and what they like. It’s best to be informal and relatable, sharing things that area unit natural to the social platform, like:

Company milestones
Naturally staged photos
Stories/industry anecdotes/relevant news things
Product or skilled reviews, wherever acceptable
Contests
Company/relevant videos
Professional editorials/features/news articles
Polls

Follow influencers in your area and act with them naturally by tagging, mentioning, and feeling as acceptable. you'll often drop by AN acceptable decision to action, admire a link to your web site, portfolio, or list once you’ve established a gradual stream of valuable content.

Just like at a networking event, it’s necessary to recollect the “social” in social media. Don’t merely broadcast blindly. Meaningful, natural interactions and whole integrity represent themselves. Consistency builds your network over time, and you’ll presently develop a loyal, engaged audience, and hopefully a lot of prospects than ever before.

Famous Top easy ways to make money quickly through online

2016-08-13T07:55:00.001-07:00

On this page you’ll get all the most effective ways that to form cash in your spare time while at job supported our own expertise. We’ll keep adding new ways that to the present page therefore move and bookmaker it. And please do share your own concepts within the comments!

New ways that to form cash on-line and offline
No-risk matched sporting
Hands down the fastest thanks to create heaps of cash (well, while not breaking the law). countless students have genuinely created £1000s from this method. It’s fully legal, risk free, tax free, and anyone will couple.

It works by taking benefits of all free bets often offered by sporting sites through ‘matching’ them at a sporting exchange. Matched sporting eliminates the chance (you area unit sporting each for and against a definite outcome).

This leaves you having the get squeeze out the all free bet, which might be the maximum amount as £200! Multiply this by what number sporting sites there area unit and you'll quite simply come back away with a profit of some hundred pounds.

Owen walks you thru a way to create your 1st £15 profit (using a true life example) during this gem of a guide to matched sporting. If you will get chance of any higher thanks to create £30/hr sitting reception, please allow us to know!

Online surveys
An progressively standard manner for college kids to form cash is to fill out on-line surveys in their spare time. analysis corporations area unit continually recruiting new members to answer surveys and check new merchandise.

For some minutes of type filling, you'll create a handful of quid that is paid as money or rewards. you'll bag up to £30 ($50) for a few surveys!

A few sensible ones to undertake are: Toluna, Vivatic, OnePoll,MySurvey, SurveyBods, Valued Opinions, The Opinion Panel,YouGov, PopulusLive, world test Market, Pinecone, IPSOS, Hiving,PanelBase, MintVine, Opinion Outpost, Mingle, Harris Poll, Mind Mover, New Vista, iPoll.

Also register for Swagbucks that rewards you for surveys also as merely surfriding the net, observance videos and enjoying games.
Update: See our new full guide to the simplest paid on-line surveys!

Paid for looking the net
Interested in earning money for doing what you already do on-line? This has got to be one in all the simplest strategies of creating cash online while not extremely any effort or modification in your behavior.

This innovative plan by Qmee.com rewards you for looking in Google, Bing or Yahoo. you simply install an easy add-on to your browser and once you conduct a pursuit there could also be a couple of sponsored results aboard your traditional search.

Each Qmee result encompasses a money reward connected – if you're curious about it merely click on that and collect your reward.

The best issue is there's no minimum to cashout – our 1st one was simply 72p wired to our Paypal account. you furthermore may have the choice to give it to charity.

Sign up currently free and begin earning from your own searches! Click here to begin.
Social Investment Networks

The traditionally hard-to-break world of finance available markets and currencies has been cracked wide open. nowadays there's no got to be a have or fund the yachts of Wolf of Wall Street vogue stock brokers. you'll be intimate all yourself with the assistance of on-line market commerce platforms.

Having spent several hours researching this new chance, I’ve been experimenting with the 2 biggest platforms: Plus500 and eToro.com.

Both supply free apply accounts, and Plus500 conjointly offer you a free £20(without depositing, terms apply) that is value taking over. Overall I like eToro with over four million users worldwide. it had been recently featured within the BBC a pair of documentary “Traders: Millions by the Minute” and also the money Times.

One of the simplest things on eToro is that the CopyTrader feature. This enables you to virtually see, follow and replica the investments of alternative high performing arts traders.

Follow George’s complete guide to commerce on eToro to be told a lot of. i believe $200 may be a smart quantity to urge the foremost out of the training curve by making an attempt out a couple of totally different markets. If nothing else you’ll learn an excellent deal regarding numerous investments and industries.

Warning: commerce is volatile and you'll lose cash, thus don’t throw your life savings into it!

Sell your notes
If you don’t mind sharing your notes with alternative students it’s an excellent thanks to generate a touch additional money. There area unit sites out there that you just will transfer your notes to, beside your worth, so once another student downloads them you get paid.

Sites like Notesale area unit free for you to list your notes however tend to require a cut of your profit so as to handle the promoting etc in order that you don’t have to be compelled to withdraw there and promote your notes yourself.

You will probably|presumably|possibly} have to be compelled to transfer PDFs however it’s worthwhile for the come back and you'll submit written notes however you’re likely to form more cash if they’re typewritten up.

Review websites & apps for money
Well it appears like you’re pretty cracking with an internet browser, thus maybe it’s time to show professional and browse websites as a paid and fun job!

Introducing UserTesting.com – a replacement platform that pays everyday individuals to review every kind of internet sites. every review takes around twenty minutes and luggage you $10 (£6.50) via Paypal.

Simply register here, complete a check review and appearance forward to receiving websites in your inbox.
The ‘Disney Vault’ secret

To keep demand high across generations, filmmaker Studios fastidiously prohibit the provision of some home unleash classics. they're fastened away within the ‘vault’ for 8-10 years before being free for a brief such-and-such time.

Buy them during this window at traditional retail worth and you'll flip a pleasant profit after they burst off sale for an additional decade roughly.

For example, in 2011 you may obtain Beauty and also the Beast on Blu-ray 3D for simply £24.99. in exactly a few of years it had been on Amazon for a staggering £74.99!Importantly, not all filmmaker releases area unit subject to the vault and solely verity classics can maintain such demand.

Right now there area unit simply a pair of titles out of the vault that i'd suggest snapping up. they're Bambi Diamond Edition Blu-ray andCinderella Diamond Edition Blu-ray.
‘Get Paid To’ sites

Similar to creating cash from on-line surveys, GPT sites reward you in money and vouchers for finishing numerous offers or activities on-line.
The most in style sites nowadays area unit Toluna,Swagbucks and InboxPounds.
Exciting update! We’ll presently be launching our own GPT service for our readers. invitations are going to be restricted and UK solely, please be part of our listing if you’re curious about hearing once it’s live:

Start your own web site
If you’ve ever seen the film The Social Network then you’ve presumably had your brain spinning on what web site you'll start-up to form you billions.

And after all there area unit several stories out there regarding in students World Health Organization have started a website whereas at university, or maybe bought a website name and later sold it for 1000s.

In fact, Save the scholar is one such example of an internet site started at university by Owen Burek in his 1st year, that has since big into a full-time and in enterprise.
Read Owen’s 4-step guide to fitting an internet site if you’re curious about sorting out a lot of. It’s extremely not that troublesome to urge started and there area unit lots of opportunities to form cash on-line.

Write and publish a Kindle eBook
If students area unit smart at something, it’s researching and writing. With theAmazon Kindle store, ANyone will publish an eBook and create cash.
And the Kindle app is currently offered on nearly any device (laptops, iPads, smartphones and affirmative, Kindles) thus your international market is huge!
List your book for £1.49 – £6.99 and you earn seventieth of the sale. Considering Amazon is that the final commerce machine (and keep in mind individuals area unit trying to spend), that's an amazing deal.

The key to success with eBooks is to form price, and write non-fiction. merely bundling data you have got researched and complied on a typical downside (eg. ‘secrets’ to finding a job) so presenting it in a straightforward to digest format (an eBook) justifies somebody disbursement a couple of quid on that.

Another huge tip is to possess an excellent cowl designed thus it stands out, and once your book is survive the Kindle store it’s extremely vital to urge thusme reviews so it shows up higher in results. Encourage readers to go away AN honest review at the top of your book.
The best issue regarding this moneymaking plan is that after you’ve endowed the time (say twenty hours), you’ll earn a passive financial gain for years to come! For a piecemeal guide to commercial enterprise and earning with eBooks, see “How to write down a nonfictional prose eBook in twenty one days“.

Affiliate promoting
If you’ve got an honest presence on social media or maybe you even have a web log or web site, you'll begin transfer in cash right away by promoting all styles of corporations, products, services and offers on-line.

Sign up to AN affiliate network resembling Affiliate Window, check their offers web log or browse the merchandiser listings to seek out one thing you think that your friends would have an interest in, grab your affiliate link and share it. If somebody buys (can be among up to ninety days) victimization your link you’ll create a pleasant commission.

To take it a step any, got wind of an internet site (read our guide) or a topical Facebook page and invite all of your friends to affix it and post your affiliate offers on there.
Mobile phone use

See what proportion you'll get for your previous itinerant victimization our in-housemobile phone worth comparison tool! perhaps raise your oldsters if they need any lying around too.

You can get some smart cash and facilitate the setting by use mobile phones with sure corporations listed on the comparison tool. however be aware: you won’t forever get the quoted money since it depends on ‘condition’. we tend to suggest Mobile money Mate for the fairest ANd highest payouts in most cases (they sent U.S.A. a £203 cheque for an iPhone 5).

Become a ‘Clickworker’

The Clickworker.com idea relies on ‘internet crowd-sourcing’ wherever businesses advertise specific, scalable tasks they have finishing quickly. And for us, it’s a straightforward thanks to create quick money from our couch.

There area unit a range of tasks, however most ordinarily they involve mindless information entry, net analysis or type filling. you're rewarded and paid in money (via Paypal) for the work you are doing, and you'll select for what and once you work. provides it a go. [If you’re U.S.A. based mostly, conjointly attempt Amazon’s ‘Mechanical Turk‘].

Claim tax back
Many students work part-time or throughout the summer months, et al are going to be on placements or paid internships. a lot of typically than not, if you're a student operating throughout the year, you'll be overpaying taxation.
Why? just because few students reach the private tax-exempt financial gain allowance annually however area unit placed on AN emergency basic tax-code by their employers that means tax is being paid once it shouldn’t be.

Use our student tax-back service to assist you reclaim any tax you ought to not have paid. simply enter your details within the calculator here to figure out what you'll be owed. Otherwise for a lot of data scan our orient claiming tax back here.
Get cashback once searching

I attained this a lot of in a pair of years
This is not solely the simplest way to form cash however conjointly to save lots of cash as a student. If you scrutinize it in a very totally different approach then you're creating cash with each purchase you'd have created anyway, whether or not or not it's ten or zero.5% cashback.
There area unit variety of cashback sites out there that pay you the commission they otherwise would have attained.

We suggest language up with high Cashback, Quidco.com & Swagbucks that area unit free and supply the simplest choice of outlets and exclusives.

A part-time job
A part-time job is that the obvious 1st selection, opted for by most students trying to supplement their student loan. It provides a reasonably steady flow of financial gain and might alter you to achieve valuable work expertise.

However, looking on wherever you reside, jobs don't seem to be forever straightforward to seek out. Check native classifieds, our student job search, student job websites and your university careers service for vacancies.

It’s conjointly value language up with the Graduate achievement Bureau, a free service which is able to match you with each part-time jobs or graduate opportunities.
Read our guide to finding a part-time job while learning for a lot of tips.

Gigs on Fiverr
Fiverr is currently the world’s largest marketplace for individuals to form cash commerce tiny services (known as ‘gigs’).

What you supply might be completely something, from writing and translating,social media posting, enjoying pranks and teaching to making music, voiceovers and short video clips for individuals all round the world!

The default worth is $5 (hence Fiverr..), however you'll attach additional services to gigs for more cash. while it'd not look like a lot of, it will quickly add up and there area unit lots of samples of individuals creating a extremely smart living from the positioning. The secret is to urge a system in situ that minimises the time spent on every gig.

But there's in a different way to profit even a lot of from Fiverr for doubtless so much less work. How? By merely reselling gigs elsewhere. for instance, notice an honest emblem designer then reply to jobs on Upwork or maybe native classifieds. A $5 pay will simply become $50+, and it’s repeatable!

If you’re not curious about commerce in any respect there’s such a lot good things you'll get in hot water yourself. Have a browse and find inspired!

Review music for cash
If you're keen on music, create it your business by reviewing unsigned bands and artists on-line for money with Slicethepie.

It will take a moment to make up your name however some users of the positioning have aforesaid that they earn £40 a month. this might not sound like a lot of, however if it’s {something|one issue} you fancy then it shouldn’t be exertions and is another thing for your CV. cash you earn are going to be in $US however anyone will register and review.

To get started, head over to Slicethepie currently or scan our fast guide for a lot of information.
Sell second-hand course books

One good way to form cash is to shop for alternative students’ text books at the top of the year, so sell them simply when freshers’ week – once the new intake of scholars understand that they have them!
You can either advertise on field or list them on-line terribly simply onAmazon.co.uk Marketplace (just bear in mind they take a commission on books sold).

For a lot of tips about commerce things on-line click here.
Competitions
Entering competitions after all comes with no guarantees, however there's a growing community of questionable ‘compers’ within the UK systematically creating up to £50,000 a year through all styles of competitions.

Types of competitions offered to enter vary from straightforward registration forms and Facebook page feeling to respondent queries properly over the phone to being a TV broadcast contestant. Imagine you created it ontoDeal or No Deal rather than simply observance it!
Start by getting into our terribly own monthly student competition (Like our Facebook page to visualize once our next one is)!

Then head to our active competitions page to enter alternative free competitions that we've got found. simply note that a number of these sites might send you spam thus use AN alias email address and opt-out of as several of the offers as doable.

For hundreds a lot of tips about achieving success and creating cash from competitions, scan our guide to getting into competitions.

Buy and sell domain names
A domain name is simply an internet site address (eg. ‘savethestudent.org’ or ‘mysite.co.uk’) and there area unit several extensions (.com, .net, .co.uk etc).

They price as very little as £1.99 to register with 123-reg.co.uk or GoDaddy.comyet premium domain names will fetch £1,000s if not millions once sold on. In 2007 VacationRentals.com went for a cool $35m!

Now you’re most likely not aiming to bump into something like that, however you'll still flip a fast profit with a small amount of looking. The trick is to seek out offered domain names that have some industrial price, snap them up so list them purchasable on a website like Sedo.com.

Mystery searching
Today changing into a mystery shopper is less complicated than you think that and you'll get rewarded handsomely.

We’ve recently bump into a extremely fun smartphone app known as Roamler that pays you in money for finishing numerous tasks in your native space. thus undoubtedly ensure out first!
More historically, there area unit lots of agencies that pay you to go to all styles of retailers to feedback on however they're performing arts. For a lot of information on wherever to use see our guide to changing into a mystery shopper.

Be an additional
Do you fancy yourself as a budding young actor or simply that individual that walks past within the background shot of AN episode of Eastenders? It might be you if you apply to be an additional.
The pay isn’t dangerous either – £60-80 daily on the average, and you hardly have to be compelled to do anything!

You can apply at get on Screen for variety of opportunities or 2020 casting is another agency (just understand they take a cut from your earnings).

Sell all of your previous CDs, games and films
If you're trying to form a really fast buck, then commerce your previous bits and bobs that area unit cluttering up your space may be a smart plan.

The best issue regarding it's that you just will rip all the songs and films onto your portable computer or external disk drive before commerce them. this suggests that you just area unit solely extremely commerce the plastic and artwork!

You can earn something from 10p to £20 per item, and also the earnings will extremely add up if you have got an outsized assortment. while you’re at it, see if your oldsters have any ‘clutter’ they’d be happy to visualize the rear of.

You can conjointly sell nearly something free on Amazon Marketplace orPreloved and sites like MusicMagpie can pay you instantly for causing in unwanted things.

For a lot of tips and places to sell scrutinize our orient commerce DVDs, CDs and games.
Sell on your education!
Become a lecturer to native GCSE or A-level students (find out a lot of regarding tutoring here). There area unit currently a couple of on-line tutor sites too, thus you'll go conjointly international while not an excessive amount of problem.

You may feel as if you aren’t qualified to be a lecturer, however seeing as you're at university you'll presumably have the qualifications to tutor for GCSE or maybe A-Level. Some oldsters might feel that their kid can react higher to a younger tutor, and it is nice expertise, thus why not provides it a go?

You can advertise on SchoolsTrader or register with UK Tutors. you'll expect to earn around £10 AN hour. However, ensure you don’t have to be compelled to do an excessive amount of tutoring around your exams!

Sell your photos
If you think that you’ve got an honest shot and a touch creative thinking, attempt uploading your pictures free to stock websites. an honest place to begin isFotolia or istockphoto.
Make more cash commerce photograph subjects that folks area unit tightened, and there’s an excellent resource to seek out this out here. it'd be an honest plan to check them go into print 1st yourself (get free photograph prints here).

Rent out your automobile car parking zone
Some student accommodation comes with a drive or garage. If you aren’t victimization your car parking zone and you reside in a very busy space then you would possibly be in luck. There area unit lots of those that may fit within the middle and area unit bored stiff of paying through the roof for daily parking.

Advertise your house on Gumtree,Parklet or simply Park.
Or, scrutinize our full guide to transaction out your car parking zone.
Become your own bank
‘Peer-to-peer’ loaning is that the way forward for banking. It cuts out the middle-man, passing on higher interest rates to you and cheaper loans to borrowers. And it’s all managed on-line from the comfort of your lounge.
Founded in 2005, Zopa.com is that the most established website loaning around £1m on a daily basis. straight away you'll expect to realize up to five mounted come back (before tax), looking on however long you select to lend for.
As with any ancient bank, there's some risk connected with peer-to-peer loaning. Zopa have gone a protracted thanks to mitigating this with their Safeguard feature, that effectively spreads your cash across a large vary of borrowers (who also are credit checked).
Work as a charity collector
Ok thus this job takes an exact reasonably person, as you’ll have to be compelled to take loads of rejection and be persistent.
But if you're bubbly, attractive ANd reckon you may sell ice to an Eskimo then this might truly be an excellent student cash creating plan. You get paid commission on new sign ups (typically around £20).

Have a glance at Wesser also as charity websites like Oxfam.

Babysitting
It’s a classic money-maker, and permanently reason. You get paid (well) to look at TV and not considerably else!
Be warned that you just can want a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check to seem when young children, even if some oldsters might not invite one. If you're inquisitive what to charge, scrutinize native Gumtree ads, however you'll expect to be paid over £8ph though you aren’t trained in kid care.
Aside from advertising yourself, you would possibly wish to undertake making a profile on Findababysitter.com. It extremely is straightforward cash (unless you bog down with the kid from hell!).

Dog walking & sitting
If babies ain’t your issue, then perhaps canines are… taking care of alternative people’s dogs is business. simply assume that as a student you’re seemingly to possess free time throughout the day once others area unit out at work and disquieted regarding their pets reception.
You could bag around £7 per dog for AN hour walk, and it’s conjointly an excellent thanks to keep match. be part of Tailster World Health Organization can match you up with dog homeowners. as an alternative advertise your services domestically with fliers or on classified websites resembling Gumtree.

Rent out your house for picture taking
Directors for TV and film area unit forever on the search for homes to film in. maybe, a scene forCoronation Street was recently recorded within the student house one in all the Save the Studenteditors accustomed live in!
Not solely are you able to keep cash however it’s crazy seeing your own place on TV. begin out by staring at this website.

Rent out your body
According to our recent survey, seven-membered of scholars use their body in how to form a buck.
If you're snug initiating your kit then why not attempt life modelling. Sit there within the buff whereas budding artists capture your each curve (or pokey bits) in scary detail! attempt RAM, an internet site particularly designed for these reasonably jobs.
You could conjointly get entangled in clinical drug trials, however make certain you absolutely appreciate any risks connected.

Warning: don't do something you're not snug with, irrespective of however desperate you're for money! There has been AN unhealthy rise in student vice crime in recent years – don't fall victim to it!
Freelance work
Perhaps you fancy writing, managing Facebook pages or doing a touch little bit of graphic style in your spare time. There area unit such a lot of freelance jobs out there that need straightforward skills or simply time that somebody else may not have.
And the neatest thing regarding freelancing is {that you|that you simply|that you simply} will work for shoppers within the UK and round the world with just an online affiliation from home, to your own hours while developing valuable skills.
A great place to begin is with the leading freelance website Upwork.com. Or attempt victimization our student job search to seek out freelance jobs nearer to home.

Busking
If you'll sing or dance then this can be some time to shine baby! Did you recognize that Justin Bieber started off busking? That’s right, with a touch work you'll be as annoying as him.
There area unit extremely no tips for this except select an honest spot with high sound, ensure you're smart and play your heart out. Some buskers within the past are famous to form upwards of £20 hour.

Sell garments on eBay

Everyone’s ally once it involves obtaining obviate junk is eBay. on-line auctions area unit a successful thanks to flip that sleeveless jacket (which came in a verynd out of fashion in a week) into dough.
Some eBay sellers scrutinize trends and take a look at to predict what's going to be huge prior the market. If you're smart and don’t mind taking a risk then you'll obtain early in bulk and sell on once the craze hits.
For tons a lot of tips about commerce on eBay scan this guide.

Sell your stories and videos
If you have got a noteworthy story then you may attempt commerce it to the papers. It might be something from sleeping with knowledgeable athlete to obtaining caught in a very garments horse!
One of the Save the scholar team was unfortunate enough to possess a columbiform bird fly through and smash their window at university and sold the story to The Sun for a tidy £50.
You could conjointly film your mates in any respect times and send it into You’ve Been framed to web yourself £250 and a couple of seconds of fame.

YouTube videos
According to recent stats we tend to currently watch a lot of videos on YouTube than searches on Google. And with the recently introducedYouTube Partner Program you'll currently benefit from creating and uploading videos. you'll receive a share of the advertising revenue collected per one,000 views.
Depending on however in you're (virality, subscriber base and topic) you'll create loads of cash, and there area unit lots of stories each week of a lot of and a lot of YouTubers creating it their career.
For a lot of tips scan our guide to creating cash from YouTube.

Network promoting
Also referred to as Multi-Level promoting (MLM), this can be a business model that permits you to get current financial gain in 2 ways: by creating a commission commerce product and by recruiting alternative members World Health Organization press on to sell. The later permits you to form cash from the sales created by those you have got recruited.

Importantly, this can be not a strategy (they area unit illegal) as a result of there's AN finish goal that involves a client shopping for a product or service useful.
It’s conjointly not a ‘get made quick’ theme. you'll have to be compelled to work I’m afraid! but with the expansion of social media, network promoting is changing into easier and plenty of individuals area unit currently creating an honest living from it.

This is a significant approach of creating smart cash on your own terms and it’s well value reading au fait it. i like to recommend obtaining “The Business of the twenty first Century” by parliamentarian Kiyosaki.

Source property for moneyed investors
We all knowledge a lot of cash there's in property, however on the surface (with house costs as high as they are) you would possibly be thinking this market is out-of-bounds.

Truth is, several individuals create an excellent deal of money merely sourcing appropriate properties for moneyed investors World Health Organization merely don't have any time.
The trick is to seek out properties below market price (BMV) by avoiding estate agents and instead flyering your space along with your contact details giving to shop for homes. Then approach investors with a no brainer supply to die the main points of inexpensive property in exchange for a zipper of the sale price.

Most cities can have monthly networking events for landlords and property investors. Track these down, sign up, placed on your best suit and go beside several business cards. otherwise you might begin on LinkedIn or maybe Twitter to make some initial contacts.

As you would possibly imagine, this isn’t essentially a fast thanks to create cash however once you’ve got a couple of investors in your phone book it will influence be terribly moneymaking within the end of the day. If you’re interested, i like to recommend reading this book.
There area unit several alternative inventive ways that to form cash as a student, resembling our fifty business ideas. With any luck you’ll get on the road to creating millions! Please be happy to share your own ideas by departure a comment below.

Ensure Every Page of WebDesign Offers Value

2013-09-23T22:52:00.002-07:00

A website essentially communicates, with that said, content planning and writing is more important than web design. Go ahead and prepare the content. Writing good content is not as easy as it sounds. One need to spend a lot of time to accomplish good content, involving a professional writer is a good idea. How do we define a good web design? Clear, uncluttered layout, good readability, interesting information and intuitive navigation is our definition of a good web design. Avoid distractions such as animations, sound effects and scrolling text. Most people believe animations will hold the attention, but the opposite is true. Unsolicited ads surely drive people away from websites and so does scrolling text. Running text is hard to register and human’s read in their own pace, which is impossible with scrolling text. Remember web design is created in the interest of the visitor and not to satisfy the web designer or the business owner. An elegant web design that engages the visitor is the purpose of the whole web designing exercise. A well planned information flow is critical to the success of the web design, therefore careful planning of sections and pages in the early stages of the development is paramount. An important aspect of planning will be minimizing clicks. The entire information must be accessible with minimal number of clicks. Searching for information through numerous clicks annoys people and drives them away. A splash page is to be avoided. Why welcome a visitor with nothing but a welcome message when you can straightaway present your home page.

Web design in Bangalore is an art and science

2013-09-22T22:12:00.002-07:00

Web design in Bangalore is practised as an art is practiced by only a handful of professionals as compared to the millions of web pages that represent companies and look just plain pages accessed through links. Good design is now favored around the world from products to homes to cars. However, traditionally the power of good design was created by a few countries such as the Italians, British and French and their products were and still are sought after by people around the world, at a premium. Today, we have master craftsmen in every city, town and village and their products are valued. Choices abound today in just about every item we use and persuasive call for action everywhere for products for things we don’t really need as well. The differentiator is the design and packaging. Controlling expenses is a fact of life, even more so in business, however, when it comes to building a brand image web design in Bangalore and making your business visible and beat the competition; expense control is not the solution. This must be considered an investment. Invest and work with professionals, ensure web designers you work with understand branding and aesthetics in addition to features and functions. Let us consider why a competitor is more successful. The answer lies in several elements of the competitors branding, starting with a smart web design in Bangalore that is hard to forget and easy to recall. Good branding highlights your products advantages. All great products and services also need good image and presentation, good web design plays a major role in today’s branding efforts. A Key element in building a great brand is your website. Setting up a business and offering products and services that people love is the first step. Now scaling this to the extent of its potential lies in good marketing management and begins with a great web design. Here are some tips on building a great website design • Focus on the user – a web design is successful only when users love it. Every element on the page is created for user interaction and ease of use. • Effortless Navigation structure – intuitive navigation enables visitors to move on to the next set of information in a logical progression naturally. • Clutter free layout design – every element has a proportion and its own space. • Top class content – professionally written content, clear, crisp and authoritative communicates your message with impact

FDI clear their ways in INDIAN Market

2012-09-29T02:47:00.003-07:00

Indian prime minister said, FDI in retail and other tough decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday indicated that the government may continue with the reforms process and expressed willingness to discuss issues with allies. "We will do what is good for the country... reforms are not one-off process," he said. The Prime Minister was responding to questions on demands for rollback of decisions on FDI in multi-brand retail, diesel price hike and cap on subsidised LPG cylinders by the opposition. When asked to respond to reservations expressed by allies that the recent decisions could hurt their electoral prospects, Singh said the issue could be discussed. "We are far away from elections." Singh was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of new Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. During the week, the UPA coordination committee had discussed the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail and other decisions. When his attention was drawn to allegations by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's that FDI was aimed at pleasing the US, he responded saying, "What has the US got to do with this. We are not a country to be dictated by others." Asked about attacks on him by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, who recently walked out of the UPA, he said, "I am not bitter about anything." On the Supreme Court's opinion on the issue of auction of natural resources, the Prime Minister said, "We honour the judgement.

Source: Top News Portal Foxlera

FDI is being put on hold

2011-12-04T23:45:00.000-08:00

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee speaks to Sushma Swaraj on Parliament session and the controversial issue of FDI in retail.

BJP reaches out to the opposition and says Government must roll back on FDI in retail.

Mukherjee tells opposition leaders that FDI in retail is being put on hold and appeals to Sushma to allow normal functioning of Parliament.

Sushma Swaraj says that opposition wants a clear statement from Govt on FDI

Foreign direct investment in India 2011

2011-12-04T23:39:00.001-08:00

Foreign direct investment (FDI) or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. It usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology and expertise. There are two types of FDI: inward foreign direct investment and outward foreign direct investment, resulting in a net FDI inflow (positive or negative) and "stock of foreign direct investment", which is the cumulative number for a given period. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares.

BASIC OF DERIVATIVES

2010-02-03T07:25:00.001-08:00

Introduction to the basic concept of derivatives

Derivatives in general refer to contracts that derive from another - whose value depends on another contract or asset. Derivatives are essentially devised as a hedging device to insulate a business from risks over which a business has no or little control, but in practice, they are also used as yield-kickers.

derivative
1 : arising out of or dependent on the existence of something else.
2 : of, relating to, or being a derivative de•riv•a•tive•ly adverb
3 : formed by derivation
4 : made up of or marked by derived elements

There does that help? Not really. The reason it doesn’t help is because a derivative is really nothing in and of itself. So to say something is a derivative is really to say nothing at all unless you define what the derivative is deriving itself from (which still sounds confusing I agree).

Let’s look at one more definition before we get into defining a derivative for ourselves.

Definition of a derivative:

Accounting standard SFAS 133 defines a derivative thus:
A derivative instrument is a financial instrument or other contract with all three of the following characteristics:
a . It has (1) one or more underlyings, and (2) one or more notional amounts or payment provisions or both. Those terms determine the amount of the settlement or settlements... and in some cases, whether or not a settlement is required.
b. It requires no initial net investment or an initial net investment that is smaller than would be required for other types of contracts that would be expected to have a similar response to changes in market factors.
c . Its terms require or permit net settlement, it can readily be settled net by a means outside the contract, or it provides for delivery of an asset that puts the recipient in a position not substantially different from net settlement.

The following are the basic types of derivatives:

Forwards:
A forward is a contract to buy a thing or security at a prefixed future date. The typical usage of a forward would be something like this: a business having its assets in a local currency has taken a loan repayable in a foreign currency 6 months hence. There is an exchange rate risk here: if the local currency suffers against the foreign currency, the business has to write a loss. To cover against this risk, the business enters into a forward contract - that is, it agrees today to buy the foreign currency 6 months hence at prices prevailing today, against a pre-fixed premium. Obviously, if the perceptions of the seller and the buyer as to future prices of the foreign currency differ, both will strike what they perceive is a win-win deal.
Forwards are also quite common in commodities, and can be used either for speculation or for hedging. Say, XYZ has an order to ship 10000 tons of steel 6 months hence at a prefixed price of say USD 1000 per ton (by the way, I have no idea of steel prices, this is just an example!). And XYZ expects the price of steel to go up. So, to hedge against the price risk, XYZ enters into a forward purchase agreement, for 10000 tons 6 months hence. XYZ's position is now fully hedged: if the price of steel goes up as expected, XYZ will either claim a delivery from the forward seller, or a net settlement. If the price comes down, XYZ will be obliged to settle by making a payment for the price difference to the forward seller, but will be fully offset by the pre-fixed price it gets from its own forward sale contract.

Futures:
Futures are more standardised forms of forward contracts and mostly operate in organised markets. While it is possible to have a forward contract for any commercial transaction, futures are normally exchange-traded. Futures contracts are highly uniform contracts that specify the quantity and quality of the good that can be delivered, the delivery date(s), the method for closing the contract, and the permissible minimum and maximum price fluctuations permitted in a trading day.

Distinction between forwards and futures:
The basic nature of a forward and future, in a strict legal sense, is the same, with the difference that futures are market-driven organised transactions. As they are exchange-traded, the counterparty in a futures transaction is the exchange. On the other hand, a forward is mostly an over-the-counter transaction and the counterparty is the contracting party. To maintain the stability of organised markets, market-based futures transactions are subject to margin requirements, not applicable to OTC forwards. Futures market are normally marked to market on a settlement day, which could even be daily, whereas forward contracts are settled only at the end of the contract. So the element of credit risk is far higher in case of forward contracts.

Options:The significant difference between a future and an option is that the option provides the contracting parties only an option, not an obligation, to buy or sell a financial instrument or security at a pre-fixed price, called the strike price. Obviously, the option buyer will exercise the option only when he is in the money, that is, he gains by exercising the option.
For example, suppose X holding a security of USD 1000 buys an option to put the security at its current price with Y. Now if the price of the security goes down to USD 900. X may exercise the option of selling the security to Y at the agreed price of USD 1000 and protect against the loss on account of decline in the market value. If, on the other hand, the price of the security goes upto USD 1100, X is out of the money and does not gain by exercising the option to sell the security at a price of USD 1000 as agreed. Hence, X will not exercise the option. In other words, the option buyer can only get paid and does not stand to a position of loss.
Had this been a futures contract or forward contract, Y could have compelled X to sell the security for the agreed price of USD 1000 in either case. That is to say, while a future contract can result into both a loss and a profit, an option can only result into a profit, and not a loss.
Two basic types of options are: call options and put options. A call option is an option to call, that is, acquire a particular quantity and/or at particular strike price. A put option is just the reverse- the option to put or sell a particular quantity and/or at a particular strike price.

Swaps:In a swap, both the parties exchange recurring payments with the idea of exchanging one stream of payments for another. A typical usage is a swap of fixed interest rates with floating rates, or rates floating with reference to one basis to another basis. In credit derivatives market, there are swaps based on the total return from a particular credit asset against total return on a reference asset.

Now we know that a derivative is a “contract” of sorts. So perhaps we can consider a derivative as being a security in the form of a written agreement setting out a specific value based upon something else. This seems to me the most clear explanation of a derivative. Thus, we know we have to know three things to understand a derivative:
1. We must know the agreement or contract and what it specifies. This is the WHAT component.
2. We must know the underlying “something else” which defines the value. This is the HOW component of a derivative (It tells’ you HOW to calculate the price).
We must know how long this agreement is valid for (since by definition all contracts end eventually. If they didn’t we wouldn’t need a contract in the first place!) This is the WHEN component of a derivative.
So now that we better understand the definition of a derivative in it’s most pure form let’s examine a specific example. (As a side note consider the fact that as anything evolves it moves to higher and higher levels of abstraction. Knowing this, you could say derivatives were a perfectly predictable outcome of the evolution of investments.)
Okay, back to the example. Here is probably the most common derivative that a great majority of investors dabble in at one point or another – the stock option:
CALL - ABC Corporation MAY 25 100– 4.00
Okay this is close to the format you will find an option listed under though there are some variations. Most importantly we have the basic 3 components we need to understand a derivative.
WHAT – This does require some background information. Namely, the fact that options are based on 100 share lots. Knowing that this is the WHAT information we need – This is a CALL (option to BUY) for 100 shares at a price of 4.00.
HOW – The stock is based on ABC corporation and it gives one the right to buy at 100. Thus we know HOW to calculate the value of the option. For example, if ABC is trading at 105 then we know that this option (which costs $4000) will allow us to buy 100 shares at a price of $100 (equals $10,000) which means that the net cost for the stock would be $14,000 dollars. (This is called “in the money”.)
WHEN – We can see this agreement is valid until the market closes on May 25th of the given year.
So now we know how to value the derivative. In this case the contract is a derivative of the value of the current purchase price of 100 shares of ABC corporation.

Where there are risks, there are derivatives to strip the risk and transfer it. As derivatives are essentially devices of transferring risks, their types and applications differ based on the type of risk facing a business. Take, for instance, the following sources of risk and the derivatives to protect a business against such risks:

Interest rate risk:Banks and financial institutions face the risk of changes in interest rates. If a bank has liabilities carrying floating costs and assets having fixed rates, it faces the risk of an adverse movement, that is, a decline in interest rates. This risk can be sheltered by writing an interest rate swap - that is, swapping the floating rate for fixed rates.
Associated with interest rate movements is the basis risk, that is risk of unpredicted changes in the basis on which interest rates float. Let us say, a business has loans which are floating with reference to the LIBOR or EURIBOR, whereas the assets of the business are floating with reference to US treasuries. To cushion against this risk, the business may like to swap the basis by entering into a basis swap.

Foreign exchange risk:
If a business has assets or liabilities denominated in foreign currency, there is a risk of adverse changes in exchange rates. This risk is sheltered by foreign exchange futures or forward covers.

Commodity risks:A business having any position on commodities faces risk of changes in commodity prices. Such risks are also sheltered by futures and forwards in commodities.

Risk on capital market instruments:If someone holds equity shares, there is a risk that prices of equity shares will move up or down. To manage this risk, there are various futures and options available.

Credit risk:Yet another risk in all financial transactions is credit risk. Credit derivatives are used to hedge against credit risk.

Weather risk:Even something like risk of changes in weather is hedged and transferred. There is a variety of weather derivatives, that is, instruments that pay off based on weather changes.

Caps, floor and collarsCaps, floors and collars are essentially options designed to shift the risk of an upward and/or downward movement in variables such as interest rates. These are normally linked to a notional amount and a reference rate.
For example, if some one wants to transfer the risk of interest rates going up, one will enter into a cap on a notional amount of say, USD 100 million, with the interest rate of 5.5%. Now if the interest rate increases to 6%, the cap holder will be able to claim a settlement from the cap seller, for the differential rate of 0.5% on the notional amount. If the interest does not go up, or rather declines, the option holder would have paid the premium, and there is no settlement.
On the other hand, if some one expects the interest rate to go down which spells a risk to him, he would enter into a floor, which would allow him to claim a settlement if the interest rate falls below a particular strike rate.
Interest rate collar is the fixation of both a cap and floor, so that the payment will be triggered if the rate goes above the collar and below the floor.

Swaption:A swaption is an option on a swap. The option provides the holder with the right to enter into a swap at a specified future date at specified terms. This derivative has characteristics of an option and a swap.

Symmetric and asymmetric returns:A return from a contract or investment is said to be symmetric when it can either give a profit or incur a loss.
Returns from forwards and futures are symmetrical: if you enter into a forward at a particular price, the price might either go up or come down, and so, you might either make a profit or a loss.
However, options have an asymmetric return profile: an option is an option with one party. The option will be exercised only when the purchaser of the option is in-the-money. Therefore, the only loss in an option is the cost of writing and carrying the option. Hence, options have an asymmetric return profile.
On the other hand, the option-seller only makes returns by way of fees or premium for selling the option, against which he takes the risk of being out-of-money. If the option is not exercised, he makes his fees, but if the option is exercised, he might lose substantially.

Basic Concept of Income Tax

2010-01-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Government needs money to maintain law and order in the country, security of the country from foreign power and promote welfare in the country. Since our government is wedded to socialistic pattern of society it is foremost duty of the government to bring out such welfare and development programmes which will be bring the bridge between the rich and poor. All this requires mobilization of funds from source. These sources may be direct or indirect. Income tax, being a direct tax, is an important tool to achieve balanced socio-economic growth.
For bookworms
“A tax is a compulsory contribution from the person to the govt. to defray the expenses incurred in the common interest of all, without reference to special benefits conferred”—Seligman.
“A compulsory contribution of the wealth of person or body of persons for the service of the public powers”—Bastable
“Taxes are compulsory contribution made by the members of a community to the governing body of the same towards the common expenditure without any guarantee of a definite measured service in return”—The Indian Taxation Enquiry Committee

Brief History of Income Tax in India
Income Tax was introduced for the first time in 1860, by James Wilson to meet the losses incurred on account of the Military Mutiny of 1857 after this several amendments were made in it from to time to time. In 1886, a separate Income Tax Act was passed, this act was in force up to 1917, with various amendment from time to time. In 1918 a new Income Tax Act passed again which replaced in 1922 with another new Income Tax Act and this was in force till 1962 with many amendments.
The Income Tax Act 1962 applies to the whole of India, since 1962 several amendments of far-reaching nature have been made in the Income Tax Act by the union budget every year, which also contains Finance Bill, Besides this various amendments like Taxation Laws Amendments Act,1984, Direct Taxes Amendments Act,1987,Direct Taxes law (Amendment) Acts 1988 and 1989, Direct Tax Law ( Second Amendment) Act,1989 and at last The Taxation law ( Amendment) Act 1991. The amendment in the Finance Act of 1992 and 1993, are mostly based on the recommendation of Chelliah Committee Report.

Different Terminology in Income Tax:

Assessee
Income Tax Act 1961 (Act no. 43) defines 'assessee' as a person by whom any tax or any other sum of money is payable under this Act, and includes -
Every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the assessment of his income or of the income of any other person in respect of which he is assessable, or of the loss sustained by him or by such other person, or the amount of refund due to him or to such other person;
Every person who is deemed to be an assessee under any provision of this Act;
Every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under any provision of this Act;

Assessment year
Assessment year means the period of twelve months commencing on 1st April every year and ending on 31st March of the next year. Income of previous year of an assessee is taxed during the following assessment year at the rates prescribed by the relevant Finance Act.

Company
Section 2(17) of the act defines company. The term company includes:
any Indian company
any corporate incorporated by or under the laws of country outside India
any institution, association or body which is or was assessable or was assessed as a company for any assessment year under the 1922 Act or under the 1961 act any institution, association or body, whether incorporated or not and whether Indian or non Indian, which is declared by general or special order of the board to be a company only for such assessment year or assessment years

Convertible Foreign exchange
This mean foreign exchange which is for the time being treated by the Reserve Bank of India as convertible foreign exchange for the purposes of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 and any rules made there under.

Foreign Exchange Asset
This mean any specified asset which the assessee has acquired, purchased with or subscribed to, in convertible foreign exchange.

Gross Total Income
Under the scheme of computation of total income under the Income Tax Act, the income falling under each head is to be computed as per the relevant provisions of the Act relating to computation of income under that head. The aggregate of income under each head is known as 'Gross Total Income'

Income
There is no specific definition of income but for statutory purposes there are certain items which are listed under the head income. These items include those heads also which normally will not be termed as income but for taxation we consider them as income. These items are included under section 2(24) of the income tax act, 1961. As per the definition in section 2(24), the term income means and includes:
profits and gains
dividends
voluntary contributions received by a trust created wholly or partly for charitable or religious purposes or by an institution established wholly or partly for such purposes
the value of any perquisite or profit in lieu of salary taxable under clause (2) and (3) of section 17 of the act
any special allowance or benefit, other than those included above
any allowance granted to the assessee either to meet his personal expenses at the place where the duties of his office or employment of profits are ordinarily performed by him or at a place where he ordinarily resides or to compensate him for the increased cost of living

capital gains
any sum chargeable to income tax under section 28 of the income tax act
any winnings from lotteries, crossword puzzles, races, including horse races, card games and games of any sort or from gambling or betting of any form or nature whatsoever
any received as contribution to the assessee's provident fund or superannuation fund or any fund for the welfare of employees or any other fund set up under the provisions of the emplyees state insurance act
profits on sale of a licence granted under the imports (control) order, 1955 made under the imports and exports (control) act, 1947

Indian company
Indian company means a company formed and registered under the companies act, 1956. Any company formed and registered under any law relating to companies formerly in force in any part of India, other than Jammu and Kashmir and the union territories as specified or a corporation established by or under a central, state or provincial act or any institution, association or a body which is declared by the board to be company under section 2 (17) are referred as Indian company. In the case of state of Jammu and Kashmir, a company formed and registered under any law for the time being in force in the state. Similarly in case of union territories.

Investment Income
This mean any income other than dividends derived from a foreign exchange asset.

Long term Capital Gains
This mean income chargeable under the head "capital gains relating to a capiatl asset being a foreign exchange asset which is not a short term capital asset.

Manufacture
To "manufacture" is to produce new out of the existing materials.It further implies transformation in to new and different articles having a distinct name,character or use.Section2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act,1944 gives statutory definition for "manufacture".

Non Resident Indian (NRI)
NRI means an individual being a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin who is not a resident. A person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he or either of his parents or any of his grand parents was born in undivided India.

Person
The income tax is charged in respect of the total income of the previous year of every 'person'. Here the person means--
an individual : a natural human being i.e male, female minor or a person of sound or unsound mind
a Hindu undivided family (HUF)
a company :
any Indian company
any body corporate incorporated by under the laws of a country outside India
any institution, association or body whether Indian or non Indian, which is declared by general or special order of the board to be a company
any institution, association or body which is or was assessable or was assessed as a company for any assessment year under the Indian Income tax Act, 1922 or which is or was assessable or was assesses under this act as a company for any assessment year commencing on or before the 1st day of April. 1970
a firm i.e a partnership firm
an association of persons or a body of individuals whether incorporated or not
a local authority-- means a municipal committee, district board, body of port commissioners, or other authority legally entitled to or entrusted by the government with the control and management of a municipal or local fund.
every artificial, juridical person, not falling within any of the above categories.
Previous year
The Financial Year in which the income is earned is known as the previous year. Any financial year begins from 1st of April and ends on subsequent 31st March. The financial year beginning on 1st of April 2003 and ending on 31st March 2004 is the previous year for the assessment year 2004-2005.

Principal Officer
Any public body or association of persons or any body of individuals or a company or a local authority is referred as the principle officer. They include the secretary, treasurer, manager or agent of the authority, company, association or body. Also any person connected with the management or administration of the local authority, company, association or body upon which the assessing officer has served a notice of his intention of treating him as the principal officer.

Specified Asset
This includes any of the following assets-
Shares in an Indian company
debentures issued by an Indian company which is not a private company as defined in the companies act, 1956
deposits with an Indian company which is not a private company
any security of the central government
units of the unit trust of India
Such other assets as the central government may specify in this behalf by notification in the official gazette

TAX RATE FOR ASSESMENT YEAR 2010-2011

The following chart shows the Income tax rates for the year 2009-10 (Assessment year 2010-11). Let’s plan for the Income tax from now on to avoid taking home peanuts at the end of financial year thanks hefty chunk of our salary being deducted as tax. Instead we can calculate the income tax to be paid now itself and pay income tax by monthly installments.

In case of individual (other than II and III below) and HUF
i. Where the total income does not exceed Rs.1,60,000/-. NIL
ii. Where the total income exceeds Rs.1,60,000/- but does not exceed Rs.3,00,000/-. 10% of amount by which the total income exceeds Rs. 1,60,000/-
iii. Where the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs.5,00,000/-. Rs. 14,000/- + 20% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/-.
iv. Where the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/-. Rs. 54,000/- + 30% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/-.

In case of individual being a woman resident in India and below the age of 65 years at any time during the previous year:-
i. Where the total income does not exceed Rs.1,90,000/-. NIL
ii. Where total income exceeds Rs.1,90,000/- but does not exceed Rs.3,00,000/-. 10% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.1,80,000/-.
iii. Where the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs.5,00,000/-. Rs. 11,000- + 20% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/-.
iv. Where the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/- Rs.51,000/- + 30% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/-.

In case of an individual resident who is of the age of 65 years or more at any time during the previous year:-
i. Where the total income does not exceed Rs.2,40,000/-. NIL
ii. Where the total income exceeds Rs.2,40,000/- but does not exceed Rs.3,00,000/- 10% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.2,40,000/-.
iii. Where the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs.5,00,000/- Rs.6,000/- + 20% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.3,00,000/-.
iv. Where the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/- Rs.46,000/- + 30% of the amount by which the total income exceeds Rs.5,00,000/-.

Surcharge: The surcharge on Income Tax for Individuals for total income exceeding Rs.10 lacs stands removed.

Education Cess: 3% of the Income-tax.

Regards,
Ajesh Ajesh Patel

TOP INDIAN SECTORS

2010-01-05T01:27:00.001-08:00

SECTORS
 Agriculture
 Commerce & Industries
 Communication & IT
 Defence
 Education
 Finance
 Rural Development
 Water Resources
 Transport
 Science &Technology
 Health & Family Welfare
 Environment & Forest
Consumer Affairs
Food & Public Distribution

Beverage

Pepsi

Shona L. Brown (Directors)
Indra K. Nooyi (Chairman & CEO)
Mitch Adamek (Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer)
Peter A. Bridgman(Senior Vice President and Controller)
Richard Goodman(Chief Financial Officer)
Vivek Sankaran(Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Development)
Julie Hamp (Senior Vice President, PepsiCo Communications)

Coca Cola

Naresh Chandra (Chairman)
Atul Singh (President & CEO)
Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj (Area General Manager)

United Breweries

Dr. Vijay Mallya(Chairman)
Ravi Nedungadi (Director)
Kalyan Ganguly(Managing Director)
Chugh Yoginder Pal(Director)
Sunil Kumar Alagh(Director)
Chhagan Lal Jain (Director)
Reinout Hooft Graafland(Director)
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw(Director)
Madhav Bhatkuly(Director)
Guido De Boer(Director & CFO)
Sijbe Hiemstra(Director)
Govind Iyengar (Company Secretary)

Media

Star India
Uday Shankar (CEO).

Bennett, Coleman & Co. (The Times of India Group)
Jaideep Bose (Executive Editor )
Samir Jain (Vice Chairman)
Vineet Jain(Managing Director)
Indu Jain (Chairman)
Arun Arora (President)

Sony Entertainment Television
Man Jit Singh (CEO)
Kumar Meher(Vice President – IT)

Zee Tele films
Subhash Chandra (Director)
Atul Das (Executive Vice President)
Atul Pande (CEO (Zee Sports & Ten Sports)
Bharat Ranga (Heads International Operations)
Hitesh Vakil (Chief Financial Officer)
M. Lakshminarayanan (Executive Vice-President & Company Secretary)

NDTV
RAJ NAYAK – CEO
NIRAJ DUTT (Chief Operating Officer)
AVINASH KAUL(Executive Vice President)
ROHIT GOPAKUMAR (Senior Vice President)
VIKAS KHANCHANDANI(Senior Vice President)
HEMANT ARORA(Senior Vice President)

Textile

Arvind Mills
Mr. Sanjay S. Lalbhai (CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR)
Mr. Jayesh K. Shah (DIRECTOR AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER)
Anang Lalbhai (MD - Arvind Products)
Milind Hardikar(Group President – Projects)
Aamir Akthar ( CEO, Lifestyle Fabrics – Denim)

Raymonds
Gautam Hari Singhania (Chairman & Managing Director)

Reliance Textiles
Shri Mukesh D. Ambani(Chairman & Managing Director)
Shri Nikhil R. Meswani (Executive Director)
Shri Hital R. Meswani(Executive Director)
Shri H.S.Kohli (Executive Director)
Shri PMS Prasad(Executive Director)

Bombay Dyeing Ltd
Nusli N. Wadia, Chairman & DIRECTOR
Keshub Mahindra DIRECTORS
R .N. Tata (DIRECTORS)
R. A. Shah (DIRECTORS)
Dr. H. N. Sethna (DIRECTORS )
S. Ragothaman (DIRECTORS)
P. V. Kuppuswamy (Jt. Managing Director)
Ness N. Wadia (Jt. Managing Director)

Grasim Industries
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman, Aditya Birla Group)
Mr. S. Aga (M D, Idea Cellular Ltd & Aditya Birla Mgt Corporation Pvt Ltd)
Mr. D. Bhattacharya(MD, Hindalco Industries Ltd)
Mr. S. K. Jain (Director and President, Grasim Industries Ltd.)
Dr. S. Misra (Director, Aditya Birla Mgt Corporation Pvt Ltd)
Mr. S. Misra
Dr. B. K. Singh(Director)
Mr. K. K. Maheshwari

FMCG

Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
Harish Manwani – Chairman
Nitin Paranjpe (CEO & Managing Director)
R. Sridhar - Chief Financial Officer
Gopal Vittal - Executive Director, Home & Personal Care
Dhaval Buch - Executive Director, Supply Chain
C. K. Prahalad - Independent Director

ITC
Mr Y C Deveshwar (Chairman)
Anup Singh (EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS)
K Vaidyanath (EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS)
R K Kaul(NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS)
R Srinivasan (Paper & Packaging, Education & Stationery Products, Matches, Agarbattis)
K N Grant(FMCG Businesses)
Anand Nayak(Human Resources)
Nakul Anand (Hotels & Travel)

Nestlé India
Mr. Antonio Helio Waszyk (Chairman and M D)
Mr. Shobinder Duggal (Director - Finance & Control)
Mr. Michael W.O. Garrett (Non Executive Director)
Mr. Ravinder Narain (Non Executive Director )
Mr. Pradip Baijal (Non Executive Director )
Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar(Non Executive Director)
Mr. Richard Sykes(Alternate Director to Mr. Michael W.O Garrett)

Dabur India
Dr. Anand Burman (Chairman)
Mr. Amit Burman (Vice-chairman)
Mr. Sunil Duggal (Directors & Chief Executive Officer)
Mr. P.D. Narang (Directors)
Mr. Pradip Burman (Directors)
Mr. Mohit Burman (Part-time promoters and director)
Dr. S. Narayan (Independent Director)
Mr. P N Vijay (Independent Director)
His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh( Independent Director)
Mr. R C Bhargava (Independent Director)

Cadbury India
C Y Pal (Chairman)
Anand Kripalu (Managing Director)
Atul Bhatia (Executive Director - Science & Technology)
Rajesh Garg (Executive Director - Finance & Commercial)
Jaiboy Phillips(Executive Director - Supply Chain )
Sanjay Purohit(Executie Director – Marketing)
Ashish Pisharodi ( Vice President - Modern Trade )
Rajesh Ramanathan(Vice President - People & Talent)

Britannia Industries
Mr. Nusli Neville Wadia (Chairman)
Ms. Vinita Bali (Managing Director)
Mr. A.K.Hirjee (Director)
Dr. Ajai Puri (Director)
Mr. Avijit Deb (Director)
Mr. Jeh N Wadia (Director)
GAUTAM BANERJEE - General Manager – Materials
SHRIDHAR PANSHIKAR - National Sales Manager

Real Estate

DLF group
Kushal Pal Singh (Chairman)
Rajiv Singh -Vice Chairman
T C Goyal -Managing Director
Pia Singh -Whole Time Director
G S Talwar -Non -Executive Director
Kameshwar Swarup -Executive Director
Ravinder Narain -Independent Director
M M Sabharwal -Independent Director
D V Kapur -Independent Director

Raheja group
Mr. Navin M Raheja(Managing Director)
Dr. M. Yusuf Khan(Independent Director)
Mr. Zubair Ahmed(Independent Director)
Mr.Yogesh Raheja(Director)

Parsvnath developers limited
Mr. Pradeep Jain (Chairman, Parsvnath Developers Ltd.)
Mr. Pradeep Jain (Diretor)
Mr. Sanjeev Jain (Diretor)
Dr. Rajiv Jain (Diretor)
Mr. G R Gogia (Diretor)

Banking

State Bank of India
Shri O.P. Bhatt (Chairman)
Shri S.K. Bhattacharyya (MD & CC&RO)
Shri R. Sridharan (MD & GE(A&S)
Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala (Director)
Shri Dileep C. Choksi (Director)
Shri S. Venkatachalam (Director)
Shri. D. Sundaram (Director)
Dr. Deva Nand Balodhi(Director)
Prof. Mohd. Salahuddin Ansari (Director)
Dr.(Mrs.) Vasantha Bharucha(Director)
Dr. Rajiv Kumar (Director)

HDFC bank
Mr. Jagdish Capoor (Chairman)
Mr. Aditya Puri (Managing Director)
DIRECTORS:-
Mr. Keki Mistry
Mr. Vineet Jain
Mrs. Renu Karnad
Mr. Arvind Pande
Mr. Ashim Samanta
Mr. C. M. Vasudev
Mr. Gautam Divan
Dr. Pandit Palande*
Mr. Harish Engineer
Mr. Paresh Sukthanka

ICICI Bank
Mr. K. V. Kamath, Chairman
Mr. Sridar Iyengar (Director)
Ms. Chanda D. Kochhar, (Managing Director & CEO)
Mr. Sandeep Bakhshi, Deputy Managing Director
Mr. N. S. Kannan, -Executive Director & CFO
Mr. K. Ramkumar,- Executive Director
Mr. Sonjoy Chatterjee, -Executive Director

Punjab National bank
Sh.K.R.Kamath (Chairman & Managing Director)
Sh. M.V.Tanksale (Executive Director)
Sh. Nagesh Pydah (Executive Director)
Smt. Ravneet Kaur( Govt. of India Nominee Director)
Shri G R Sundaravadivel(Share Holder Director)

AXIS BANK
Smt. Shikha Sharma -Managing Director & CEO
Shri M. M. Agrawal -Deputy Managing Director (Designate)
Shri N.C. Singhal -Director
Shri J.R. Varma -Director
Dr. R.H. Patil -Director
Smt. Rama Bijapurkar -Director
Shri R.B.L. Vaish -Director
Shri M.V. Subbiah -Director

Insurance

Life Insurance corporation of India
Shri. T.S. Vijayan (Chairman)
Shri. D.K. Mehrotra (Managing Director - LIC)
Shri. Thomas Mathew T. (Managing Director - LIC)
Shri. A.K. Dasgupta (Managing Director - LIC)
Shri. Ashok Chawla (Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India)
Shri. G.C. Chaturvedi (Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services,Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India.)

Examples of different Marketing Terms

2009-12-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

As you know in the weekend, I would like to make you guys laugh rather than roaming around the code. So, another Sunday and time for some laugh. These days I’m putting my hands over the Internet Marketing.And here are the examples of different marketing terms which was given to me by one of my good friend.

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and say: “I am very rich. “Marry me!”
- That’s Direct Marketing…”

2. You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a
gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: “He’s very rich.”Marry him.”
-That’s Advertising…”

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and get her telephone number. The next day, you
call and say: “Hi, I’m very rich. “Marry me
- That’s Telemarketing…”

4. You’re at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up
and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour
her a drink, you open the door (of the car)”Marry Me?”
- That’s Public Relations…”

5. You’re at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks
up to you and says:”You are very rich!
“Can you marry ! me?”
- That’s Brand Recognition…”

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and say: “I am very rich. Marry me!” She gives you
a nice hard slap on your face.
- “That’s Customer Feedback…”

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and say: “I am very rich. Marry me!” And she
introduces you to her husband.
- “That’s demand and supply gap…”

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and before you say anything, another person come
and tell her: “I’m rich. Will you marry me?” and she
goes with him
- “That’s competition eating into your market share…”

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to
her and before you say: “I’m rich, Marry me!” your
wife arrives.
- “That’s restriction for entering new markets…”

Submitted to- SEEDS
Submitted by- Rajeev Ranjan
Date: 30/12/2009

The Marketing Mix (The 4 P's of Marketing)

2009-12-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

The marketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also known as the Four P's, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product, and promotion. Read on for more details on the marketing mix.

Price

There are many ways to price a product. Let's have a look at some of them and try to understand the best policy/strategy in various situations. More . . .
Place

Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.

Product
For many a product is simply the tangible, phsysical entity that they may be buying or selling. You buy a new car and that's the product - simple! Or maybe not. When you buy a car, is the product more complex than you first thought? The Three Levels of a Product .
The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) has obvious similarities with the Product Life Cycle (PLC). However, CLC focuses upon the creation of and delivery of lifetime value to the customer i.e. looks at the products or services that customers NEED throughout their lives.

romotion

Another one of the 4P's is promotion. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different.

Some commentators will increase the marketing mix to the Five P's, to include people. Others will increase the mix to Seven P's, to include physical evidence(such as uniforms, facilities, or livery) and process (i.e. the whole customer experience e.g. a visit the Disney World). The term was coined by Neil H. Borden in his article The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1965.

Physical Evidence

Physical Evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues.

People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it.

Process

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P's.There are a number of perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example - to achieve a 30% market share a company implements a marketing planning process.

HOW TO HAVE A GOOD JOB INTERVIEW

2009-12-30T03:28:00.000-08:00

Of course, the initial challenge is to be called to interview in the first place. This means that you need to give your application form time and care.
Don't write it; type it.
Don't make spelling mistakes; ask a friend to check it.
In my experience, it is utterly amazing the number of applicants who simply submit a standard curriculum vitae without making any effort whatsoever to tailor the application to the organisation and the post.
The organisation advertising the post should send you a person specification and/or short-listing criteria (if they don't, ask them). You should address each and every point in the person specification showing how you meet the requirements. This will maximise the chance of you being called to interview.
The key to a good interview itself is good preparation:
research thoroughly the industry or sector, the company or organisation and the particular job, making particular use of the Annual Report & Accounts, the Web site and current newspaper articles;
prepare an informal opening and closing statement that emphasizes why you want the job and why you think you are particularly well qualified to be chosen.
On the day before the interview, read your application form again, since many of the interview questions are likely to draw on the content of your application and you need to remember what you have written and think about what might be raised as a result.
On the morning of the interview, check the newspapers and the Internet for any last minute developments affecting the organisation you are visiting or the industry in which you are interested in working. This will prepare you for any questions on that development and give you an opportunity to mention it if appropriate.
Dress smartly. Even if the dress code is casual for the organisation concerned, it always pays to be smart for the actual interview.
Be in good time. Try to identify a local café so that, if you are really early, you can go for a drink and take a last look at your notes.

It may seem totally obvious, but switch off your mobile or anything else (such as a pager or digital watch) that might make a noise. I once chaired an interview panel for a senior executive position and, in one of the interviews, the interviewee's mobile went off twice (he didn't get the job).
If you are anxious about interviews, when you are actually called into the interview room, take two or three slow, deep breaths to calm your nerves and your breathing.
As you are introduced to the interviewers, shake their hand firmly, look them in the eyes, and say that you are pleased to meet them. These first few seconds are so important in creating a favorable impression. Remember: you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Answer the questions in a confident, firm voice. Don't mumble or rush or be too hesitant.
Answers should not be one word or one sentence, but equally should not go on too long. If you have a lot to say, having made the main points, you could finish by saying: "I could expand upon that, if you wish".
When answering the questions, maintain eye contact with the interviewer(s). If there are two interviewers, give them equal attention. If there are three or more, slowly sweep your eyes from side to side like a radar beam.

In the answers to your questions, make selective and relevant use of the information from your preliminary researches and casually mention at least some of the sources you have used. For example: "I was interested to see in your Annual Report …", "I noticed on your Web site ..", "I was reading an article recently that said .." This will impress the interviewer(s) with your knowledge, your research and your keenness.
Don't waffle. If you don't know, say so.
Never, ever lie.
Almost certainly, the opening question will be a general one along the lines of: "Will you tell us why you applied for this job/why you want this job/why you think you are suited for this job". You should be ready for this question by having mentally prepared a short statement that provides the three or four key points in your favour. Think about how you would expand on each point if asked to do so. If you are aware of the short-listing criteria for interview, this opening statement should address the specific requirements set out in the short-listing criteria.

If the organisation concerned is a commercial one, this opening statement should identify with the product or service that is at the core of the company's activities. For instance, "I'm excited by the possibilities that software presents for giving companies a really competitive edge".

If the organisation concerned is a political, campaigning or voluntary one, this opening statement should identify with the values of the organisation. For instance, "I've always believed in ... because ..." or "I really care about ... because ..."

If you are not asked this kind of opening question, you should gently take control of the interview by, as soon as possible, saying something like: "Perhaps you would like to know why I applied for the job". You can then use your opening statement.

Most of the questions you will be asked can be anticipated so, in advance of interview, think about the likely questions. Then plan how you would answer them, making notes in the form of two or three (or occasionally four) bulleted points which you should memorise - not word for word, but point by point.

Many of the questions you will be asked will arise from what you have written in your application so, shortly before the interview date, read over your application again and think about how the interviewer(s) may wish to probe for further information.

Think of the worst question you could be asked. Again plan how you would answer it. Then this question - and any other - is not going to be that tough for you.

Think of actual experiences that illustrate the qualities that you would bring to the job. A good interviewer will not ask the obvious or leading question such as: "Do you like teamwork?" or "Can you cope with stress?". A clever interviewer will instead ask: "Can you give me an example of how you have worked in a team and tell me how you interacted with the other team members?" or "Can you tell me a time when you were under particular stress and explain to me how you handled or resolved it?"

A common - but silly - question is something along the lines of: "Tell us three of your strengths and three of your weaknesses". Again be ready for this one by having planned mentally how you would respond. The strengths should be a reaffirmation of your opening statement. For example, "I have these skills ..", "I have this experience ..", "I'm the kind of person who .." As far as so-called weaknesses are concerned, do not actually admit to any, but instead express so-called weaknesses as strengths. For example, "I'm really stubborn about always being on time", "I tend to be a bit too conscientious and want to get everything right", "I'm really curious and always want to know more about things".

Almost certainly, you will be asked a final question along the lines of: "Is there anything else that you would like to tell us?" Again you should be ready for this question by having mentally prepared a short statement that reaffirms the content of your opening statement, deals with any difficulties that have come up in the interview, and concludes by emphasizing how much you would like the job and how keen you would be if you obtained it.

Again, if you are not asked this kind of closing question, you should gently take control of the interview by - before you leave - saying something like: "Before I go, could I just emphasize why I am so keen to do this job". Then use your closing statement.

If you cannot answer a question to your satisfaction, come back to it in your closing statement if you remember and you've thought of a better answer. Otherwise don't be afraid to phone up soon afterwards and say something like: "I'm not sure that I explained myself too well in the interview. What I wanted to say was …" You will lose nothing by this. On the contrary, it will show keenness and it will remind them of you.

At the end of the interview, you may be asked: "Are there any questions that you would like to ask us about the company (or organisation) or the job?" Once again, be ready for this and have one or two good questions ready. As far as the company or organisation is concerned, ask a question which shows interest in the future prospects. For example: "Where are the growth opportunities for the company?" or "What do think will be the new markets that the company will want to enter in the next few years?" or "What are the key strategic objectives for the organisation in the next couple of years?" As far as the job is concerned, again ask questions that show keenness and interest in the future. For instance: "What are the training opportunities in this job?" or "How is the job likely to develop in the next year or two?" or "What chances are there for promotion in this post?"

Above all, show some enthusiasm and keenness for the job. However calculated the questions and however sophisticated the marking of the answers, most interviewers eventually make the final decision based on the overall impression and nothing makes a better impression than a positive demeanor.

Follow all these tips and you should get the job! If all this does not work and you do not win the post, ask for a debriefing interview or telephone conversation. This will impress the company or organization and stand you in good stead for any future applications to them. Also, if you approach this exercise open-mindedly, you will learn a lot and your next performance will be even better.

Good luck!!!

ORGANIZED VS UNORGANIZED RETAIL SECTOR

2009-12-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

HISTORY OF RETAIL IN THE WORLD

According to world history, the Romans are the first civilization to establish a sophisticated form of retailing. Numerous small shops were set up with centers. In fact, ancient ruins indicate that the world's first department store was in Rome!! With the fall of this empire, retailing disintegrated. By the 12th century artisan and tradesmen began to organize into "guilds" and opened up small shops. They helped them gain social and economic advantages.

American retailing institutions originated after 1850.It is the first country to start retailing. After that, department stores became important. For example, Richs was established in Atlanta in 1867 by 4 Hungarian immigrants. Simon Lazarus, an immigrant from Poland, opened a men's clothing store in Columbus, Ohio in 1851.

As department stores grew in cities, Rural citizens made us of catalogs from mail order houses. This allowed them to get the goods they needed without the hassle of traveling long distances into the city. From here, chain stores evolved. Technology improved. The Internet boomed! The rest is the making of history!

TYPES OF RETAIL STORES-

Both organized and unorganized retailing is found in most countries throughout the world. India and China are strong examples of countries in which unorganized retailing dominated their markets. Today these countries have a growing economy because of the influx of organized retailers into their markets.

In any country, particularly in developing & underdeveloped countries, we can fine 3 types of retail like

1.Organized Retail- Owned by a private or Govt. sector based on certain systematic principles. Examples- Big bazaar, Wal-Mart etc. They have license to sell the products and abide by the rules and regulation of govt.

2.Unorganized Retail-They are owned by a private individual & based on the principles, but not owned by any private company.

3.Grey Marketers- These are unauthorized small stores which are owned by any private individual. They do not have a particular shop. These stores are a biggest threat to both organized & unorganized retailers. Exa-roadside small sellers.

In the developed economies, organized retail is in the range of 75-80 per cent of total retail, whereas in developing economies, the unorganized sector dominates the retail business. The share of organized retail varies widely from just one per cent in Pakistan and 4 per cent in India to 36 per cent in Brazil and 55 per cent in Malaysia (Table 2.2). Modern retail formats, such as hypermarkets, superstores, supermarkets, discount and convenience stores are widely present in the developed world, whereas such forms of retail outlets have only just begun to spread to developing countries in recent years. In developing countries, the retailing business continues to be dominated by family-run neighborhood shops and open markets. As a consequence, wholesalers and distributors who carry products from industrial suppliers and agricultural producers to the independent family-owned shops and open markets remain a critical part of the supply chain in these countries.
.
Country Total retail stores in the world & their percentage
(US$ bn)
SHARE OF RETAIL % OF RETAIL
USA 85
JAPAN 66
CHINA 20
U.K. 80
FRANCE 80
GERMANY 80
INDIA 4
BRAZIL 36
RUSSIA 33
KOREA 15
INDONESIA 30
POLAND 20
THAILAND 40
PAKISTAN 1

Source: Planet Retail and Technopak Advisers Pvt. Ltd

RETAIL IN INDIA-
The origin of retailing in India can be traced back to the emergence of kirana stores &mom & pop stores. These stores used to cater local people. Eventually the Govt. of India supported the rural retail & many retail shops come with the help of KHADI & VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION. The first few companies come up with retail chains were in textile sector in the year 1980.The companies are Bombay Dyeing Kumar’s, Raymonds etc. Later Titan launched retail show rooms in organized sector.

If you will follow the above examples, there are great changes occurring in retail sector. The retail industry is moving from an unorganized one to a organized one.

The growth of the retail trade in India is associated with the growth in the Indian Economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annual rate of 8 per cent. The international consulting firm, A.T. Kearney, annually ranks emerging market economies based on more than 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables through their Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). For the last three years (2005, 2006, and 2007) India has been ranked as number one indicating that the Country is the most attractive market for global retailers to enter. The high economic growth during the last few years raising disposable incomes rapidly, favorable younger population with less dependency, and demographics placing incomes on urbanization are some of the major factors fueling the Indian retail market.

ORGANIZED VS UNORGANIZED RETAIL STORES (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA)-

A.Advantages of Organized Retail in India-

1.Enhanced Welfare Gains for Consumers- The emergence of organized retail undoubtedly gives consumers a wider choice of goods, more convenience, and a better shopping environment, among other benefits. This is feasible because organized retail can take several formats, from small neighborhood stores in densely populated cities with high real estate prices to large air-conditioned malls in the periphery where real estate is cheaper. Organized retail can appear small but spread in all local markets, providing the convenience of a neighborhood kirana store but with procurement on a mass scale that keeps prices low and provides greater variety.

2.Gains for Farmers- Organized retail will result in a complete revamp of the agricultural supply chain in the country. A recent study by CRISIL has estimated a current annual total loss of about Rs. 1,000 billion in the agricultural supply chain, 57 per cent of which is due to avoidable wastage and the rest due to avoidable costs of storage and commissions (CRISIL Research, June 2007). Organized retailers have already started procuring fruit and vegetables from farmers directly bypassing the various intermediaries who add more costs than value to the food chain. They are investing heavily on logistics in the form of centralized warehousing and distribution centers, transport and cold storage, either directly or through engaging third party logistics companies. They are also employing a large number of unskilled workers for sorting, grading, packaging and labeling. All these will enhance farmer’s realizations, improve quality of products at the shop and reduce the ultimate consumer price.

3.Link with Manufacturing-The Planning Commission has identified four sectors as the major employment generating sectors for the Eleventh Plan period, 2007-12. They are: (i) food processing industry; (ii) textiles and clothing; (iii) tourism; and (iv) construction. Of these sectors, all except tourism are getting a fillip with the growth of organized retail. Again, the small and medium industry (SMI) sector is getting advantages with the emergence of organized retailers by becoming their suppliers. Modern retail will catalyze the development of the SMI sector in the country.

4.Boost to Exports- Organized retail’s link with exports comes through foreign players. International retailers look for sources around the world and a country in which they operate
becomes a source for their global sales. Some of the international retailers that have plans for India in the future have already developed suppliers in the country and have started exporting from India. For example, Wal-Mart exported an equivalent of US$ 600 million, and IKEA about euros from India in 2006-07.

5.Impact on Growth and Productivity- Organized retail will enhance the growth and productivity of India by helping the farmers, consumers and other sectors by providing high quality products.
organized retailing will remove various inefficiencies that characterize the present Indian distribution system, which in turn will provide better price for the farmers and suppliers on the one hand, and lower prices for consumers, on the other.

6.Improvement of Government Revenues- Another significant advantage of organized retailing is its contribution to government revenues. Unorganized retailers normally do not pay taxes and most of them are not even registered for sales tax, VAT, or income tax. Organized retailers, by contrast, are corporate entities and hence file tax returns regularly. The growth of organized retail business will be associated with a steady rise in tax receipts for the central, state, and local governments.

7.Impact on Employment and Prices- The growth of organized retail will enhance the employment potential of the Indian economy. While providing direct employment in retail, it will drive the growth of a number of activities in the economy which in turn will open up employment opportunities to several people. It may adversely affect employment in unorganized retail and the trade intermediaries associated with the traditional supply channels but the additional jobs created will be much higher than those that are lost. An important point to be noted is that while the jobs that organized retail displaces are the low-end, low-quality, underproductive ones, the new jobs created are the high quality, productive ones. It also generates a number of jobs for unskilled labour for the tasks of sorting, grading, labeling, etc.

B.Advantages of unorganized retail –

1.Employment Impact- According to ECR report, unorganized retail outlets employ more family labour than hired labour; on an average they employ 1.5 persons per shop from the family, and hired employees of 1.1 persons in India. It is a way of livelihood for Indian people.

2.Location Advantage for the Unorganized Retailers- Location is a comparative advantage for unorganized retailers as the mean distance to the residence for consumers at unorganized outlets is 1.1 km compared to 2.6 km for consumers at organized outlets. A majority of consumers walk to traditional retailers because it is convenience to reach.

3.Credit Facilities- Consumers get credit facilities in small unorganized retail stores and can make a deferred payment which is not possible in organized retail stores.

4.Purchase of small quantities- It’s a typical attitude of Indians to purchase in small quantities of various goods which they can purchase from small shops than organized retail stores.

PARADISM OF ORGANIZED AND UNORGANIZED RETAIL IN INDIA-

As far as India is concerned, there is necessity of both organized and unorganized retailing. Both the formats have advantages and disadvantages. Complete organization of retailing stores will create unemployment, poverty & may be bad for the poor consumers also. At the same time a fully unorganized retail format will adversely affect economic growth, govt. revenues and will be a hinder in the process of development of the country.

India is at the crossroads with regard to the retail sector. Several emerging market economies have gone ahead and reaped the benefits of modern retail. India is however a latecomer to organized retail expansion and the picture still remains unclear as to its future direction. The study advocates a balanced approach to retail and suggests that the government plays a major role in shaping its future course.

There is no doubt that traditional retail has been performing a vital function in the economy and is a significant source of employment. However, it suffers from huge inefficiencies as a result of which consumers do not get what they want, and farmers often get prices for their produce much below what is considered fair. In contrast, organized retail provides consumers with a wider choice of products, lower prices, and a pleasant shopping environment. It gives farmers a better alternative channel for selling their products at a better price.

The competition from organized retail has affected the business of traditional retailers but they are making efforts to stay on. In their struggle to face this competition, they are handicapped by a lack of access to formal credit from commercial banks. As in other countries, government policy can and should play an important role in modernizing the unorganized sector and improve its competitiveness. On the other hand, a policy of protection of traditional retailers by restricting organized retail will harm the growth prospects of the country by foregoing the enormous benefits that are generated by organized retail. However, the following measures can be taken to solve the paradigm of organized and unorganized retail.

1.Liberalization policy for domestic retailers to become organized retail.
2. More credit facilities for rural unorganized stores to develop their stores.
3. Proper regulatory body for unorganized retailers for establishing retail shops.
4. Ceiling on prices by the govt. to control price level of different organized retailers against predatory pricing.
5. Educating rural people and improving their standard of living.

So, Indian retail requires a balanced strategy for organized and unorganized retail stores that may be called as REORGANIZATION OF RETAIL SECTOR.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)IN INDIA AND FUTURE TRENDS with special reference to ITC’s CSR practice

2009-12-27T03:48:00.000-08:00

CSR in India – Past, Present and Future

All of us, who live in society, owe some responsibility towards it. Corporate, which operates in society and make profits from investments, owe a greater responsibility to it.

The Indian economy has been growing fast in recent years. So are the corporates in terms of business turn over and profit. However, there are concerns about sustaining this growth on account of environmental and social factors. While the environmental dimensions are opening up somewhat slowly, the social impacts have been sudden.
As per its Constitutional mandate, enshrined in the Directive Principles of State policy, the Government is responsible for taking care of the disadvantaged. But in a multi-party, developing, democracy, the development process is often slow due to various constraints which affect the delivery mechanism. The choice before business and the civil society today is either to join in sharing this responsibility or to suffer as a mute spectator.

In a developing country, the responsibility of business towards the society needs to be seen from a wider context and this has four dimensions :-

(i) Compliance with the law and statutory provisions in letter and spirit,
(ii) Exploring Business at the Bottom of the Pyramid for helping the poor
as well as enriching the business ;
(iii) Forming strategic partnership with the stakeholders ; and
(iv) Taking care of people other than potential consumers.

It is encouraging that Indian business has appreciated the need of the changing times, with most of the companies talking about CSR, some having a CSR policy and a few mobilizing employees, idle plant and machinery and earmarking part of its profits for CSR activities.

The historical driver of CSR has been philanthropy or a sense of ethics. After the Second World War, a variety of national and international regulations arose through bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) emphasising the need for an active social policy for transnational companies (TNC’s). This additional driver, international institutions, has relevance for India through the work of the ILO, the OECD, Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), the SA8000 Social Accountability scheme and through the work of the UN Commission on Human Rights which tackled the human rights responsibilities of TNC’s.
In India, some public sector companies can spend up to 5% of their profits on CSR activities. Pressure groups have been quite successful in inducing companies to fund CSR schemes, even to the point of using kidnapping as a tactic! Forms of CSR differ according to the country or region. In Europe, for example, notions of CSR probably developed out of the Church and a sense of ethics. In India, CSR has evolved to encompass employees, customers, stakeholders and notions of sustainable development or corporate citizenship. In transnational companies, the approach to CSR typically emerges from one of three elements including a decentralised strategy (which might examine human rights), a centralised strategy (which would be company-wide) or a globally integrated strategy (which would include Coca Cola or oil companies - where local actions can impinge globally).
Many large companies enter into CSR through acts of philanthropy including, for example, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Often, for such companies, the tax advantages are attractive or it may merely be a clever way to retain control of resources. India has been a major beneficiary from the Gates Foundation, particularly in health care.
From the perspective of the employee, CSR has been hugely important in India. For example, after 1945, TATA implemented social welfare provisions for its employees that have since become the legislative norm. Equally, when companies announce they will reduce the number of employees, the workers can be fearful that they benefits they have accrued will be lost. While India has a large comparative demographic advantage with substantial numbers of graduate engineers, for example, probably only one third are actually employable. There is also concern from employees who wonder what would happen to the welfare ethos if an Indian company took control of a European firm.
From the perspective of the customer, CSR initiatives can relate to issues of product quality. For example, Sony recently recalled, on a global basis, batteries it used in Dell computers. In Japan, allegations that a particular form of packaging promoted cancer equally led to huge product safety concerns. The last 15 years has witnessed substantial developments in the area of consumer rights. The Indian Supreme Court has declared that it would be better to lose 1000’s of jobs in order to protect the health of millions through cleaner air and a better environment.
From the perspective of stakeholders in the community, the bigger the company the greater the effort should be to protect the employees or the environment. There is some recognition that it would be hard for smaller companies to undertake CSR initiatives at that kind of level. Communities can pressure companies to provide and improve civic amenities. One scheme, the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) aims to prevent unnecessary urbanisation and help tackle migration from rural areas. Larger companies might also be interested in providing arts and culture activities as a service to the community as a measure to protect local culture. Some companies have encouraged skilled employees to teach in a local community.
One of the arguments against CSR has been that it lowers company profits but the IMI has shown that many companies say the benefits outweigh the costs. Another argument has come from some employees who have been hesitant to demand more CSR, seeing a trade-off between CSR spending and better employee welfare provision - although these would be in a minority

People, planet and profit — Three Ps of corporate social responsibility

The triple bottom line (abbreviated as "TBL" or "3BL", and also known as "people, planet, profit" or the three pillars captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success: economic, ecological and social
The triple bottom line is made up of "social, economic and environmental" the "people, planet, profit" phrase was coined for Shell by Sustainability, influenced by 20th century urbanist Patrick Geddes's notion of 'folk, work and place'.
"People, planet and profit" succinctly describes the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability.
"People" (human capital) pertains to fair and beneficial business practices toward labour and the community and region in which a corporation conducts its business. A TBL company conceives a reciprocal social structure in which the well-being of corporate, labour and other stakeholder interests are interdependent.
A triple bottom line enterprise seeks to benefit many constituencies, not exploit or endanger any group of them. The "upstreaming" of a portion of profit from the marketing of finished goods back to the original producer of raw materials, i.e., a farmer in fair trade agricultural practice, is a not unusual feature. In concrete terms, a TBL business would not use child labour and monitor all contracted companies for child labour exploitation, would pay fair salaries to its workers, would maintain a safe work environment and tolerable working hours, and would not otherwise exploit a community or its labour force. A TBL business also typically seeks to "give back" by contributing to the strength and growth of its community with such things as health care and education. Quantifying this bottom line is relatively new, problematic and often subjective. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed guidelines to enable corporations and NGOs alike to comparably report on the social impact of a business.
"Planet" (natural capital) refers to sustainable environmental practices. A TBL company endeavors to benefit the natural order as much as possible or at the least do no harm and curtail environmental impact. A TBL endeavor reduces its ecological footprint by, among other things, carefully managing its consumption of energy and non-renewables and reducing manufacturing waste as well as rendering waste less toxic before disposing of it in a safe and legal manner. "Cradle to grave" is uppermost in the thoughts of TBL manufacturing businesses which typically conduct a life cycle assessment of products to determine what the true environmental cost is from the growth and harvesting of raw materials to manufacture to distribution to eventual disposal by the end user. A triple bottom line company does not produce harmful or destructive products such as weapons, toxic chemicals or batteries containing dangerous heavy metals for example.
Currently, the cost of disposing of non-degradable or toxic products is borne financially by governments and environmentally by the residents near the disposal site and elsewhere. In TBL thinking, an enterprise which produces and markets a product which will create a waste problem should not be given a free ride by society. It would be more equitable for the business which manufactures and sells a problematic product to bear part of the cost of its ultimate disposal.
Ecologically destructive practices, such as overfishing or other endangering depletions of resources are avoided by TBL companies. Often environmental sustainability is the more profitable course for a business in the long run. Arguments that it costs more to be environmentally sound are often specious when the course of the business is analyzed over a period of time. Generally, sustainability reporting metrics are better quantified and standardized for environmental issues than for social ones. A number of respected reporting institutes and registries exist including the Global Reporting Initiative, CERES, Institute 4 Sustainability and others.
"Profit" is the economic value created by the organisation after deducting the cost of all inputs, including the cost of the capital tied up. It therefore differs from traditional accounting definitions of profit. In the original concept, within a sustainability framework, the "profit" aspect needs to be seen as the real economic benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the real economic impact the organization has on its economic environment. This is often confused to be limited to the internal profit made by a company or organization (which nevertheless remains an essential starting point for the computation). Therefore, an original TBL approach cannot be interpreted as simply traditional corporate accounting profit plus social and environmental impacts unless the "profits" of other entities are included as a social benefits

Top Ten Most Respected Companies in India, 2003
No.1 Infosys Technologies
No.2 Hindustan Lever
No.3 Reliance Industries
No.4 Wipro
No.5 ICICI Bank
No.6 Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation
No.7 Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
No.8 HDFC
No.9 ITC
No.10 Hero Honda

Source: Businessworld, January 2003 [India’s most respected companies]

ITC’S CSR PRACTICE:

ITC is well known reputed company known for its significant CSR practices. There are number of examples we can take to exemplify CSR practices of ITC. Here we are taking well known example of e- choupal’s, a great initiation by them.

Launched in June 2000, 'e-Choupal', has already become the largest initiative among all Internet-based interventions in rural India. 'e-Choupal' services today reach out to over 4 million farmers growing a range of crops - soyabean, coffee, wheat, rice, pulses, shrimp - in over 40,000 villages through 6500 kiosks across ten states (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerela and Tamil Nadu).
The problems encountered while setting up and managing these ‘e-Choupals’ are primarily of infrastructural inadequacies, including power supply, telecom connectivity and bandwidth, apart from the challenge of imparting skills to the first time internet users in remote and inaccessible areas of rural India.

Several alternative and innovative solutions – some of them expensive – are being deployed to overcome these challenges e.g. Power back-up through batteries charged by Solar panels, upgrading BSNL exchanges with RNS kits, installation of VSAT equipment, Mobile Choupals, local caching of static content on website to stream in the dynamic content more efficiently, 24x7 helpdesk etc.

Going forward, the roadmap includes plans to integrate bulk storage, handling & transportation facilities to improve logistics efficiencies.
As India’s ‘kissan’ Company, ITC has taken care to involve farmers in the designing and management of the entire ‘e-Choupal’ initiative. The active participation of farmers in this rural initiative has created a sense of ownership in the project among the farmers. They see the ‘e-Choupal’ as the new age cooperative for all practical purposes.
This enthusiastic response from farmers has encouraged ITC to plan for the extension of the ‘e-Choupal’ initiative to altogether 15 states across India over the next few years. On the anvil are plans to channelise other services related to micro-credit, health and education through the same 'e-Choupal' infrastructure.
Another path-breaking initiative – the ‘Choupal Pradarshan Khet’, brings the benefits of agricultural best practices to small and marginal farmers. Backed by intensive research and knowledge, this initiative provides Agri-extension services which are qualitatively superior and involves pro-active handholding of farmers to ensure productivity gains. The services are customised to meet local conditions, ensure timely availability of farm inputs including insurance and credit, and provides a cluster of farmer schools for capturing indigenous knowledge. This initiative, which has covered over 70,000 hectares, has a multiplier impact and reaches out to over 1.6 million farmers.
Current Opportunities
At one end of the spectrum, CSR can be viewed simply as a collection of good citizenship activities being engaged by various organisations. At the other end, it can be a way of doing business that has significant impact on society.For this latter vision to be enacted in India, it will be necessary to build CSR into a movement. That is to say, public and private organizations will need to come together to set standards, share best practices, jointly promote CSR, and pool resources where useful. An alliance of interested stakeholders will be able to take collective action to establish CSR as an integral part of doing business – this is not a passing fad.

Current Global Trends
Because of the growing size and power of multinational corporate houses, bond rating agencies and investment funds are exerting increasing influence. In particular, they are demanding an accounting for non-financial measures of value creation as they seek to determine risk premiums. These include an assessment of CSR activities, as well as governance practices, management of intellectual capital, and transparency in reporting. There are now multiple CSR rating agencies in North America and Europe. Socially Responsible Investment Funds (SRI’s) now consider CSR activity when deciding whether to invest in public traded companies. The Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI) Group was started in conjunction with the UN in 2005. This now includes over 170 institutions representing 15 trillion US dollars in assets. The member institutions take into account six key principles in the area of environmental, social, and corporate governance when making investment decisions. The United Nations Global Compact was launched in 2000 by the then Secretary General Kofi Annan to create a voluntary alliance of companies throughout the world committed to upholding specific principles of human rights labour rights, environmental stewardship and anti-corruption. To date, 168 Indian multinational corporates, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and associations have joined the Compact.

A growing trend in large multinational corporations is the establishment of special committees within the board of directors to oversee CSR and sustainable business practices. More and more, executive compensation is tied to specific outcomes in these areas. Groups of corporates are being encouraged to come together to promote CSR. In 2006, Europe created the European Alliance for CSR. It currently consists of 70 multinational corporate houses and 25 national partner organisations and has become a unique resource for building capability in CSR.

Future Social Trends in India
The CSR survey revealed, not surprisingly, that organisations targeted most of their activities close to home — providing services for people who live in villages, towns, and districts near where the organization operates. Education, health, and the environment are the top priorities.
More than likely, these priorities will continue. There is one social trend in India that looms larger than all others — the population tsunami. The current population of India is now over
1.1 billion. Demographers now tell us that India will overtake China by 2026 as the world’s most populous nation with almost 1.5 billion people. Let us put this into perspective. At the time of Independence in 1947, India’s population was approximately 350 million. Between now and 2026, India will add almost as many people as there were in the entire nation in 1947. The implications of this are staggering. Will the additional demands for food, water, housing,
education, and health care overwhelm the existing infrastructure? Or can all stakeholders work together to build a literate, healthy, capable society with enough jobs to meaningfully employ all those seeking work? The greater the challenges, the greater the ingenuity required. For CSR in India to have a meaningful impact on society in the coming decade, a ‘national-local’ approach may be best. National in the sense that there will need to be nationwide alliances and databases in order to quickly learn best practices, share innovations, and ‘scale-up’ pilot programmes. Local in the sense that it will require organisations to efficiently implement programmes at the grassroots level, as well as mobilise volunteers to serve their local communities. CSR is here to stay and its future is bright.

References :
1. CSR in India-present past and future by-
Dr Sanjay Kumar Panda, is a civil servant
2. Wikipedia
3. An introduction on CSR :global opportunities and social trends
4. Article on CSR in business line newspaper
Dated- 18 july,2005.
5. www.echoupal.com
6. Trust and Corporate Social responsibility: Lessons from India :
Aswani singala and Prema Sagar, Genesis Public Relations Pvt. Ltd

submitted to- SEEDS
Submitted by- Naveen Kumar Singh
Date : 03/12/2009

Marketing dictionary - A

2009-12-26T03:19:00.000-08:00

A Priori Segmentation
A segmentation approach in which segmentation variables, such as age or income, are selected first and then customers are classified accordingly; the reverse of this is Post Hoc Segmentation in which, after data on existing customers are analysed, segments based on similarities and differences are formed.
AANA
Australian Association of National Advertisers.
AARDS
Australian Advertising Rate and Data Service.
ABC Account Classification
the classification of customer accounts within a sales territory or region into groups according to their size and potential, and, therefore, their importance; the classification is used primarily to determine call frequency.
ABC Inventory Analysis
the classification of goods held in inventory according to sales volume; the classification is used primarily to determine stock location within the warehouse.
ABN
Australian Business Number.
Above-the-Line Advertising
advertising which employs one of five main media - the press, television, radio, cinema and posters. See Below-the-Line Advertising.
ABS
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Absolute Cost Advantage
the cost advantage one company has over another if it has a cheaper source of raw materials, control of superior knowledge through patents, cheaper manufacturing or assembly costs, or similar benefit.
Absolute Costs
the minimum costs that an organisation must bear to remain in business. See Absolute Cost Advantage.
Absolute Product Failure
a new product introduction which does not manage to recover its production and marketing costs; the company incurs a financial loss.
ACCC
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Accelerated Test Marketing
market testing of consumer goods using a simulated store technique rather than an actual test market; also referred to as Laboratory Test Markets and Purchase Laboratories.
Accelerator Principle
the notion that an increase or reduction in consumer demand will affect several layers of demand in organisational markets; for example, an increase in consumer demand for soft drinks will will lead to an increased demand by retailers for soft drinks, an increased demand by soft drink bottlers for aluminium cans, an increased demand by aluminium can manufacturers for aluminium sheet, an increased demand by aluminium sheet manufacturers for aluminium ore, and so on. See Derived Demand.
Acceptable Price Range
an expectation in the minds of consumers regarding price levels for a product category; consumers are reluctant to buy below the acceptable price range for fear that the product will be inferior, or above it because the expected benefit of the product is not worth the price.
Access Barriers
factors such as tariffs and legal restrictions which reduce the size of a market by preventing potential customers from purchasing a particular product.
Accessibility
one of the four major requirements (with actionability, measurability and substantiality) for useful market segmentation; accessibility expresses the notion that the segment targeted must be able to be reached and served adequately by the firm's promotion and distribution system. See Actionability; Measurability; Substantiality.
Accessories
see Accessory Equipment.
Accessory Equipment
goods and materials purchased by organisations for use in production, administrative, clerical or marketing activities, but not directly in the manufacture of finished products.
Account Executive
see Account Manager.
Account Manager
a sales representative responsible for a major customer account or group of major accounts; also referred to as an account executive.
Account Objectives
the specific aims and sales goals to be achieved within a specified period by a salesperson for an account for which he or she is responsible.
Account Penetration Ratio
a measure used to evaluate salespeople; the percentage of accounts from which orders are secured is calculated to provide a measure of whether the salesperson is working the territory in a systematic way or simply "milking" major accounts.
Account Representative
a salesperson with direct responsibility for one specific major account or a group of major accounts.
Account Strategies
broad methods employed in achieving the objectives set by a salesperson for a particular account.
Accountants' Marketing
a term sometimes used to describe an approach to marketing characterised by an emphasis on short-term sales results rather than on long-term survival and growth, and by a lack of innovation.
Achievers
a term used in the Values and Lifestyles (VALS) profiling scheme, developed by SRI International, to describe the most affluent and successful professional and businesspeople, the highest level of the nine psychographic segments identified in the U.S. population.
Acid-Test Ratio
one of three ratios commonly used to evaluate a firm's liquidity; calculated by dividing cash by current liabilities. See Current Ratio; Quick Ratio.
Acquisition
the purchase by an organisation of a competitor or new products, often to gain economies of scale that lead to lower costs, lower prices and increased competitiveness.
ACSI
American Consumer Satisfaction Index
Acting Out
the activities in which consumers engage during their purchase decision-making, such as picking a product from a shelf to feel its weight, inspect its quality, or read instructions for use.
Action Plan
see Action Program.
Action Program
a detailed plan showing how major marketing tasks will be managed and implemented, who will do them, and when; also called an Action Plan.
Actionability
one of the major requirements (with accessibility, measurability and substantiality) for useful market segmentation; actionability expresses the notion that the segment targeted must be of an appropriate size for the company's resources to handle. See Accessibility; Measurability; Substantiality.
Active Data
information that is acquired by organisations when customers interact with their websites; the information is relayed to the organisations either by means of cookies – unique identifiers that allow organisations to know who has visited their websites and which pages visitors have viewed - or by the customers’ completion of application or enquiry forms . See Directed Data; Passive data.
Active Listening
listening that is more than passively hearing what the customer is saying; implies the need for a salesperson to think while listening and to evaluate what is being said.
Active Value
the value a consumer gets from the actual use of a product, such as a lawn mower, sewing machine, or taxi; in other cases, such as watching a movie or visiting an art gallery, the value is reactive . See Reactive Value.
Activity Quota
a common form of sales assignment, goal or target used to measure a sales representative's performance in relation to his or her selling activities; activities used in this way include total calls made, total sales made, number of new accounts opened, number of displays set up, and so on. Other common forms of sales quotas are unit volume quotas, dollar volume quotas, gross margin quotas and net profit quotas. See Sales Quota.
Activity Report
a report used by salespeople to provide details (such as number of calls made, new accounts opened, displays arranged, dealer sales meetings attended and so on) to management as a measure of their activity in a given period.
Activity Stage Model
the process in which the various tasks that need to be done to bring a new product to market are mapped out in sequential order. See New Product Development.

Actual Product
the tangible features of a product, including styling, quality level, features, brand name and packaging; also called the Formal Product or Tangible Product. See Augmented Product; Core Product.
Actual Response Rate
the number of orders received in response to a direct mail campaign; the actual response rate is compared to the projected response rate to evaluate the success of the campaign. See Projected Response Rate.
Actual Self
the concept, of self image, of what a person is now, as opposed to what he or she would like to become (that is, the ideal self). See Ideal Self.
Ad Hoc Marketing Research
marketing research conducted in response to a specific, one-time-only need.
Adaptation Approach to Pricing
an approach in global marketing in which an organisation allows an affiliate or subsidiary to set the most desirable price, provided it is profitable, in its own region; also referred to as the Polycentric Approach. See also Extension Approach; Geocentric Approach.
Adapted Marketing Mix
in international marketing, a marketing strategy in which elements of the marketing program are adjusted for the target market in each country.
Adaptive Control System
a system of marketing control which allows for changes to be made to marketing objectives during a planning period as well as to the performance to meet the objectives; a pro-active marketing control system. See After-the-Fact Control System; Marketing Control System; Reactive Marketing Control System; Steering Control System.
Adaptive Selling
a technique in selling which calls for the salesperson to adapt his or her social style to that of the buyer in order to maximise effectiveness. See Social Style.
Adaptive Strategies
domestic marketing tactics, plans and methods which have been altered to suit local conditions in foreign markets.
Adaptivising
a planning philosophy implying a firm's intention to continue to maintain, and expand, its present operations; to do better things in the future than have been done in the past. See Optimising; Satisficing.
Added Value
the increased worth of a firm's offering as a result of marketing; four factors which generate the additional value are features, quality, customer perception (or image) and exclusiveness.
ADI
See Area of Dominant Influence.

Administered Channel Arrangement
see Administered Vertical Marketing System.
Administered Prices
cost-oriented pricing in which a firm bases its prices on considerations within the firm rather than on customer considerations.
Administered Vertical Marketing System
a co-ordinated system of distribution channel organisation in which the flow of products from producer to end-user is controlled by the power and size of one member of the channel system rather than by common ownership or contractual ties. See Contractual Vertical Marketing System; Conventional Marketing System; Corporate Vertical Marketing System; Vertical Marketing System.
Adopter Category
the ranking into which adopters of a new product fall according to their willingness and speed to embrace a new product; adopter categories are normally listed as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. See Diffusion of Innovation.
Adoption
the choice of one product over another.
Adoption of Innovation Curve
a normal distribution curve illustrating the fact that customers vary widely in their willingness or readiness to purchase new products. See Diffusion of Innovation.
Adoption Process
the series of stages, including awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and rejection or adoption, which consumers go through in their decision-making process; also called the Adoption Sequence.
Adoption Rate Determinants
factors which influence the rate of adoption of a new product. See Communicability; Compatibility; Complexity; Divisibility; Relative Advantage.
Adoption Sequence
see Adoption Process.
Advance Australia Foundation
a partly government-funded organisation, established in 1979 as Project Australia, formed to promote the sale of Australian-made products.
Advantage
see Competitive Advantage.
Advantage Matrix
see Boston Consulting Group Advantage Matrix.
Adversarial Shopper
a consumer whose shopping behaviour is characterised by a determination to get good value at a low price; a bargain hunter; one who regards all prices as negotiable.
Advertising
the paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers. See Promotion.
Advertising Agency
a firm specialising in the creation, design and media placement of advertisements, and in the planning and execution of promotional campaigns. See Full-Service Advertising Agency; Limited-Service Advertising Agency.
Advertising Allocation
see Advertising Budget.
Advertising Allowance
a discount given to a retailer by a supplier whose brand or product is featured in the store's newspaper, television or radio advertising or in catalogs, flyers or similar promotional pieces. See Allowances; Discounts.
Advertising Appropriation
see Advertising Budget.
Advertising Banner
see Banner Advertising.
Advertising Budget
the sum allocated in a particular accounting period for expenditure on advertising; also called an Advertising Allocation or an Advertising Appropriation.
Advertising Budget Determination
decisions pertaining to the amount to be allocated to advertising expenditure in a given period; common approaches to advertising budget determination include arbitary allocation, percent of sales, competitive parity, objective and task and budgeting models. See All-We-Can-Afford Method; Percentage-of-Sales Method; Competitive Parity Budgeting; Objective and Task Method of Budgeting; Computer Modelling.
Advertising Campaign
a planned program of advertising with particular objectives.
Advertising Campaign Evaluation
the measurement of the success of a planned program of advertising in terms of sales, increased product awareness, wider distribution or other program objectives.
Advertising Control - Advertising Copy
the content and context of a message contained in an advertisement.
Advertising Effectiveness
the degree to which the objectives of an advertisement or advertising campaign have been achieved; the effectiveness is commonly gauged by measuring the effect on sales, brand awareness, brand preference, etc. See Communication Effect of Advertising; Sales Effect of Advertising.
Advertising Elasticities
measurements of the effect on other marketing variables of various levels of advertising expenditure; for example, measurement of the effect of high levels of advertising on consumer perceptions of price, or the measurement of the low levels of advertising on consumer perceptions of product quality.
Advertising Exposure
one presentation of an advertisement to an audience; advertising managers must decide how many "exposures" will be required to achieve their goal or objective.
Advertising Federation of Australia
an association representing the interests of Australian advertising agencies.
Advertising Goal
a particular communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience in a given period of time.
Advertising Impact
see Impact.
Advertising Institute of Australia
an association representing the interests of individuals within the advertising industry in Australia.
Advertising Media
outlets or vehicles (for instance, newspapers and magazines, television, radio, cinema, posters, etc) used in communication between advertisers and customers. Note that advertising media is a plural term; its singular form is advertising medium.
Advertising Medium
see Advertising Media.
Advertising Message
the central, underlying idea or theme within an advertisement.
Advertising Objective
the specific aim or intention of an advertisement (for example, to inform, to persuade, to remind).
Advertising Planning Process
the steps or stages taken in planning an advertising campaign; the steps include identifying the target market, establishing the advertising objectives, developing the advertising budget, developing the advertising strategies, selecting the appropriate media, and evaluating the advertising effectiveness.
Advertising Platform
the basic issues or selling points that a company wishes to have included in an advertising campaign.
Advertising Research
research done to test the effectiveness of advertising; this may include the pre-testing and post-evaluating of specific advertisements and campaigns. Communication-effect research attempts to measure whether the advertising communicates effectively; sales-effect research attempts to measure whether it produces the desired level of sales.
Advertising Site
Advertising Space
Advertising Speciality
any product or item, such as a pen or key-ring, which is imprinted with a company’s name, brand name or logo, and given away as a gift.
Advertising Standards Council
a body comprising representatives from the retail trade, trade unions, academics, advertising agencies and the media established to administer voluntary advertising codes and to provide a vehicle for consumer complaints about advertising.
Advertising Target
the entire market, or some part of it, which a firm wishes to attract with its advertisement.
Advertising Testing
Advertising-to-Editorial Ratio
the measure of the proportion of advertising space to editorial matter in a newspaper or magazine.
Advertising-to-Marketing Ratio
a marketing control measure used to determine whether the amount spent on advertising in a given period was excessive; total advertising expenditure is expressed as a percentage ot total marketing expenditure.
Advertising-to-Sales Ratio
a marketing control measure used to determine whether the amount spent on advertising in a given period was excessive; total advertising expenditure is expressed as a percentage of total sales revenue.
Advertising Wearout
see Consumer Wearout.
Advertorial
an advertisement in which the advertiser expresses a point of view about a social or political issue or a matter of public interest. See Advertorial Advertising.
Advertorial Advertising
advertising in which the sponsoring organisation declares its position on a matter of public interest (usually of a controversial nature). See Advocacy Advertising.
Adviser Approach
a closing technique in which a salesperson specifies all that a customer will require to solve the problem at hand, and advises (or counsels) that the offer be accepted; also referred to as the Counsellor Close. See Close.
Advocacy Advertising
a paid, overtly-sponsored communication or message which presents information or a point of view on a controversial public issue, idea or cause. See Advertorial Advertising.
Aesthetic Needs
see Self-Actualisation Needs.
AFA
Advertising Federation of Australia.
AFAMI
Associate Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute.
AFCO
Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations.
Affordable Method
see All-We-Can-Afford Method.
AFMA
Associate Fellow of the Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Aftermarket
the market, especially for automotive parts, accessories and equipment, after the new product has been purchased.
After-the-Fact Control System
a system of marketing control in which corrective action is taken at the end of a planning period when marketing performance does not meet expectations; changes are made in an attempt to rectify the situation for the next planning period. See Adaptive Control System; Marketing Control System; Reactive Marketing Control System; Steering Control System.
Age and Life-Cycle Segmentation
A demographic segmentation strategy in which a product-market is grouped into segments based on the basis of age so that the organisation can more precisely target its offerings to the needs and wants of each stage of life of interest to it. In this way, an organisation may develop different products and different marketing approaches for school children, teens, young married couples, mature adults, elderly citizens and so on.
Agent
an intermediary or middleman who facilitates the flow of goods and services from producer to end-user, but who, unlike other members of the distribution channel, does not take title to them.
Agile Corporation
an organisation that is flexible and able to move quickly in response to continuously changing market conditions, organising its resources and adjusting its marketing strategies accordingly.
Agribusiness
the marketing of food and fibre products.
Agricultural Cooperative
an organisation formed by a group of farmers to achieve some or all of the advantages of large-scale marketing.
Agricultural Substitute
a product that is manufactured from farm produce but which is a substitute for a more traditional farm commodity. For example, soy-protein steaks are a substitute for beef steaks.
AIA
Advertising Institute of Australia.
AIDA Concept
a formula used in selling to produce a favourable response from a customer. The assumption is that the salesperson must first make the potential customer aware of a product; foster interest; stimulate desire; and, finally, encourage action (to purchase). See Formula Selling.
AIDCA
acronym for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Conviction, Action; mental states which supposedly lead a potential customer to a buying decision. See Formula Selling.
Aided Recall Test
a method of post-testing the effectiveness of an advertisement or advertising campaign; respondents are shown products, brand names, trademarks, etc to assist their memories. See Unaided Recall Test.
AIM
Australian Institute of Management.
AIO Statements
expressions of a person's attitudes towards, interests in, and opinions of, a product. See Psychographics.
All-We-Can-Afford Method
a simple method of determining a budget (for advertising, etc) in which the amount allocated is the amount that can be afforded; also called the What-We-Can Afford Method, the Affordable Method and the Arbitrary Method. See Advertising Budget Determination.
Alliance
an agreement between one or more firms to cooperate in some business venture or to work together to achieve certain goals. See Strategic Alliance.
Alliance Partner
an organisation which cooperates with one or more other firms or works together with them to achieve certain goals. See Alliance; Strategic Alliance.
Allowances
amounts deducted from an invoice in return for prompt payment, large quantity purchase, special promotions etc of goods and services supplied. See Discount.
Alternative Advertising
advertising which uses media other than the traditional media; examples of alternative advertising include advertising signs on parking meters and supermarket shopping trolleys, in-store video screens, etc.
Alternative Close
a closing technique in which a salesperson presents two alternatives in an attempt to get a commitment from the buyer to one, (eg. "The red or the black?", "Cash or card?") See Close.
Alternative Evaluation
the stage in the buying decision process in which the buyer uses information gathered to make a final choice between the products in the evoked set. See Evoked set.
Alternative Media
media vehicles, apart from the traditional ones, which are available for promotional purposes; examples of newer alternative media are video catalogs and audiotext. See Video Calalog; Audiotext.

Ambience
the surroundings, including floor lay-out, indoor plants, furniture and furnishings, decor, colour, advertising material, lighting and music, which give a retail outlet its distinctive look and appeal.
Ambient Advertising
signs, posters and other promotional material, often in unusual and unexpected places, inside a shopping centre or retail outlet to generate customer interest and stimulate purchasing.
Ambient Media
a wide range of advertising and sales promotion material – including signs, posters, cut-outs, banners, flowers, ribbons, hot-air balloons and music – used in shopping malls retail outlets to generate interest and excitement and stimulate purchasing.
Ambush Advertising
a form of promotional activity, usually considered unethical and sometimes illegal, in which an organisation exploits some unrelated event such as a political rally or sporting contest by prominently displaying its advertising material; sometimes referred to as Guerrilla Marketing.
Ambush Marketing
see Ambush Advertising.

Amiable (Social Style)
one of four social styles (with Analytical, Driver and Expressive) commonly used to classify salespeople and their customers in terms of their communication approach; Amiables are characterised by high responsiveness and low assertiveness. See Analytical; Driver; Expressive; Assertiveness; Responsiveness; Social Style.
Analysis
the mathematical or statistical processing of data and presentation of the results.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
a technique used in research to determine the statistical difference between three or more sample means.
Analytic Modelling
a sophisticated, statistical technique, based on historical data related to sales levels, pricing levels, advertising and promotion, sales effort, competitive tactics and other variables, designed to determine an optimum price for current profit maximisation.
Analytical (Social Style)
one of four social styles (with Amiable, Driver and Expressive) commonly used to classify salespeople and their customers in terms of the responsiveness and assertiveness of their communication approach; Analyticals are characterised by low responsiveness and low assertiveness. See Amiable; Driver; Expressive; Assertiveness; Responsiveness; Social Style.
Anchor Store
a popular, major retailer located within a shopping mall to attract mall patronage.
Annual Plan
in strategic planning, a short-term marketing plan that describes the current marketing situation, marketing objectives, marketing strategies for the current year, action programs, budgets, and monitoring and control measures. See Strategic Planning.
ANOVA
Analysis of Variance
Ansoff Matrix
a tool, devised by Igor Ansoff (1918-2002), to provide a logical framework for the understanding and development of marketing objectives; the basis of the matrix is the degree of newness of the products to be sold and of the markets to be targeted.
Anticipatory Pricing
the practice of setting a somewhat higher price than would otherwise have been chosen in expectation of cost inflation, government price control, or similar environmental circumstance.
Anti-Competitive Pricing Strategies
methods of pricing – including predatory pricing, price-fixing, bid-rigging, and allocating customer groups to certain suppliers - which are designed to create barriers for, weaken or destroy rival firms; in most countries these pricing methods are illegal and can result in grave consequences for the firm and its top management; also referred to as Anti-Trust Pricing Strategies. See Bid-Rigging; Predatory Pricing, Price Fixing.
Anti-Dumping Laws
in international marketing, regulations which are designed to protect domestic firms from unfair competition resulting from below-cost products being imported from overseas and sold at unfair prices.
Anti-Monopoly Regulation
laws passed to prevent anti-competitive and anti-monopoly practices in business. see Anti-Trust Legislation.
Anti-Trust Legislation
see Anti-Monopoly Regulation.
Anti-Trust Pricing Strategies
see Anti-Competitive Pricing Strategies.

APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation.
APEC Forum
A loose grouping of nations which work together to facilitate economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Formed as an initiative of Australia in 1989, it had grown by 2007 to encompass 21 members - Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand, United States and Viet Nam. Spanning four continents, APEC represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of the world's population, 56 per cent of world GDP and 48 per cent of world trade.

Approach
the stage in the selling process in which a salesperson contacts a potential customer to make an appointment or to present a product.
Approver
the person within an organisation who has the ultimate decision for making purchases; sometimes referred to as the ‘decider’. See Business Buying Process.
Arbitrary Method
see All-We-Can-Afford Method.
Area Market Potential
an estimate of the amount of sales, in units and dollars, that might be possible in a given territory or region under a given level of industry marketing effort under given environmental conditions.
Area Market Specialist
a marketing manager, with good local knowledge, located in a high-volume, distinctive market to support the sales effort.
Area of Dominant Influence
the geographic region covered by a particular television station; also referred to as the station's Designated Marketing Area (DMA).
Area Sampling
an approach to cluster sampling in which the clusters are geographically based. See Cluster Sampling.
Arm's-Length Price
the price which various governments force companies to charge to discourage "dumping" abuses; the arm's length price is the price charged by competitors for the same or similar product.
Arousal
an internal state of tension which motivates a consumer, providing the energy to act; a drive. See Drive.
ARS
Automatic Replenishment System.
ASC
Advertising Standards Council.

Asch Phemonenon
a tendency, first recorded by the psychologist S.E.Asch, for an individual's purchase decisions to be influenced highly by reference groups and group norms. See Group Influences; Reference Group.
Aseptic Packaging
a packaging method developed in Sweden in the 1950s; made of paper, foil and plastic aseptic packaging keeps foods bacteria-free for months without refrigeration. See Packaging; Primary Packaging; Secondary Packaging; Shipping Packaging.

Aspirational Group
a sub-category of a reference group, consisting of individuals (not necessarily known personally) with whom a person desires to be associated. See Associational Group; Contactual Reference Group; Dissociative Reference Group; Membership Group; Reference Groups.
Assemblers
wholesaling firms specialising in the buying of small quantities of farm produce to resell to other firms in bulk; also referred to as the Assembly Market.
Assembly Market
see Assemblers.
Assertiveness
the human characteristic or quality which determines the degree to which individuals are directive and competitive in manner as opposed to non-directive and co-operative. See Social Style.
Asset Transformation
the exchange by a firm of one type of asset for another. For instance, advances in computer and communication technologies which allow organisations to gather information about customer demand rapidly and reliably have enabled them to reduce their inventories. In this way, assets in the form of finished product have been transformed into assets in the form of information.
Asset Turnover
a ratio used to evaluate the profitability of a firm; net sales in a given period are divided by total assets.
Asset-Based Marketing
a marketing approach which uses the knowledge and skills a company has already developed as the basis for growth.
Associational Group
a group, such as a club, society or trade union, or with which a consumer has some association, and which exerts an influence over buying behaviour; the influence of an associational group is usually weaker than that of kinship groups which whom the consumer has closer and stronger ties. See Aspirational Group; Kinship Group; Membership Group; Reference Group.
Associative Learning
the learning which occurs when consumers begin to attach certain qualities or characteristics to a brand. In this way, consumers might associate Singapore Airlines with safety, comfort, reliability and style in air travel but at a premium price.
Assorting
the practice of putting together a wide variety of produce in one location, as in a department store.
Assortment
the range of goods and services offered by a retailer.
Assortment Strategies
options available to a reseller in determining the assortment of products and services to be carried. See Broad Assortment; Deep Assortment; Exclusive Assortment; Scrambled Assortment.
Assumptive Close
a closing technique in which a salesperson simply assumes that the purchaser has agreed to buy the product, and proceeds to write up the order, wrap the merchandise, etc. See Close.
At-Home TV Shopping
a form of non-store retailing in which products are shown on a television screen and presented enthusiastically by an announcer to stimulate impulse purchasing using credit card and telephone. See Non-Store Retailing.
ATC
see Average Total Cost.
ATM
Automatic Telling Machine.
Atmospheres
see Atmospherics.
Atmospherics
the combination of store decor, physical characteristics and amenities provided by a retailer to develop a particular image and attract customers.
Atomistic Competition
see Pure Competition.
Attack Strategy
in competitive situations, a means by which an organisation in a market challenger position attempts to achieve an advantage by taking market share from the market leader. See By-Pass Attack; Encirclement Attack; Flanking Attack; Frontal Attack, Guerrilla Attack.
Attention
the mental application, awareness, consideration or concentration that a company seeks to induce in consumers when it promotes a product.
Attitude Tracking
measuring the degree of satisfaction with a product through an on-going study of consumer attitudes towards it.
Attitude
an enduring favourable or unfavourable feeling, emotion and action tendency towards an issue or subject.
Attitudinal Loyalty
the loyalty displayed by consumers when they repeatedly buy brands they know and trust; their consistent attitudes result in habitual buying behaviour. Also referred to as behavioural loyalty, routinised behaviour, and habit buying, See Behavioural Loyalty; Habit Buying; Routinised Buying Behaviour.
Attitudinal Research
the gathering of data to measure consumers’ attitudes to a product or brand in terms of their knowledge and opinions ot it (cognitive approach), their overall impressions of it (affect approach) and their degree of loyalty to it (behavioural approach).
Attractiveness-Strength Model
A two-dimensional matrix that portrays a company’s products or strategic business units, showing the market or industry attractiveness on one axis and business strength or ability to take advantage of business opportunities on the other. The position of each product or SBU on the matrix provides guidance as to which are best candidates for further investment and growth and which might be eliminated. General Electric’s Attractiveness-Strength Model is a well-known example.
Attribute
see Feature.
Audience
the intended receivers of an advertiser's message.
Audience Attention Probability
the degree to which a target consumer is likely to pay attention to an advertisement in a particular media outlet; for example, the audience attention probability of an advertisement for a new shampoo is likely to be greater in a women's magazine than in a daily newspaper.
Audience Profile, Audience Quality
a measure of the kind and quality of the target consumers likely to be exposed to the advertisement.
Audience Research, Audience Tune-Out
a phenomenon which occurs when relatively large groups of a radio or TV audience drop concentration, or stop listening altogether, for a period; audience tune-out may result from high clutter levels of commercial advertising or station or channel promotions in the non-programming time. See Clutter; Clutter Level.
Audimeter
a mechanical instrument or device for monitoring television usage and program choice (for ratings surveys, etc); colloquially called a people-meter or black box. See Single Source Data.
Audiotext
a relatively new, alternative promotional medium in which an advertiser's recorded message is reached by an interested potential purchaser by telephone. See Alternative Media.
Audimeter
an electronic device to record which particular television channel is tuned to by a household; marketing research firms use audimeters attached to a sample of TV sets to measure national exposure to TV advertisements; commonly referred to as a "peoplemeter" or "black box". See Advertising Effectiveness.
Audit
see Marketing Audit.
Augmented Product
a product enhanced by the addition of related services and benefits, eg. installation, warranty, maintenance and repair services, etc. See Core Product; Tangible Product.
Austrade
the name given to the Australian Trade Commission, the Government’s trade and investment development agency. Through a global network of offices, and with representatives in more than 60 countries, Austrade attempts to assist Australian businesses with trade and investment overseas and promotes foreign investment into Australia.
Australian Advertising Rate and Data Service
a popular media reference guide (commonly called AARDS) subscribed to by advertising agencies, public relations consultancies, etc; the service provides regularly up-dated information on media companies, rates, technical specifications, circulations, readership profiles, etc.

Authorisation
see Brand Authorisation.
Automated Warehouse
a modern, usually single-storeyed, computerised warehouse with advanced materials-handling technologies designed to reduce labour costs and improve inventory control.
Automatic Merchandising
the selling of goods by use of vending machines.
Automatic Replenishment System
a computerised system that analyses inventory levels and lead times and re-orders stock to meet forecast sales needs.
Automatic Response Behaviour
see Routine Response Behaviour.
Automatic Telling Machine
an electronic device, often located at banks and in shopping malls, for dispensing and depositing cash, transferring money from one account to another or checking an account balance; usually referred to as an ATM.
Automatic Vending
see Automatic Merchandising.
Automatic Vending Machine
A form of targeted communication in which an electronic device or technology dispenses, without direct human intervention in the process, commodity items such as stamps, combs, soft-drinks, chocolates and potato chips.
Autonomic Decision
a purchase decision made by either spouse independently. See Syncratic Decision.
Available Market
that part of the total market which professes an interest in a product, can afford to purchase it, and is not prevented by access barriers from reaching it. See Access Barriers; Market Entry Barriers.
Average Cost
the average cost per unit of production of a set or group of products; the total cost of production divided by the total number produced; the Unit Cost. See Long-Run Average Cost; Short-Run Average Cost.
Average Cost Pricing
a pricing method in which a mark-up for profit is added to the average cost of production. See Cost-Plus Pricing.
Average Fixed Cost
a measure of cost control, calculated by dividing the total fixed cost of the goods produced by the number of units sold.
Average Revenue
a measure used in price setting, calculated by dividing the total revenue by the number of units sold.
Average Total Cost
a measure of cost control, calculated by dividing the total cost of the goods produced by the number of units sold.
Average Variable Cost
a measure of cost control, calculated by dividing the total variable cost of the goods produced by the number of units sold.
Aversive Factors
qualities about people that turn others against them and may prevent the development of successful working relationships.
Awareness
see Attention.
Awareness Set
the brands of which a consumer is aware; normally, the awareness set will be less than the total set of brands. See Choice Set; Evoked Set; Inept Set; Inert Set.

Marketing dictionary - B

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Baby Boomers
the generation of people born between 1946 and 1959, a period of explosive population growth in Australia.
Baby Bouncers
the generation of people who are the children of the "baby boomers"; also referred to as Yuppie Puppies. See Baby Boomers.
Backward Integration
a strategy for growth in which a company seeks ownership of, or some measure of control over, its suppliers. See Forward Integration; Horizontal Integration.
Backward Invention
an product strategy in international marketing in which a company produces a less complex version of its domestic product for developing and less-developed countries.
Backward Marketing Channel
see Reverse Marketing Channel.
Bad Question
in a survey or questionnaire, any question that distorts the fundamental communication between a researcher and respondent; examples of bad questions are those that are incomprehensible, unanswerable, ask for a response to more than one issue, or are ‘loaded’ in that they lead the respondent in a particular way.
Bagman
an eighteenth century term of British origin for a salesperson.
Bait Advertising
an advertising practice, now illegal in Australia, in which attractive, low-priced goods, few or any of which are actually in stock, are advertised to attract purchasers to a store or selling place.
Bait and Switch Pricing
advertising an item at an unrealistically low price as "bait" to lure customers to a store or selling place and then attempting to steer them to a higher-priced item.
Bait Pricing
advertising an item at an unrealistically low price as "bait" to lure customers to a store or selling place. See Bait and Switch Pricing.
Balance of Payments
the difference between the payments made to foreign nations and the receipts from foreign nations in a given period.
Balance of Trade
the difference between the value of the goods and services sold to foreign nations (exports) and the value of the goods and services bought from foreign nations (imports) in a given period.
Balance Sheet Close
a closing technique in which the salesperson assists an indecisive prospect to list on paper the "arguments for" and "arguments against" a particular product choice. Also known as the Benjamin Franklin Close. See Close.
Balanced Product Portfolio
a product strategy in which a firm maintains an even combination of new, growing and mature products. See Product Life Cycle
Balanced Tenancy
an attribute of a shopping centre or shopping mall which comprises a mix of retail stores carefully selected to complement each other.
Balloon Test
in marketing research, a projective interviewing technique in which respondents are presented with a cartoon strip in which there is a blank balloon above the heads of one or more of the characters; respondents are asked to write inside the balloons what they believe the characters are saying. Also referred to as a Cartoon Test.
Banded Offers
see Banded Pack.
Banded Pack
a consumer sales promotion in which two related product items are banded together and sold at a special price. See Price Packs.
Banner Advertising
online advertising that appears – usually as a narrow strip – across the top of many websites.
Bar Chart
a two-dimensional graphic which shows data, in both absolute and relative magnitudes, in the form of vertical or horizontal bars. See Line Chart; Pie Chart.
Bar Code
an arrangement of lines and spaces in code form used to identify a product by style, size, price, quality, quantity, etc. The code, read by a scanning device, is used in marketing decision-making, including stock control and inventory level adjustment.
Bar Code Scanner
see Bar Code; Scanner Systems.
Bargain
anything that is purchased cheaply; an agreement made between two parties in which both have obligations; to negotiate the terms of a sale or business agreement for the purpose of satisfying the parties involved.
Bargaining
trading off one thing against another in coming to an agreement or bringing a business deal to its conclusion.
Bargaining Power
the strength or influence one party has in a business negotiation; the capacity of one party to dominate by virtue of its size or position or by a combination of personality and negotiating tactics.
Barriers to Entry
see Access Barriers; Market Entry Barrier.
Barter
an exchange in which one good is traded for another; money is not involved.
Bartering
exchanging goods for others of equal value.
Base-Point Pricing
a pricing method in which customers are charged freight costs from a base point; the base-point may be chosen arbitrarily, but the location of one of the company's manufacturing plants is commonly used. Also called Basing-Point Pricing. See Delivered Pricing; Phantom Freight.
Basic Accounting Equation
the balancing relationship between a firm's assets and the sum of its liabilities and equity.
Basic Stock
the level of inventory required to meet the desired service standard taking into account the expected rate of depletion and the order lead time.
Basing-Point Pricing
see Base-Point Pricing.
Bachelor Stage
the first stage of the family life cycle. See Family Life Cycle.
Battle of the Brands
a term used in reference to the often intense competition between manufacturers' brands, wholesalers' brands and retailers' brands. See Distributor's Brand; Manufacturer's Brand.
Bayesian Decision Theory
a statistical approach to decision making characterized by assigning probabilities to any degree of belief about the state of the world.
BCG
abbrev. Boston Consulting Group.
BEA
abbrev. Break-Even Analysis.
Behaviour
in marketing, the way a customer acts towards a product or brand. See Behavioural Segmentation.
Behaviour Intention Scale
a method of rating or predicting the likelihood of a prospective customer to purchase a particular product within a given time.
Behaviour Segmentation
see Behavioural Segmentation
Behavioural Data
information that describes the needs, urges, drives, desires and impulses which direct a consumer’s spending.
Behavioural Segmentation
the division of a market into groups according to their knowledge of, and behaviour towards, a particular product. Behavioural dimensions commonly used to segment markets include benefits sought, user status, usage rate, loyalty status and buyer readiness stage. Also called Behaviouristic Segmentation. See Segmentation Bases.
Behavioural Variables
factors related to the way in which an individual or organisation may act which may affect the outcome of an arrangement or process.
Behaviouristic Segmentation
see Behavioural Segmentation.
Beliefs
the notions or values of people in a community or society which have a high degree of persistence. See Core Beliefs; Secondary Beliefs; Values.
Bells and Whistles
the optional features built into a basic product to satisfy or impress as large as possible a number of buyers; the term "plain vanilla" is an equivalent slang term used to describe a product with only the most basic features.
Belongers
a term used by SRI International in the first version of their Values and Lifestyle study (VALS 1) to describe one of the nine groups identified in the U.S. population; Belongers, the largest group, comprises middle-aged, middle-class people who are concerned with, and influenced by, the opinions of others in their marketplace behaviour. See Values and Lifestyles.
Belongingness and Love Needs
the desire for love and affection from others. See Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Below-the-Line Advertising
all advertising by means other than the five major media - the press, television, radio, cinema and outdoors; below-the-line advertising employs a variety of methods - direct mail, sponsorship, merchandising, trade shows, exhibitions, sales literature and catalogues, and so on. See Above-the-Line Advertising.
Benchmark
a standard, or point of reference, against which something else may be measured. See Benchmarking.
Benchmarking
comparing the performance of an organisation’s products or processes with those of competitors or a recognised world leader, usually in another industry; typical performance measures include costs, productivity, process waste, and order processing time.
Benefit and Lifestyle Study
an approach to market segmentation in which data are gathered to enable consumers to be grouped according to the similarities and differences in their needs.
Benefit Concept
the sum of the bundle of benefits in a consumer’s mind which a particular product or brand delivers. For example, for some plane travellers, the benefit concept of a particular airline might be simply speedy arrival at the desired destination, while for others it might include safety, in-flight entertainment and superior service.
Benefit Segmentation
the division of a market into groups or segments on the basis of the particular benefit sought by each group from a product. See Behaviouristic Segmentation.
Benefit-in-Reserve Close
see Incentive Close.
Benefits Sought
the specific advantages looked for in products when buyers purchase them. See Behaviouristic Segmentation.
Benefits Sought Segmentation
see Benefit Segmentation.
Benjamin Franklin Close
see Balance Sheet Close.
BEP
Break-Even Point.
Beta Coefficient
in statistical analysis, an estimated regression coefficient that has been recalculated to have a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1; use of the beta coefficient allows direct comparisons between independent variables to determine which has the most influence on the dependent variable.
Better Mousetrap Fallacy
the mistaken notion that if a company produces a technically better product than its competitors it will be more successful in the marketplace.
Bias
see Interviewer Bias.
Bid-Rigging
an illegal pricing practice in which firms that are tendering for the supply of an item collude in order to maintain high prices for their products or to share work between them.
Bidding
a pricing method in which selling organisations bid for a buyer's custom; the bid is the seller's price offer.
Big Mac Scale
an approach to rating the cost of living in various economic sectors based on the percentage of weekly wage needed to buy a McDonald’s Bic Mac hamburger.
Bill-Back Advertising Allowance
see Bill-Back Allowance.
Bill-Back Allowance
a form of trade promotion in which retailers receive allowances from a manufacturer for featuring its product or brand in designated advertisements or displays; in effect, the retailer charges the manufacturer for this promotion.
Bill-Back Display Allowance
see Bill-Back Allowance.
Billings
the amount of money spent on media buying by advertising agencies on behalf of clients.
Biogenics
the study of characteristics, such as age, gender and race, that individuals possess at birth and which are determinants of the differences in their needs.
BIP
Business Intelligence Program
Bird Dogs
individuals, sometimes junior salespeople, who seek out sales leads and prospects for more experienced salespeople. See Prospects; Sales Leads; Spotters.
Birdyback
a system of transportation requiring the transfer of containers from truck to aeroplane. See Fishyback; Piggyback.
Bivariate Regression Analysis
in statistical analysis, a technique that uses information about the relationship between a dependent and an independent variable, combining it with the algebraic formula for a straight line to make predictions.
Black Box
a colloquial term for an electronic TV audience measurement system; an audiometer; a "people-meter".
Black Box Model (of Consumer Behaviour)
a model used in the study of the buying behaviour of consumers; the model assumes that what takes place in the consumer's "black box" of the consumer's mind can be inferred from a study of observed stimuli and responses.
Black Economy
the portion of a nation’s economic activity which does not appear in official records or statistics.
Black Money
revenue which is earned by an individual or company which is not officially recorded for taxation purposes.
Blanket Branding
see Family Brand.
Blanket Contract
see Blanket Purchase Order.
Blanket Purchase Order
a purchase arrangement in which a buyer contracts with a supplier to take delivery of an agreed quantity of goods at a specified price over a fixed period of time; also called a Blanket Contract.
Blocked Markets
markets, especially in foreign countries, to which entry permission is refused, or in which it is not possible to compete on reasonable terms.
Blue Sky Laws
legislation intended to prevent sales to gullible investors.
Body Copy
the descriptive paragraphs in a print advertisement (as opposed to the headlines.
Body Language
a nonverbal form of communication in which posture, facial expressions, hand movements, etc, convey a message from sender to receiver. See Nonverbal Communication; Kinesic Communication; Proxemic Communication; Tactile Communication.
Bonus Plan
a scheme for additional payments to salespeople to be made at the discretion of management for a particular sales achievement.
Boomerang Method
hurling a buyer's objection back as a reason for buying. If, for example, a buyer objects that he or she cannot afford the item, a salesperson might answer, "Yes, but can you afford not to buy it?"; sometimes referred to as the Translation Method. See Objections.
Booz, Allen and Hamilton
a U.S. based marketing consulting firm, especially recognised for its studies of failure rates in new product introductions.
Boredom Avoidance
a term used to describe an approach to new product introduction or product differentiation; that is, a new variety of a product may be introduced merely to give consumers more choice; useful when the cost of introducing a new product is low.
Boston Consulting Group
a Harvard-based marketing consultancy, best known for its portfolio analysis technique devised in 1970. See Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis Matrix.
Boston Consulting Group Advantage Matrix
a marketing planning tool devised by the Harvard-based Boston Consulting Group; taking as its axes economies of scale and opportunities for differentiation, it indicates an organisation's optimal competitive strategy.
Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis Matrix
a tool, devised by the Harvard-based Boston Consulting Group, for use in product and strategic business unit (SBU) planning; the matrix, based on the percentage rate of market growth per annum and the market share relative to the market leader, allows the planner to categorise each product or SBU as a "Cash Cow", "Star", "Question Marks" (or "Problem Child") or "Dog", and to develop marketing strategies appropriate to each category's propensity to generate, or use, cash. See Cash Cows; Dogs; Question Marks; Stars.
Bottom Line
a colloquial term meaning "profits".
Bottom-Up Approach to Planning
a participative approach to planning in which there is involvement at all levels; plans are developed at the lower levels of an organisation and funnelled up through consecutive levels until they reach top management. See Top-Down Approach to Planning.
Bottom-Up Approach to Promotion Budgeting
an approach to promotion budgeting which takes as its basis the tasks that are thought to be necessary to achieve the specified promotion objectives; these tasks are costed and the total cost, when approved by top management, is the budget. See Objective and Task Budgeting; Top-Down Approach to Promotion Budgeting.
Bottom-Up Approach to Sales Forecasting
an approach to sales forecasting which takes market conditions rather than the company's objectives as its basis; sometimes referred to as the "build-up" method. See Top-Down Approach to Sales Forecasting.
Bottom-Up Budgeting
an approach to budget-setting in which managers determine how much is needed to achieve each of their planned objectives; these amounts are then combined to establish the total operating budget. See Top-Down Budgeting.
Boundary-Spanning Role
the difficult dual role played by sales managers and senior account managers who, in developing close relationships with clients, must provide the link between company and customer.
Brain Drain
a term used to describe the effect on a nation when significant numbers of its best and brightest people are attracted to more highly-paid jobs in foreign countries.
Brainstorming
an idea generating process commonly used in new product development; the process encourages open communication and full participation by group members, while withholding any criticism. Evaluation takes place after all ideas have been expressed. See Idea Generation; New Product Development.
Brand
a name, sign, symbol or design, or some combination of these, used to identify a product and to differentiate it from competitors' products.
Brand Acceptance
see Brand Loyalty.
Brand Advertising
the featuring of a particular brand in media vehicles in order to build strong, long-term consumer attitudes towards it.
Brand Association
the particular thoughts and impressions that a consumer has of a brand; marketers usually attempt to create mental associations that are favourable and strong, and that differentiate it from competing brands.
Brand Authorisation
the obtaining of distribution and display, usually of a consumer packaged good, through a retail outlet.
Brand Awareness
see Brand Familiarity.
Brand Bonding
building a strong relationship between a brand and consumers in order to grow and retain custom.
Brand Category Extension
see Brand Extension.
Brand Competitors
competing brands of products which can satisfy a consumer's wants almost equally as well as each other. See Competitors.
Brand Concept
the image that the brand sponsor wants a particular brand to have; the desired positioning of the brand in the market and in the minds of consumers.
Brand Conviction
the strong attitude or attachment consumers have towards a particular brand.
Brand Development Index
a ratio of brand consumption intensity to population intensity by country, state, city, region, etc.
Brand Dilution
the weakening of the power of a brand which may occur when a company has too many brands and spreads its resources too thinly in trying to support them all.
Brand Equity
a term used in reference to the value of a well-known brand; brand equity can greatly affect the buyout price of a company.
Brand Establishment
the building-up of a brand in the introductory stage of the product's life cycle; brand establishment involves developing an effective distribution network for the product and convincing consumers to buy it. See Introductory Stage of the Product Life Cycle.
Brand Extension
the use of a well-known brand name to launch a new product, of an unrelated category, into the market; also called Franchise Extension.
Brand Familiarity
the awareness consumers have of a particular brand.
Brand Family
See Family Brand.
Brand Franchise
the loyalty that attaches to a well-managed brand. See Brand Extension.
Brand Harvesting
decreasing marketing expenditure on a brand to zero, or to a minimal level, when sales and profits begin to decline, relying on its purchase by loyal customers to sustain it; brand harvesting (which often precedes total elimination of the brand) is usually undertaken to free up cash with which to pursue new market opportunities.
Brand Identification Decisions
decisions relating to the type of brand to give to a product; four brand identity alternatives are available - single brand name ("Pal" dog food), product-line brand name (Sears' Kenmore home appliance range), corporate brand name ("Kellogg's Sustain") and corporate family name ("Heinz Baked Beans"). See Individual Brand; Family Brand; Corporate Branding, Product-Line Brand Name; Single Brand Name.
Brand Identity
see Brand Image.
Brand Image
the feelings, moods, emotions and connotations evoked by a brand. Also referred to as Brand Identity.
Brand Insistence
the stage of brand loyalty where the buyer will accept no alternative and will search extensively for the required brand. See Brand Preference; Brand Recognition.
Brand Label
a label which gives the brand name of the product.
Brand Leveraging
broadening a company's product range by introducing additional forms or types of products under a brand name which is already successful in another category. Also called Product Leveraging, Brand Extension and Franchise Extension.
Brand Licensing
the leasing of the use of a brand to another company.
Brand Life Cycle
a concept, building on the product life cycle concept, which states that brands also have a life cycle - introduction, growth, maturity, decline - and that particular brand management strategies are appropriate at each stage. See Product Life Cycle.
Brand Loyalists
consumers who remain loyal to a brand over a long period of time. See Brand Loyalty; Brand Promiscuity; Brand Switching.
Brand Loyalty
a measure of the degree to which a buyer recognises, prefers and insists upon a particular brand; brand loyalty results from continued satisfaction with a product considered important and gives rise to repeat purchases of products with little thought but with high-involvement. See High-Involvement Products.
Brand Manager
an individual given responsibility for planning and co-ordinating the firm's marketing activities related to a single brand.
Brand Map
see Perceptual Mapping.
Brand Mark
the part of a brand which can be seen but not spoken; the logo, symbol or design that forms part of the brand. See Brand Name.
Brand Monopoly
a circumstance in which a particular brand dominates a market.
Brand Name
the part of a brand which can be spoken; it may include words, letters or numbers. See Brand Mark.
Brand Name Selection
the choosing of a brand name. See Brand Name Selection Process.
Brand Name Selection Process
a systematic process for the development of a brand name that will increase a product’s chances of success; the process usually begins with a review of the product’s benefits, target market and planned marketing strategies, and will include such considerations as its likelihood to infringe on existing brand names, the ease with which it can be translated into foreign languages, and the degree to which it can be legally protected.
Brand Parity
the similarity of one brand to another; in mature product categories, there are often few distinct differences between brands and organisations attempt to reduce parity and differentiate their brands with advertising and sales promotions.
Brand Personality
the feeling that people have about a brand as distinct from what the product can actually do.
Brand Positioning
the development of the way in which a company wishes its brand to be perceived by consumers relative to competing brands; the positioning task consists of identifying the brand’s competitive advantages and communicating the chosen position to the market.
Brand Positioning Map
a two-dimensional chart used as a tool in brand positioning; the market positions of major competing brands are plotted on the map according to key attributes or criteria, such as price, quality and extent of service offered, in order to identify market gaps that might be exploited.
Brand Power
the force a particular brand has to dominate its category through the magnitude of its recognition.
Brand Preference
the stage of brand loyalty at which a buyer will select a particular brand but will choose a competitor's brand if the preferred brand is unavailable. See Brand Insistence; Brand Recognition.
Brand Promiscuity
consumer buying behaviour marked by an absence of brand loyalty. See Brand Loyalty.
Brand Protection
legislation forbidding other firms from using a company's registered brand names or brand marks without permission.
Brand Recognition
the stage of brand loyalty at which the buyer is aware of the existence of a particular brand but has no preference for it. See Brand Insistence; Brand Preference.
Brand Reinforcement
activity associated with getting consumers who have tried a particular brand to become repeat purchasers and with attracting new users; brand reinforcement is a key objective of the growth stage of the product's life cycle. See Growth Stage of the Product Life Cycle.
Brand Repositioning
changing the appeal of a brand in order for it to attract new market segments; brand repositioning may or may not involve modifying the product.
Brand Revitalisation
strategy employed when a brand has reached maturity and profits begin to decline; approaches to revitalisation may include one or all of market expansion, product modification or brand repositioning.
Brand Revival
the resurrection of a brand that is being harvested or which has previously been eliminated; brand revival, where the brand name is still strong, is often a less costly strategy than the creation of a new brand and may provide a firm with a significant advantage in a mature market.
Brand Sponsor
the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer who owns the brand. See Distributor's Brand; Generic Brand; Manufacturer's Brand.
Brand Strategies
decision-making for the effective handling of brands; three general branding strategies are available - a single brand for all of the organisation's products, family branding, or the use of individual brand names for all products. See Corporate Branding; Family Brand; Individual Brand Name.
Brand Switching
the changing of support and conviction for one brand to a competing brand. See Brand Loyalty.
Brand Vision
an organisation’s clear view of what its brand is now and what it would like it to become in the future.
Branding
see Brand Strategies.
Branding Decisions
see Brand Strategies.
Branding Strategies
see Brand Strategies.
Breadth of Product Line
see Width of Product Line.
Breakout
in logistics management, the extracting of goods from large shipments from a manufacturer and distributing them through the channels in smaller quantities, often combining different sizes and styles.
Break-Even
see Break-Even Analysis; Break-Even Point; Break-Even Pricing.
Break-Even Analysis
see Break-Even Pricing.
Break-Even Point
the point at which total revenue is equal to total cost.
Break-Even Pricing
a method of pricing based on a determination of the number of units of a product that must be sold at each given price in order to recover the total cost of production.
Breakthrough Opportunities
opportunities that are seen by innovative firms which develop hard-to-imitate marketing strategies that are very profitable for a long time; less creative firms adopt risk-avoiding "me-too" strategies. See Follow-the-Leader Strategy.
Bribe
money offered to procure an action or decision in favour of the giver; bribery is an illegal business practice in most countries.
Bridge Buying
a practice in retailing in which buyers purchase enough of a supplier’s product during periods when discounts are being offered to see them through until the next discounting period. Also referred to as Forward Buying. See Off-Invoice Allowance.
Brief
in advertising, a document given by a manufacturer or supplier to an agency to guide creation of an advertisement; typically, the document will outline the features and benefits of the product, the desired positioning in the market and the planned marketing strategies.
Brinkmanship
a term used in negotiating in which one party bluffs or pushes the other to the very limit on price, terms, conditions, etc and refuses to concede further; the second party must call the bluff at the risk of losing the business.
Broad Assortment
an assortment strategy in which a reseller decides to carry a wide range of related product lines. See Assortment Strategies; Deep Assortment; Exclusive Assortment; Scrambled Assortment.
Broadening Concept
the extension of marketing as a business philosophy to encompass the marketing activities of non-profit organisations. See Non-Profit Marketing.
Brochure
a leaflet, pamphlet, booklet or similar printed publication which provides information about an organisation and its products.
Brochureware
a disparaging term used to describe static internet websites that show or list the goods and services an organisation offers without allowing interactivity. In other words, the sites are simply a form of brochure.
Broker
a marketing intermediary or middleman between buyer and seller; an agent. See Agent.
Browngoods
a classification of consumer durables which includes television sets, radios and hi-fi equipment. See Whitegoods.
Brush-Off
an unsatisfactory approach adopted by some companies to customer complaints; in this approach, the company simply dismisses the customer abruptly.
BU
Bottom-Up. See Bottom-Up Budgeting; Bottom-Up Approach to Sales Forecasting.
Buddy System
an on-the-job sales training method in which an experienced salesperson is responsible for the training of a new salesperson. See Curbside Training; Formal Training; On-the-Job Training.
Budget
a plan of estimated income and expenditure, or of the amount needed and available to carry out a planned business activity.
Budget Determination
see Advertising Budget Determination.
Budgeting
the process of financial planning of income and expenditure for the firm's various activities - marketing, promotion, advertising, personal selling, etc.
Budgeting Models
see Computer Modelling.
Buffer Stock
Build Strategy
decision-making aimed at increasing market penetration of existing products into existing markets or new markets or both.
Built-In Obsolescence
the deliberate design of a product in a way in which some component will break down or some feature become out-dated so that purchasers will consider buying a newer model.
Bundled Pricing
see Bundling.
Bundling
the practice of offering two or more products or services as a single package at a special price; also referred to as Bundled Pricing. See Unbundling.
Burst Advertising Expenditure
a concentration of advertising expenditure over a limited time period. - See Drip Advertising Expenditure.
Business Analysis
a stage in the new product development process in which the information gathered in the screening, concept development and testing and marketing planning stages is used to produce break-even and return-on-investment projections. See New Product Development.
Business Buyer Behaviour
the way in which organisational buyers act or behave when making purchase decisions. See Business Buying Process.
Business Buying Process
Like consumers, the decisions organisational buyers make are affected by a range of influences: (i) external influences consisting of marketing stimuli and environmental stimuli (technological, economic, political, social and cultural) factors; (ii) internal influences such as organisational culture, interpersonal and individual differences within the buying group, and the degree of complexity of the buying task; and (iii) the response to these influences (that is, what is bought, in what quantity, from whom, and when.) Marketers study this complex process to understand which influences have greatest impact on the decision-making in any given situation. See Business Buyer Behaviour.
Business Conduct Guidelines
sets of rules or ethical standards, usually compiled by management, under an organisation wishes to conduct its business; such guidelines usually include the ways in which the company expects its employees to treat its customers and behave towards its competitors and other industry entities.
Business Customers
see Business Market.
Business Cycles
historical patterns of prevailing economic conditions - prosperity, recession, depression and recovery.
Business District
a section of a city, suburb or other geographic location with a high density of commercial organisations. See Central Business District; Neighbourhood Business District; Trade Area.
Business Guide
a journal, periodical, magazine or similar publication containing news and information about the size, product range, personnel, etc. of companies in an industry.
Business Intelligence
in marketing support systems, any information relevant to the operations of an organisation and the markets it serves.
Business Intelligence Program
a continuously evolving data-gathering program in which a company sources and analyses accurate and reliable data about its industry and its present and potential competitors in an attempt to develop and maintain a competitive advantage.
Business Market
government departments as well as manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and similar commercial enterprises that purchase goods and services needed for their operations. Also referred to as Business Customers
Business Mix
the combination of businesses in which a firm is engaged.
Business Plan
a blueprint for building a company, containing a definition of the company's mission, identified opportunities, objectives, strategies and action plans and control and evaluation measures.
Business Portfolio
the mix of strategic business units and products that make up a company’s total operations.
Business Portfolio Analysis Matrix
a tool used in business analysis as a means of classifying a firm's products or business units for strategic planning purposes. See Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis Matrix; General Electric Strategic Business Portfolio Planning Grid.
Business Strength
a measure of the ability a firm has to compete successfully in a particular market.
Business-To-Business Marketing
see Business Market; Industrial Marketing.
Business-to-Business Products
goods and services purchased by organisations for use in producing other products or in operating their businesses.
Buy Classes
buying situations categorised according to the prior experience of the buyer with the product and supplier; buy classes can be classified as straight rebuys, modified rebuys and new tasks. See Modified Rebuy; New Task Buying; Straight Rebuy.
Buy-Back
in international marketing, a practice in which organisations sell plant, equipment or technology to overseas firms and agree to take payment in the form of finished products. Also referred to as Compensation.
Buyer
the individual who handles the actual purchase in a buying decision; a purchasing officer. See Buying Centre.
Buyer Action Theory
a traditional point of view holding that a prospect buys after being guided through certain mental processes by a salesperson. See AIDA Concept; Buyer Resolution Theory; Formula Approach.
Buyer Behaviour
the study of consumers and organisations in relation to their purchase decisions. See Consumer Behaviour; Organisational Buying Behaviour.
Buyer Decision Process
the stages through which buyers pass as they move from recognition of a need to the actual purchase of a product and experience the feelings which accompany that; these progressive stages are often cited as need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behaviour. See Consumer Decision Process.
Buyer Dissonance
see Cognitive Dissonance.
Buyer Intention Forecast
a method of predicting future demand for a product by asking potential buyers for their likely requirements.
Buyer Involvement
a measure of the time and effort a buyer is prepared to devote to the purchase of a particular item. See High-Involvement Products; Low-Involvement Products.
Buyer Readiness Stage
the state of preparedness or willingness in which an individual consumer may be in regard to the purchase of a particular product; the stages are commonly listed as awareness; knowledge; liking; preference; conviction and purchase. Also referred to as Buyer Readiness State.
Buyer Readiness State
see Buyer Readiness Stage.
Buyer Role
In the buying process, the part played by the actual purchasers of a product as distinct from the users or the person who authorises payment. See Buyer; Buying Centre.
Buyer Resolution Theory
the idea that a buyer decides to purchase only after mentally resolving five specific issues - need, product, source, price, and timing.
Buyer Socialisation
the learning which individuals do from their parents, peers and sub-cultural groups which influence their later buying behaviour.
Buyer's Market
a market in which there is an abundance of a particular good or service for sale.
Buyer-Seller Dyad
the two-way flow of communication between buyer and seller.
Buyer-Seller Interdependence
the close relationship between buyers and sellers, especially in organisational markets, where buyers become highly dependent on sellers for assured supply and delivery.
Buying Allowance
a trade sales promotion in which buyers are offered a price reduction for each carton, case, etc. purchased during the period of the promotion. See Allowances.
Buying Centre
everyone within an organisation who participates in a buying decision; categories of participants within the buying centre are commonly referred to as users, influencers, deciders, buyers and gatekeepers. See Buyers; Deciders; Gatekeepers; Influencers; Users.
Buying Committee
a group within a retailing organisation or chain which has responsibility for the purchase of merchandise for resale.
Buying Cycle
the time taken by an organisation to complete its decision to buy.
Buying Decision Process
see Buyer Decision Process.
Buying Power
the resources, especially financial, that customers have at a given time.
Buying Power Index
a tool developed in the U.S. for estimating the buying power of a district or region; the approach uses a mathematical formula based on three factors: the proportion of the national population in the region; its share of the nation’s total disposable personal income, and its percentage of total retail sales.
Buying Process
see Buyer Decision Process.
Buying Signals
signs or indications, verbal or nonverbal, that tell a salesperson that the buyer is ready to buy.
Buying Situations
see Buy Classes.
By-Pass Strategy
One of five main competitive strategies available to a market challenger, a by-pass strategy is an indirect means of seeking advantage in which a company seeks to take market share from a strong market leader by avoiding confrontation by targeting new geographic markets or diversifying into other unrelated products or new technologies. See Attack Strategies.
By-Product
a secondary product produced during the process of manufacturing another.
By-Product Pricing
a pricing method used in situations where a saleable by-product results in the manufacturing process. If the by-product has little value, and is costly to dispose of, it will probably not affect the pricing of the main product; if, on the other hand, the by-product has significant value, the manufacturer may derive a competitive advantage by charging a lower price for its main product.

Marketing dictionary - C

2009-12-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

C-Type Response
a response to an advertisement or an advertising campaign which is immediately obvious. See S-Type Response.
CAD
abbrev. Computer-Aided Design.
Call
a visit to a client or prospective buyer by a sales representative to gather information, make a sales presentation, secure an order, or provide service.
Call Centre
an organisation established for telemarketing operations, either out-going or incoming or both.
Call Planning
the arrangement of a sales representative's visits to buyers into an orderly sequence, the setting of objectives, and the formulation of strategies for each call.
Call Report
a written record of sales calls made by a representative for submission to a supervisor. See Call.
Call-Back Approach
making a second or subsequent attempt to sell to a particular buyer, usually presenting the product from an entirely new angle. See Call.
CALLPLAN
an interactive computer program for determining the optimal number of calls to be made on each of a salesperson's accounts. See Call.
Caller-ID Technology
see Calling Number Display.
Calling Number Display
the display of a caller’s number on a telephone so that the subscriber can see who is calling before the phone is answered; sometimes called Caller-ID Technology.
CAM
Computer-Assisted Manufacturing.
Campaign
a related selection and execution of IMC activities to achieve marketing communication objectives.
Canned Approach
see Stimulus-Response Approach.
Cannibalisation
the loss of sales of an existing product to a new offering in the product line. See Planned Cannibalisation; Unplanned Cannibalisation.
Capital Items
long-lived business assets of a firm; these items usually include buildings, plant and equipment.
Capitalist System
see Free Market System.
Captioned Photograph
a photograph with a brief description of its contents, frequently issued by public relations personnel with news releases or feature articles.
Captive Market
a marketing situation in which purchasers have no choice but to buy from a single supplier.
Captive Product
a product made specifically to be used with another, such as a refill with a ball-point pen, a blade with a razor, ink cartridges with a printer, batteries with a torch.
Captive Product Pricing
a method of pricing the captive element of a product such as a razor or a ball-point refill; often the main product is sold below cost when high profits are expected on the captive component. See Captive Product; Captive Service.
Captive Service
a service which depends upon another major service for its use, and which can be priced separately. For example, a motel chain may offer accommodation at a low price when it expects to make high profits on its captive services such as mini-bar or restaurant. See Captive Product; Captive Product Pricing.
Captive Service Pricing
also referred to as Two-Part Pricing, this pricing method allows an organisation to charge a fixed fee plus a fee for usage. For instance, a telecommunications company may charge a fee for installation and connection to its Pay-TV service plus a variable rate for usage, the captive element of the service. See Captive Product; Captive Service.
Capture Site
a web page that requires viewers to give name, address and other details before access is granted; an often illegal or legally questionable tactic in which organisations gather names and addresses of interested consumers so that they can micro-target them with their selling efforts.
Card-Reading Telephone
a form of electronic dispensing machine; a telephone that allows customers to use a credit card to make calls and/or to receive and deposit cash.
Carload Freight Rate
a special rate offered to companies by railways to encourage them to ship in carload (c.l.) rather than less-than-carload (l.c.l.) quantities.
Carrying Costs
costs associated with maintaining inventory, such as financing, storage, insurance and obsolescence.
Carryover Effect in Advertising
the rate at which the effectiveness of an advertising campaign diminishes with the passing of time; for example, an advertising campaign this month may have a carryover effect of .50 next month.
Cartel
a group of firms (or nations) attempting to act as a monopoly to control the market price. See Collusion; Collusion Pricing.
Case Allowance
discount allowed on products sold to retailers to encourage them to purchase in larger quantities. See Allowances.
Cash-and-Carry Wholesaler
a wholesale firm that carries a limited line of fast-moving goods which it sells to small retailers for cash; usually, it does not deliver.
Cash Cow
a product or strategic business unit within the organisation's mix which is characterised by high market share and low market growth; a Cash Cow produces the revenue required to develop and support less successful or newer products. See Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis Matrix; Dogs; Question Marks; Stars.
Cash Discount
a reduction in price offered to a buyer in return for prompt settlement of account. See Discount.
Cash Flow
the money required by a company to meet expenses in a given period.
Cash Rebate
money refunded to customers who buy merchandise from retailers within a specified time; the rebate allows dealers to clear inventories without cutting list price. For example, a new car dealer might announce that everyone who purchases a certain vehicle in the current month at the regular price of $25,000 will receive a cash rebate of $2,000.
Cash Refund Offer
a sales promotion tool in which consumers are offered a cash incentive to buy; a small part of the purchase price is refunded when a coupon attached to the product is returned to the manufacturer; also referred to as a Cash-Back Offer or Cash Rebate. See Cash-Back Offer; Cash Rebate
Cash-Back Offer
see Cash Rebate; Cash Refund Offer.
Cashing-Out
a cultural shift noted in today’s society in which some people move from the cities to the country or seaside, nostalgically seeking a simpler, more relaxed lifestyle; sometimes referred to as ‘getting out of the rat-race’.
Casual Product Classes
broad classifications of products used to describe markets in everyday terms, eg. the pet food market, the photocopier market, the breakfast foods market, etc. See Standard Product Classes.
Catalogue
a list of items, usually in booklet form, arranged in order and often with a description and price.
Catalogue Marketing
a form of direct marketing in which customers order from catalogues which are sent to them by mail; the ordered goods are shipped directly to them.
Catalogue Showroom
see Catalogue Retailer.
Catalogue Retailer
retailers who mail catalogues to their customers and maintain showrooms where samples of the products for sale are displayed; orders are filled from back-room warehouses. Also called Mail Order House.
Catalogue Selling
see Catalogue Marketing.
Category Killer
a retailer, usually with a large number of outlets, which specialises in one type of merchandise and carries a very wide range; because of its market visibility, size and buying power, the retailer make it difficult for smaller rivals to compete in that category.
Category Manager
an individual responsible for the marketing strategies of all the brands in a product line; also referred to as a Product Line Manager.
Category Management
the development, direction and control of all of the brands in one of an organisation’s entire product lines. See Category Manager; Category Team.
Category Team
a group of people within an organisation – often including a category manager, brand manager, sales planning manager, and marketing information specialist – who manage brand strategy, advertising and sales promotion for one entire product line.
CATI
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing.
CATS
Computer-Assisted Telephone Surveys
Causal Research
marketing research which examines the cause-and-effect relationship among variables.
Cause Marketing
marketing that is related to a special event, such as the Olympic Games, or to a charity or some other form of public good, such as Neighbourhood Watch or Crime Stoppers. Companies that participate in this way may seen as ‘good citizens’ and their products favoured in the marketplace. See Cause-Related Marketing.
Cause-Related Marketing
any form of marketing which links a social cause - such as road-toll reduction, responsible alcohol consumption, or bushfire readiness – to a an organisation’s product.
Caveat Emptor
a Latin term meaning ‘let the buyer beware’. The term implies that it is the customer's responsibility rather than the seller's to ensure that the goods or services offered for sale are able to deliver the desired satisfactions. Caveat Emptor is totally contrary to the marketing concept. See Caveat Vendor.
CBD
Central Business District.
Ceiling Price
see Price Ceiling.
Celebrity Endorsements
see Celebrity Testimonials.
Celebrity Testimonials
advertisements featuring endorsements of products by well-known personalities from the field of entertainment, sport, politics, etc.
Census
the collection of data from all possible sources in a population.
Central Business District
the region of a city where retail and other businesses are concentrated, with a consequent high volume of traffic.
Centralised Exchange System
a system for the trading of goods which utilises a central market. See Decentralised Exchange System.
Centre-of-Influence Method
a prospecting method based on referrals; a salesperson uses influential people (bankers, solicitors, consultants, etc) to obtain leads to potential buyers. See Key Influence People.
Cents-Off Deal
see Price Packs.
CGM
Consumer Generated Media.
Chain of Distribution
see Distribution Chain; Distribution Channel.
Chain-Ratio Method
a method of calculating total market demand for a product in which a base number, such as the total population of a country, is multiplied by several percentages, such as the number in the population above and below certain ages, the number in the population with an interest in motor sport, the number in the population with motor-cycle licences, in order to arrive at a rough estimate of the potential demand for a particular good or service (in this case, say, a new type of motor cycle helmet.)
Chain Store
a group of retail stores, centrally owned and managed, generally carrying the same kind of merchandise.
Channel
see Marketing Channels.
Channel Captain
a member of a marketing channel assuming a leadership role in organising the system in order to lessen conflict, achieve economies of scale and maximise business impact. See Marketing Channels.
Channel Conflict
discord among members in a marketing channel. See Horizontal Channel Conflict; Inter-type Channel Conflict; Marketing Channels; Vertical Channel Conflict.
Channel Design
the way in which the network is constructed to perform product distribution and delivery. See Channel Structure.
Channel Flows
the flow of physical goods and services, title, promotion, information and payment along a channel of distribution. See Marketing Channels.
Channel Leadership
see Channel Captain.
Channel Length
the number of levels of marketing intermediaries used in the channel of distribution. See Direct Marketing Channel; One Level Channel; Two Level Channel; Zero Level Channel.
Channel Levels
see Channel Length.
Channel Mix
the degree of intensiveness selected for the distribution of a product. See Exclusive Distribution; Intensive Distribution; Selective Distribution.
Channel of Distribution
see Marketing Channels.
Channel Partnership
the close linking of two or more members of a distribution channel to achieve individual and mutual objectives. For instance, two members of a channel, each performing a different function in the chain of distribution, may share premises and information.
Channel Power
the circumstances - economic or social that allow one channel member to control another. See Channel Captain.
Channel Strategy
decision-making related to the selection of the most appropriate method of controlling the flow of goods or services from producer to end-user.
Channel Structure
the way in which a network of participating intermediaries is constructed in the delivery chain to perform the required activities to achieve an organisation’s distribution goals and objectives. See Channel Design.
Channel System
a method of linking customers and intermediaries by means of an integrated communication network, providing instant ordering, better cost analysis, better inventory control, etc.
Checkout Scanner
an electronic device which scans customer purchases at point of sale and provides detailed information to management to assist with stock control, inventory management and store performance.
Chlorofluorocarbons
chemical substances believed to deplete the protective ozone layer of the earth's upper atmosphere; used until recently in refrigerants and in numerous aerosol products.
Choice Set
the final set of brands from which a consumer makes a purchase choice after some brands in the awareness set have been considered and rejected. See Awareness Set.
CIF
Cost, Insurance and Freight.
CIF Pricing
see Cost-Insurance-Freight Pricing.
Citizen Action Public
one of the several types of public which may influence an organisation's decision-making; a group within a community which may exert pressure on an organisation to act in a certain way; a pressure group. See Pressure Group; Publics.
Class Rate
the standard charge for the shipment of goods by a carrier.
Classical Conditioning
a phenomenon described by Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), in which a significant stimulus which evokes an innate, often reflexive, response is accompanied by another unrelated stimulus; if the two stimuli are repeatedly paired, an organism will learn to respond in the same way to the second stimulus alone. Also called Pavlovian Conditioning or Respondent Conditioning
Classified Advertising
print media advertising in which similar goods and services are grouped together in categories under appropriate headings.
Clickstream
the path taken by website visitors as they move from one page or site to another when browsing.
Clicksteam Analysis
the analysis of statistical data provided by the path and pattern of visitors to a website as they search for information.
Clincher
an additional inducement offered to a potential buyer by a salesperson in order to close a sale; inducements might include price discounts, rebates, extended credit, or reduced delivery charges.
Close
the critical final stage in the selling process in which the salesperson attempts to obtain the buyer's commitment to the purchase.
Closed Promotion
a sales promotion which is available only to a specific, high-potential target; for example, a bank might wish to target graduating university students and send coupons to them by mail. See Open Promotion.
Closed Territory
an exclusive territory assigned by a manufacturer to a particular reseller; the reseller is required to sell only to customers within the territory. Closed territories are generally illegal under the Trade Practices Act.
Closed-End Question
a question which allows a respondent to choose an answer from a given list. See Open-End Question.
Closing
the act of gaining a commitment from a buyer to a purchase.
Closing Signals
see Buying Signals.
Closing Skill
the ability of a salesperson to obtain a buyer's commitment to the purchase.
Closing Techniques
methods employed by a salesperson when asking a buyer for an order and aimed at obtaining a favourable response...
Club Marketing Program
a marketing program designed specifically for regular and frequent purchasers of a company’s product or for those who have a special interest in it; these consumers, who may be automatically enrolled or invited to apply for club membership, are usually offered special prices or other incentives to reward them for their loyalty.
Cluster Analysis
a multivariate statistical technique used to identify entities with similar characteristics from those without them.
Cluster Sample
a form of probability sample where respondents are drawn from a random sample of mutually exclusive groups (usually geographic areas) within a total population; also called an area sample. See Stratified Sample.
Clutter
All non-programming time on radio and TV; this includes time given to advertsing commercials, station or channel promotions, station or channel identifications and program credits. Excessively high clutter levels may result in audience tune-out. See Clutter Level; Audience Tune-Out.
Clutter Level
see Audience Tune-Out; Clutter; Customer Wearout.
Co-Branding
a brand management strategy in which two or more well-established brand names of different companies appear on the same product.
Cocooning
a cultural or lifestyle trend characterised by the tendency of some people, greatly concerned by the levels of aggression and violence in modern life, to spend much of their time indoors at home; such people are natural targets for products such as movie rentals, Pay-TV and e-magazines.
Cognitive Dissonance
a doubt that surfaces when a buyer becomes aware that an alternative product may offer more desirable benefits than the one purchased. The buyer is anxious, wondering whether the right choice has been made.
Cold Calling
making a sales call on a client without an appointment.
Cold Canvassing
see Cold Calling
Collusion
agreement between a group of companies to fix a common price. See Cartel.
Collusion Pricing
see Collusion.
Combination Branding
emphasising a corporate or family name as well as an individual brand name in product marketing. See Corporate Branding; Family Brand.
Combination Store
a retail outlet which sells a mix of product types, such as groceries and clothing.
Command System
see Planned Economy; Controlled Allocation System.
Commercial
a television advertisement .
Commercial Data
information which can be purchased from marketing research firms which specialise in the collection and analysis of statistics of various kinds, including grocery sales at supermarkets, motor vehicle sales, TV and radio ratings and lifestyles and values of the population.
Commercial Traveller
a late nineteenth century term of American origin for a salesperson.
Commercialisation
the final stage of the new product development process in which the decision is made to put the new product into full scale production and to launch it. See New Product Development; Product Launch.
Commission
a payment made to a salesperson based on a percentage of the value of the goods sold.
Commission Override
a commission paid to a sales manager based on a percentage of his or her salespeople's commissions.
Commodity
see Commodity Product; Commodity Markets.
Commodity Markets
markets typified by the homogeneity of products and a virtual irrelevance of branding.
Commodity Product
a product that cannot be significantly differentiated from competitors' products.
Commodity Rate
a rate which is applied in any situation where freight is product specific rather than based on volume or weight; also called a Special Rate.
Common Carrier
regular, scheduled transportation services such as railways, airlines and trucking lines, available to all users.
Common Market
a group of geographically associated countries limiting trade barriers among member nations and applying common tariffs to products from non-members; also known as regional trading blocks. See European Common Market.
Communicability
the extent to which the benefits of a new product are likely to be noticed and discussed by consumers; a major determinant of the rate of new product adoption.
Communication Effect of Advertising
the influence that an advertisement or some other form of promotional activity might have, is having, or has had, on consumers or on the usage of a product advertised. See Advertising Effectiveness.
Communication Process
the process by which a message, encoded by a sender, is transmitted through a medium to a receiver, who encodes the message and provides feedback.
Communications
see Marketing Communication.
Community Service
as part of their public relations programs, organisations will sometimes engage in community service activities of some kind – for example, the free provision of plastic bags or cardboard cartons for ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ or the uniforms for sporting teams; such activities are designed to create or improve public goodwill.
Community Shopping Centre
a group of independently-owned retail stores, 15 to 50 in number; a community shopping centre will commonly include a branch of a major discount department or variety store, a supermarket, specialty stores and a bank, as well as some professional offices. A community shopping centre is smaller than a regional shopping centre and larger than a neighbourhood shopping centre. See Neighbourhood Shopping Centre; Regional Shopping Centre.
Company Brand Strength
an indicator of the success of an organisation, often measured by the proportion of product-markets in which the organisation has the leading brand.
Company Culture
see Organisational Culture.
Company Demand
the demand for a specific firm’s product as a proportion of the total market demand; also referred to as Selective Demand. See Primary Demand; Selective Demand.
Company Mission
see Corporate Mission.
Company Sales Potential
the maximum level of sales a company can expect to achieve in the forecast period with its present and planned levels of marketing effort and expenditure and the given set of market conditions.
Company Survival
the major objective of a business firm or organisation; a powerful influence on the way the firm or organisation prices its products.
Comparative Advertising
advertising in which a firm names a competitor's product and compares it with its own; also called Comparison Advertising. See Competitive Advertising.
Comparative Influence
one of three types of influence exerted on consumers (with informational influence and normative influence) by reference groups; comparative influence occurs when the reference group provides the means by which consumers compare their beliefs, attitudes and behaviour - the more similarity there is between a consumer's opinions and those of his or her reference group, the greater the comparative influence of that group. See Reference Group; Informative Influence; Normative Influence.
Comparison Advertising
see Comparative Advertising.
Comparison Pricing
a pricing method in which the price for a new product is set by comparing the benefits it offers to those of other products in the same category.
Compatibility
the extent to which a new product requires consumers to adjust to unfamiliar methods of use; a major determinant of the rate of new product adoption. See Adoption Rate Determinants.
Compensation
remuneration for work done on behalf of another.
Compensation (in International Markets)
a situation in which an organisation sells plant, equipment or other technologies to a manufacturer in a foreign country and agrees to take payment in the form of finished product. Also referred to as Buy-Back.
Compensation Method
handling a buyer's objection by admitting the validity of the objection but pointing out some advantage that compensates for it. See Objections.
Compensation Systems
schemes for remunerating salespeople for tasks performed; commonly used systems include straight salary, straight commission, and a combination of salary and incentives.
Competition
see Competitors.
Competition-Based Pricing
see Competition-Oriented Pricing.
Competition-Oriented Pricing
a method of pricing in which a manufacturer's price is determined more by the price of a similar product sold by a powerful competitor than by considerations of consumer demand and cost of production; also referred to as Competition-Based Pricing. See Cost-Plus Pricing; Target Return Pricing; Value Pricing.
Competitive Advantage
that which one firm can do better than another to satisfy consumer needs and wants.
Competitive Advertising
advertising which points out features of a brand which may not be available in other brands but does not directly name a competitor. See Comparative Advertising.
Competitive Analysis
the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of competing firms.
Competitive Attack Strategies
options available for attacking a competitor; these include a frontal attack (head-on), a flanking attack (attack at a point of weakness), an encirclement attack (attack on several fronts at once), a by-pass attack (attack by diversifying into new territories, products or technologies) and a guerilla attack (attack by waging small, intermittent skirmishes).
Competitive Bidding
a process in which buyers request potential suppliers to submit quotations or tenders for a proposed purchase or contract.
Competitive Depositioning
attempting to change the beliefs of buyers about the attributes of a competitor's product; the attempt may be especially useful in cases where buyers generally have an inflated perception of the quality of a competitor's product. See Market Positioning.
Competitive Environment
that part of the company's external environment which consists of other firms vying for patronage of the same market.
Competitive Equilibrium
a market situation of relatively stable competitive position and activity.
Competitive Myopia
marketing short-sightedness in regard to the activity of competitors.
Competitive Niche
a segment in a market in which a company can compete effectively.
Competitive Parity Budgeting
a method of allocating a promotion budget based on matching the activity of a major competitor.
Competitive Parity Pricing
a method of pricing in which an organisation’s prime focus is the prices its competitors are charging for their comparative goods and services.
Competitive Position
an organisation's ranking in its industry by size and business strength; hypothetically, each competitor may be classified as a market leader, market challenger, market follower, or market nicher, according to the market share it holds. See Competitive Situation.
Competitive Scope
the breadth or narrowness of an organisation's focus as measured horizontally by the range of industries, market segments, or geographical regions it targets, or vertically by the degree to which it is integrated.
Competitive Situation
the standing of an organisation in its markets, relative to its competitors, when all players are described in terms of their size, resources, capabilities, product range and quality, marketing strategies, opportunities, goals, intentions, behaviour and similar variables. See Competitive Position.
Competitive Strategy
planning and actions intended to give a company an advantage over its competitors.
Competitors
firms vying for patronage of the same market. See Brand Competitors; Enterprise Competitors; Generic Competitors; Product-Form Competitors; Service-Form Competitors.
Competitor-Centred Company
a company that makes its operational and marketing decisions based primarily on reactions to moves made by its competitors. See Customer-Centred Company; Market-Centred Company.
Complaint System
any organised and efficient method of handling complaints to enhance customer satisfaction and encourage repeat purchasing.
Complementary Product Pricing
the pricing of one product at the optimum level, regardless of cost or profit considerations, so that the demand for another product which is used with it will increase and so maximise the profits from both products together.
Complete Segmentation
the division of a market into segments consisting of individual customers and tailoring a product and marketing program for each. See Custom Marketing; Customised Marketing Mix; Disaggregated Market.
Complex Decision Making
in consumer behaviour, buying which is associated with the purchasing of high-involvement products which are important to the consumer and therefore require considerable thought and effort. Also referred to as Extensive Problem Solving. See High-Involvement Products.
Complexity
the degree of difficulty which a purchaser of a new product has in understanding it; a major determinant of the rate of new product adoption. See Adoption Rate Determinants.
Computer Modelling
constructing and manipulating computer-based simulations of marketing situations to examine the consequences of alternative courses of action; computer models, often developed from an analysis of historical data, may be used to determine the optimum level of advertising and other promotional expenditure, etc. See Advertising Budget Determination.
Computer-Aided Design
the use of computer technologies to plan and design products for manufacture to improve efficiency and reduce wastage.
Computer-Aided Manufacturing
the use of computer technologies to manufacture products to increase productivity.
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing
in marketing research, the use of computers to manage the selection of respondents, the interviewing process and data collection and analysis.
Computer-Assisted Telephone Surveys
See Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing.
Concentrated Marketing
a marketing segmentation strategy in which the firm concentrates its entire efforts and resources on serving one segment of the market; also called Niche Marketing.
Concentrated Segmentation Strategy
one of four possible segmentation strategies (with market segment expansion strategy, product line expansion strategy and differentiated segmentation strategy); in a concentrated segmentation strategy a firm targets one product to one segment of the market. See Segmentation Strategies; Market Segment Expansion Strategy; Product Line Expansion Strategy; Differentiated Segmentation.
Concentric Diversification
a growth strategy in which a company seeks to grow and develop by adding new products to its existing product lines to attract new customers; also called convergent diversification. See Conglomerate Diversification; Horizontal Diversification.
Concept Development and Testing
a two-phase stage in the development of a new product in which potential buyers are presented first with the idea or description of the new product (concept testing) and later with the product itself in final or prototype form (product testing), in order to obtain their reaction. See Product Testing; New Product Development.
Conference Selling
a selling situation in which a salesperson enlists the assistance of other people in the company (technicians, engineers, etc.) in meeting with a group of buyers from different firms to explain a new product or discuss problems and opportunities. See Group Selling; Team Selling.
Conglomerate Diversification
a growth strategy in which a company seeks to develop by adding totally unrelated products and markets to its existing business. See Concentric Diversification; Horizontal Diversification.
Conjoint Analysis
a statistical technique used to determine the optimal combination of variables.
Conjunctive Model (of Brand Evaluation)
the idea that consumers establish minimum attribute levels which acceptable brands must possess; when about to make a purchase, they will consider only those brands that exhibit a conjunction of all the minimum requirements. Other models of brand evaluation include the expectancy-value model, ideal brand model, disjunctive model, lexicographic model and determinance model.
Consequence Probes
verbal tactics used by a salesperson to illustrate the disadvantages to a buyer of not making a particular purchase.
Consideration Set
alternatives which consumers actively consider before making their final purchase decision; also referred to as the evoked set. See Evoked Set.
Consultative Selling
an approach to personal selling emphasising the role of the salesperson as consultant; the salesperson assists the buyer to identify needs and find need-satisfactions in the product range, seeking to build long-term customer relationships leading to repeat business. See Relationship Selling.
Consumables
see Consumer Non-Durables.
Consumer Attitudes
see Attitudes.
Consumer Behaviour
the behaviour of individuals when buying goods and services for their own use or for private consumption.
Consumer Credit
finance made available by leading companies to consumers for purchases with arrangements having been made for the loan to be repaid with interest.
Consumer Durables
a classification of consumer products consisting of goods with a long useful life, such as cars, electrical appliances and furniture. See Consumer Non-Durables.
Consumer Franchise
the understanding consumers have of a brand. See Franchise-Building Sales Promotions.
Consumer Generated Media
consumer-created advertising space on the internet.
Consumer Goods
items purchased by consumers for personal and household use; consumer goods are classified as durables and non-durables. See Convenience Goods; Shopping Goods; Specialty Goods; Unsought Goods.
Consumer Market
buyers and potential buyers of goods and services for personal and household use.
Consumer Needs
Forces directed to specific goals that can be achieved by purchase behaviour. The motive force for directing to one brand or another.
Consumer Non-Durables
a classification of frequently purchased consumer goods; non-durables are items which are consumed in one use or a few uses; expendables. Consumer non-durables are further sub-divided into packaged and non-packaged goods. See Consumer Durables; Packaged Goods; Non-Packaged Goods.
Consumer Product Classes
categories of goods and services bought by consumers for their personal use; classes include convenience goods, shopping goods, specialty goods, unsought goods, and services.
Consumer Research
marketing research into the requirements, opinions, attitudes, etc. of consumers.
Consumer Rights
fair entitlements due to consumers when buying from producers and resellers.
Consumer Sales Promotion
promotional activity - excluding advertising, personal selling and publicity - intended to motivate potential purchasers of personal and household products to buy.
Consumer Sovereignty
the principle that holds that production and supply are driven by the purchasing decisions of consumers.
Consumer Wearout
a decrease in the effectiveness of an advertisement or promotional campaign due to boredom and familiarity.
Consumerism
a social movement intended to safeguard the rights of consumers.
Consummatory Advertising
advertising which stresses the benefits of taking immediate action to purchase.
Contactual Reference Group
a group with which an individual has contact and which influences the individual's purchase decisions. See Aspirational Group; Dissociative Reference Group; Membership Group; Reference Groups.
Containerisation
the transportation of unitised and palletised goods by means of large crates or containers. See Palletisation; Unitisation.
Contests
a form of sales promotion in which consumers are induced to buy earlier, or in greater quantity, by the offer of prizes of cash or merchandise to be won in a competition. See Sales Promotion.
Contingent Method
see "What if..." Method (of handling sales objections.)
Continuity
the scheduling of media exposures of a particular advertisement or campaign evenly within a given period. See Flighting; Pulsing.
Continuous Marketing Research
on-going marketing research (as opposed to that conducted for a specific purpose.) See Ad Hoc Marketing Research.
Continuum of Planning
the idea that planning is a multi-level process, beginning at the top with corporate planning and going downwards through all divisions of the firm, with each subsequent level linked to the one above it by the over-riding mission and objectives of the corporation.
Continuum of Sales Jobs
the idea that all kinds of sales jobs are similar in some respects but vary in the degree of difficulty involved; the difficulty is linked to the amount of creativity required in finding new customers and persuading them to buy, and to the tangibility and complexity of the product.
Contract Carrier
a transportation firm operating exclusively in one industry and tied to a particular firm by contract.
Contract Law
the body of law relating to contracts.
Contract Manufacturing
the production and marketing by agreement of a company's product by an overseas firm.
Contract Rate
a charge negotiated between carrier and shipper for the transportation of a commodity; sometimes called a Negotiated Rate.
Contraction Defence
a competitive strategy in which a large organisation withdraws from a market or market segment in which it is not strong in order to concentrate on another market or other segments in which it has greater strength; also referred to as Strategic Withdrawal.
Contractual Sales Force
salespeople who are not full or part-time paid representatives of a company but who sell for it on a commission basis; also referred to as a Contract Sales Force.
Contractual Vertical Marketing System
a form of vertical marketing system in which independent firms at different levels of distribution are tied together by contract to achieve economies of scale and greater sales impact. See Administered Vertical Marketing System; Corporate Vertical Marketing System; Vertical Marketing System.
Control-Oriented Pricing
a system of pricing in which a product's price is controlled by government or by some regulating body.
Controlled Allocation System
see Planned Economy; Command System.
Controlled Variable
any other element, apart from the manipulated independent variable, which could cause a dependent variable to change in an experiment.
Convenience Goods
a category of consumer goods which are bought frequently, quickly and with a minimum of emotional involvement; the category includes staples, impulse goods and emergency goods. See Consumer Product; Emergency Goods; Impulse Goods; Staples.
Convenience Product
a category of consumer product purchased frequently and with little thought and effort.
Convenience Sample
a form of nonprobability sample in which the researcher selects readily available respondents.
Convenience Store
a neighbourhood store which stocks frequently purchased items such as milk, bread and cigarettes.
Convergent Diversification
diversification into related businesses. See Concentric Diversification; Divergent Acquisition; Diversification.
Conversion Operations
activities that include the manufacture or production of finished products from raw materials.
Conversional Marketing
marketing activity intended to get people to change their ideas and attitudes about something they dislike.
Cookies
short pieces of text that are left on a website visitor’s computer so that on subsequent visits that visitor can be identified and the number of repeat visits counted.
Cooling-Off Period
a short period of time, usually a few days, in which purchasers of a product may void a sale contract if they change their minds about purchasing the goods offered.
Cooperative Advertising
advertising sponsored by two or more organisations to promote the goods or services of each.
Copy Strategy Statement
a document prepared by advertising agency executives as a guide for their creative staff in the preparation and execution of an advertisement; the copy strategy statement describes the objectives, content, support and tone of the desired advertisement.
Copy Testing
the pre-testing of advertising copy for print advertisements, usually by giving respondents a portfolio of dummy advertisements in a magazine format and asking them to recall copy points; or the post-testing of advertising copy, usually by asking respondents to look through an actual magazine and then comment on advertisements they remember.
Copycat Product
a product that has been designed, branded or packaged to look exactly like that of a well-established competitor; a cheap imitation.
Copyright
protection in law afforded to authors, musicians, artists, etc. in respect to the works they have created.
Core Product
the intangible benefit or service offered by a product; for example, the core product offered to a purchaser of shampoo is clean, healthy hair. See Actual Product; Augmented Product.
Corporate Advertising
a form of institutional advertising focussing not on a particular product or product range but on the organisation itself; the objective of corporate advertising may be patronage, image or issue. See Corporate Image Advertising; Corporate Issue Advertising; Corporate Patronage Advertising; Institutional Advertising.
Corporate Branding
associating the name of a corporation with the individual brand name in product marketing, usually to ensure that new product introductions will be more readily accepted; differs from family branding in that corporate branding is used for all products of the company or division rather than merely for a family of brands. See Family Brand; Individual Brand; Individual Brand Name; Product Line Brand Name; Single Brand Name.
Corporate Culture
the particular strategies, style, systems, environment and shared values within an organisation which contribute to its individuality.
Corporate Family Name
see Family Brand.
Corporate Image
the identity or perception of itself that an organisation attempts to convey to its publics, usually through corporate advertising. See Corporate Advertising; Corporate Image Advertising.
Corporate-Image Advertising
advertising aimed at establishing an identity for a firm in the public mind. See Corporate Advertising; Corporate Image.
Corporate-Issue Advertising
advertising in which an organisation states publicly its position on a controversial issue. See Advocacy Advertising; Corporate Advertising.
Corporate Logo
a mark, design, symbol, etc. used to identify, and reflect an appropriate image of a company or organisation; a form of institutional reminder advertising.
Corporate Mission Statement
the answer to the question "What business are we in?"; the corporate mission statement, with a broad focus and a customer orientation, provides management with a sense of purpose.
Corporate Objectives
specific, realistic and measurable goals which an organisation plans to achieve within a given period of time.
Corporate-Patronage Advertising
advertising which encourages customers to patronise the firm. See Corporate Advertising.
Corporate Planning
planning at the highest level in an organisation, involving an analysis of the current situation, the setting of objectives, the formulation of strategies and tactics, implementation and evaluation. See Strategic Planning.
Corporate Sponsorship
a form of below-the-line advertising in which a corporation offers funding to a group, association, sporting body, etc. in return for a range of promotional opportunities. See Below-the-Line Advertising.
Corporate Strategic Planning
see Strategic Planning.
Corporate Strategy
the planned means by which an organisation intends to use its resources to achieve its goals and objectives. See Strategic Planning.
Corporate Umbrella
a term used in reference to the use made of the corporate name and corporate image as a shield for new product introductions, etc.
Corporate Vertical Marketing System
a system of distribution channel organisation in which the orderly flow of products from producer to end-user is controlled by common ownership of the different levels of the system. See Administered Vertical Marketing System; Contractual Vertical Marketing System; Vertical Marketing System.
Corrective Advertising
advertising to correct erroneous claims or misleading messages in previous promotional announcements.
Correlation Techniques
a range of statistical techniques used to discover relationships between diverse elements in a marketing situation.
Cost Advantage
the competitive edge which can be gained by one company over another by reducing production or marketing costs or both so that it can offer cheaper prices or use excess profits to bolster promotion or distribution. See Absolute Cost Advantage; Cost Leadership Advantage; Marketing Advantage.
Cost of Goods Sold
the price paid by a company for the goods it sells to its customers.
Cost-Insurance-Freight Pricing
a pricing approach common in exporting; the price quoted to the buyer includes "cost, insurance and freight".
Cost Leadership Advantage
the type of competitive advantage which an organisation enjoys if its total operating costs are lower than those of its competitors, providing that it can charge an equal price for its product; this will mean that its gross operating profit will be greater than its competitors, allowing it to further enhance its product, to reduce its price and/or to withstand price wars. See Cost Advantage; Differentiation Advantage.
Cost-Per-Thousand Criterion
a measure for comparing the cost effectiveness of media vehicles, calculated by dividing the cost of an advertisement in a particular medium by the number of thousands of its circulation.
Cost-Plus Pricing
a simple method of pricing in which a specified amount or percentage, known as the standard mark-up, is added to the unit cost of production of an item to determine its selling price. See Competition-Oriented Pricing; Target Return Pricing; Value Pricing.
Cost/Profit Analysis
a sales management control measure involving the calculation of expenditure incurred in making sales; profitability analysis.
Counsellor Approach
see Adviser Close.
Counter Advertising
advertising sponsored by pressure groups in opposition to certain products.
Counter-Offensive Defence
a competitive strategy in which a strong market leader retaliates against a smaller rival which has attacked it; the manner of retaliation might include a dramatic increase in advertising and promotion, or price-cutting, or the simultaneous launch of innovative new products.
Counterfeiting
the copying of a competitor's well-known products. Some counterfeit products are intended to look as much like the original as possible, including the brand name; others are close, but not exact, copies; still others are cheap and unconvincing imitations. Counterfeiting is generally illegal.
Countermarketing
marketing activity intended to abolish interest in, and demand for, a product.
Countertrade
a system of international trade based on bartering; such transactions may or may not involve cash payments.
Counter-Purchase
in international marketing, a situation where a seller receives full payment in cash for the goods and services it sells to a foreign country but agrees to spend some portion of the amount received in that same country within a specified time.
Coupon
a popular form of sales promotion, distributed on the package of the product, by direct mail, or in newspaper and magazine advertisements; the consumer is usually offered "cents-off" the next purchase upon presentation of the coupon.
CPA
Critical Path Analysis.
CPT
Cost-Per-Thousand.
Creative Brief
a document prepared by an organisation to inform those involved in planning and implementing its advertising and promotion message of the required strategic direction.
Creative Selling
an approach to selling in which salespeople aggressively seek out customers and use well-planned strategies to secure orders.
Creative Strategy
the planned design, content and manner of delivery of an organisation’s marketing communication.
Credibility
in advertising, the trustworthiness of the message; organisations often try to enhance the trustworthiness of their advertising by selecting highly credible sources to deliver their messages. For example, a firm which manufactures toothpaste might have a dentist deliver the message, while a firm which sells bathroom fittings might chose a plumber.
Credit
the allowance of time in which to pay for a purchase. See Consumer Credit.
Credit Card
a small card, usually of plastic, used to obtain consumer products without immediate payment; the card is issued by a financial institution on the understanding that the consumer repays sums spent against the card with interest.
Credit Terms
conditions negotiated between seller and buyer relating to the time within which the buyer is obliged to pay for the products purchased and any discounts to be allowed by the seller for earlier payment or additional services performed.
Critical-Path Analysis
a planning technique used to keep projects on schedule; a flowchart shows time allotments and priorities for each activity.
Cross Docking
a marketing logistics technique, enabled by modern computer and communication technologies, which allows organisations to receive inwards goods from suppliers and ship them straight out again to customers without the need for storage in a warehouse.
Cross Elasticity of Demand
a measure of the affect a change in the price of one product will have on the demand for a substitute or complementary product. See Elasticity of Demand.
Cross-Functional Team
in integrated logistics management, a group of distribution specialists within an organisation responsible for controlling and directing the inward and outward movement of goods rather than different functions (for example, the sales and production departments) being responsible for their own distribution decisions.
Cross-Over Selling
see Cross-Selling.
Cross-Referencing (of Data)
a practice, often illegal when undertaken without permission, in which organisations exchange data on their individual customers and/or clients in order to build stronger databases through which they can target prospective customers more precisely.
Cross-Selling
selling by a salesperson of some part of the company's total product range for which another division or salesperson has prime responsibility.
Cue
an environmental entity (advertisement, sign, store display, etc) which results in a specific response to satisfy a drive. See Learning.
Cultural Diversity
the range of different value systems existing in a multicultural society.
Cultural Values
ideas, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, principles, etc long cherished by members of a society.
Culture
the basic beliefs and values cherished by a society as a whole and handed down from one generation to the next.
Cumulative Quantity Discount
a price reduction offered to a purchaser in which the amount of the discount increases over time with the volume purchased. See Non-Cumulative Quantity Discount.
Curbside Sales Training
informal coaching or training of a sales representative by a supervisor in the field. See Buddy System; Formal Training; On-the-Job Training.
Current Market Demand
the maximum level of sales available to all the firms in a market during a given period, with a given level of marketing effort, and under a given set of market conditions.
Current Profit Maximisation
a price setting objective in which organisations set a price for a product that will give maximum profits, cash flow or return on investment in the short term without regard to long-run performance.
Current Ratio
the commonest of three financial ratios used to evaluate a firm's liquidity; current assets are expressed as a percentage of current liabilities. See Acid-Test Ratio; Quick Ratio.
Curve Fitting
a method of analysing associative data in which a number of possible curve shapes - straight lines, concave, convex, s-shaped etc - are used with historical data to discover trends or relationships.
Custom Marketing
marketing activity in which a company attempts to satisfy the unique needs of every customer; also called Market Atomisation Strategy. See Disaggregated Market; Complete Segmentation; Customised Marketing Mix.
Custom Publishing
the publishing of a magazine by an organisation wishing to strengthen its bonds with its customers and to exercise greater control over the editorial environment in which its advertisements appear; a custom published magazine will usually carry outside advertisements as well in order to defray the cost of the launch and lend an air of legitimacy. Jenny Craig International, Mary Kay Cosmetics, the Benetton Group and IBM Corp. have all launched magazines.
Customary Price
the traditional price; the price that consumers expect to pay for a certain product.
Customer Database
an organised collection containing comprehensive information about individual customers and/or potential customers, including such details as geodemographics, lifestyles and preferences, past purchases, product enquiries and satisfaction levels; the database may be used to generate sales leads, promote new products, and foster customer relationships in a finely-targeted way.
Customer Delivered Value
the difference between total customer value, or the value a customer places on a product, and the total customer cost, or the cost to the customer – in money and effort - of making the purchase; customers will usually buy from the firm which they believe offers maximum delivered value.
Customer Delight
a stage of pleasure with a product’s features and performance over and above customer satisfaction; some marketers argue that firms should not be satisfied with simply offering ‘customer service’ but that they should strive for ‘customer satisfaction’ and, beyond that, to ‘customer delight’.
Customer Fulfilment
the delivery of a product to the customer who has placed an order; the fulfilment may also entail the collection of payment, the provision of product information and installation.
Customer Intimacy
the notion that organisations should get to understand customers so well that they can tailor their offerings to match their needs and wants precisely; the use of customer databases assists in this endeavour. See Customer Database.
Customer Lifetime Value
The difference between the total revenue received from a particular customer and the total cost of attracting, selling to, and servicing that customer.
Customer Loyalty
the level of faithfulness shown by a customer in continuing to purchase a particular product or brand; customer loyalty is an indicator of the degree of satisfaction the customer has with the product.
Customer Marketing Channels
channels of distribution in consumer markets; these channels may differ from industrial marketing channels which often have fewer levels. See Industrial Marketing Channels.
Customer Need Management
The management of customer demand to ensure efficient and reliable supply of an organisation’s goods or services.
Customer Orientation
see Customer-Oriented Management.
Customer Record
a card, slip or computer file on which is recorded pertinent facts about a prospect or customer (name, address, account history, etc.) as an aid to making a sale when next contacted by a salesperson.
Customer Relations Department
a division of an organisation with responsibility for ensuring that customers are satisfied with the goods or services they have purchased and with the way the organisation has served them.
Customer Relationship
the trust, bond or connection, if any, that exists between an organisation and a customer; firms try to build strong customer relationships to ensure repeat purchasing.
Customer Retention
maintaining the existing customer base by establishing good relations with all who buy the company's product.
Customer Salesforce Structure
A salesforce which is organised in such a way that its members sell only to certain kinds of customers or industries. For example, some members of the salesforce of a soft-drink manufacturer may focus its efforts only on supermarkets while others may sell only sell to hotels or restaurants. See Salesforce Organisation.
Customer Satisfaction
the degree to which customers are pleased with the product and are likely to purchase the same product, or from the same company, again. See Customer Delight.
Customer Satisfaction Survey
the systematic measuring of the level of customer satisfaction with a product or marketing program, usually conducted by questionnaire or telephone; also referred to simply as a customer survey. See Customer Survey.
Customer Service
a wide variety of activities intended to ensure that customers receive the goods and services they require to satisfy their needs or wants in the most effective and efficient manner possible.
Customer Orientation
see Customer-Oriented Management.
Customer Panels
see Focus Group.
Customer Philosophy
see Marketing Philosophy.
Customer Retention
a measure of customer satisfaction, shown by the customer’s repeat purchases; most firms like to track customer retention as a measure of their loyalty.
Customer Surveys
see Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Customer Training
training in the proper and efficient use of equipment given by a vendor to its customer's employees; provision of training by the vendor not only adds value to the product but also offers the vendor a means of differentiating itself from suppliers of the same or similar equipment.
Customer Value
the difference between the benefits and satisfaction derived by customers from the products they buy and own and the costs involved in buying them.
Customer Value Analysis
an organisation's rating of the value it provides to its customers relative to that provided by its competitors.
Customer Value Building
to develop stronger bonds with customers, many organisations attempt to provide greater satisfaction and increased loyalty with measures such as bonus point systems, frequent-flyer programs, upgrades and other financial benefits.
Customer-Centred Company
a company that has its customers as its primary focus when designing its marketing strategies. See Competitor-Centred Company; Market-Centered Company.
Customer-Driven Distribution Systems
a system of distribution designed with customer requirements rather than a company's convenience in mind.
Customer-Oriented Management
a management philosophy or state-of-mind in which it is recognised that the effective and efficient satisfaction of customer needs and wants provides the surest means of achieving the organisation's own goals.
Customised Marketing Mix
in international marketing, a marketing program uniquely designed for a particular country. See Complete Segmentation; Custom Marketing; Disaggregated Market; Market Atomisation Strategy.
Cybernet Cafe
a shop or retail store that provides internet-access for customers for a fee, often combining this with the provision of food and beverages, laundromat, or similar, or with sales of photographic equipment, computer parts and accessories, or other goods and services.
Cycle-Time Reduction
seeking a competitive advantage, many firms invest in a range of techniques, processes and technologies, including computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing and just-in-time manufacturing in order to reduce the time it takes to design, develop and manufacture new products and get them to customers. See Computer-Aided Design; Computer-Aided Manufacturing; Just-in-Time Manufacturing.

Marketing dictionary - D

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DAGMAR
acronym for Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results, after the title of a book by Russell H. Colley (New York: Association of National Advertisers, 1961). See DAGMAR Approach.
DAGMAR Approach
an approach to measuring advertising effectiveness in which advertising objectives are turned into specific measurable goals. See DAGMAR.
Daily Activities Report
a record of a salesperson's activities on a day-by-day basis, showing clients visited, products presented and results; it may also include reasons for the failure to sell.
Daily Sales Plan
a record of a salesperson's intended sales calls on a day-by-day basis, listing the clients to be visited, the objectives of each call, and the anticipated outcomes.
Data
facts or information gathered in a marketing research study. See Primary Research; Secondary Research.
Data Analysis
the processing of marketing research findings to summarise a situation, discover relationships between elements of the information, or to draw conclusions from them. See Marketing Research.
Data Coding
grouping information gathered in a survey or by some other marketing research instrument and assigning values to the responses to enable statistical analysis.
Data Collection
the activity of gathering facts or information about a subject in a marketing research study. See Marketing Research.
Data Editing
the process of checking responses to a survey, questionnaire or other research instrument to identify mistakes made either by the respondent or interviewer.
Data Enhancement
The addition of new information to, or the partitioning of existing information in, a database which may allow for better understanding of the responsiveness of customers to marketing programs. See Database.
Data Entry
the tasks involved in the input of responses gathered in a survey into a software package to enable the statistical manipulation and analysis which will provide useful information.
Data Field
a basic characteristic such as age, gender and geographic location of a respondent to a questionnaire or other survey instrument.
Data Mining
searching through collected research data or other textual material to identify patterns and relationships.
Data Source
the place from which data are acquired. Two types of data are available: primary data or that which is collected specifically for the current research, and secondary data, that which has been collected previously and is available in some already-published form.
Data Tabulation
the process of counting the number of observations or cases, by category, in a marketing research project.
Data Validation
the process of checking collected data to determine whether it has been correctly gathered and is free of error, fraud or bias.
Data Warehouse
a very large collection of stored data from different sources but all relating to the one topic, subject or project.
Database
information arranged in such a way that it can be stored in, and processed by, a computer. See Database Marketing.
Database Marketing
the use of large collections of computer-based information in marketing; the database listings may be reference databases containing information on specific topics; full databases which contain full transcripts of documents or articles being sought; or source databases which contain listings of names and addresses, etc of prospective customers.
Database Mining
see Data Mining.
Date Code
a date on a package indicating either the date by which the product should be used or the date the product was packed. See Date Stamping.
Date Stamping
See Open Dating.
Deal Prone
a term used to describe a group or segment of customers who are eager and ready to purchase, and who are expecting, and will actively seek out, special offers
Dealer Listing
the naming in a product advertisement of certain retailers who have stocks; the naming of dealers is done as a convenience to consumers and to encourage the retailers to carry higher stock levels. Also referred to as Tagging.
Dealer Loader
a gift given to a retailer who purchases a specified quantity of a product during a trade sales promotion. See Trade Sales Promotion.
Death of Salesman
a play by the U.S. playwright, Arthur Miller, set in the 1930s, the era of the "selling concept"; the play and its central character, Willy Loman, a salesman, are often referred to in sales training material.
Debriefing
the interrogation or questioning of a person about a completed undertaking in order to obtain additional information.
Debriefing Analysis
the comparison of insights, impressions and perceptions of moderator and the organisations’ observers following a focus group session.
Debt
money or other item that is owed; an obligation.
Decentralised Exchange System
any system for the exchange of goods or services which does not utilise a central marketplace. See Centralised Exchange System.
Deceptive Advertising
advertising intended to deceive consumers with false or misleading claims.
Deceptive Packaging
packaging intended to deceive the purchaser; excessive ullage creates the impression that the volume of the contents is greater than it actually is. See Ullage.
Deceptive Pricing
the pricing of goods and services in such a way as to cause a customer to be misled; an example of deceptive pricing is bait-and-switch pricing. See Bait-and-Switch Pricing.
Decider
the person who actually makes the decision in the organisational buying process; the decider is often difficult to identify because he or she may not necessarily be the one who has have the formal authority to buy. See Buying Centre.
Decision Flow Diagram
see Decision Tree.
Decision Making
choosing between alternative courses of action using cognitive processes - memory, thinking, evaluation, etc; also called Problem Solving.
Decision Matrix
a tool used in decision making in which the various dimensions of a problem are listed and rated to determine the most appropriate alternative in a particular situation.
Decision Problem
in marketing research, the basic question to which a client organisation seeks an answer from a marketing research agency; in conducting the research, the agency may break the decision problem down into any number of smaller research questions in order to provide an answer.
Decision Support System
any computerised system of changing raw data (sales, stock levels, etc) into information that can be used by management in decision making.
Decision Tree
a decision-making tool in which alternative options are portrayed graphically as branches on a tree; also referred to as a Decision Flow Diagram.
Decision-Making Intelligence
business data that is sought, gathered, analysed and distributed to assist managers to make good decisions.
Decision-Stage Model
in new product development, a technique used at pre-set points in which evaluation criteria are examined to determine whether the development process should continue. Also referred to as the Stage Gate Model.
Decline Stage
the final stage of the product life cycle (after introductory stage, growth stage and maturity stage) when sales are dropping because the original need and want have diminished or because another product innovation has been introduced. See Product Life Cycle; Introductory Stage; Growth Stage; Maturity Stage.
Declining Demand
the falling away of customer demand for a particular good or service, caused by the introduction to the market of a new innovation, competition from substitutes or other factors.
Decoding
the step in the communication process in which the receiver accepts and interprets the message. See Communication Process; Encoding.
Deep Assortment
an assortment strategy in which a reseller decides to carry many variants of each product in the range. See Assortment Strategies; Broad Assortment; Exclusive Assortment; Scrambled Assortment.
Defence Strategies
the means used by companies in market leadership positions to defend their market share from attacks by challengers; six common defence strategies are position defence, flanking defence, pre-emptive defence, counter-offensive defence, mobile defence and contraction defence. See Contraction Defence; Counter-Offensive Defence; Flanking Defence; Position Defence; Pre-Emptive Defence Mobile Defence.
Defensive Advertising
advertising intended to combat the effects of a competitor's promotion.
Deferred value
the value which a good or service will deliver at some future time; for example, a university degree’s deferred value resides in the sum of the benefits it will provide to the student during his or her lifetime.
Deficient Product
a term used in a classification of products by societal marketers to describe any good or service that has neither immediate appeal nor long-term benefits. See Desirable Product; Pleasing Product; Salutary Product.
Defined Target Population
in marketing research, a subset of the total population singled out for specific investigation.
Deflation
a slowing of the economy characterised by falling prices and wages; the reverse of inflation.
Delayed Quotation Pricing
an industrial pricing method in which the seller delays quoting a price until delivery; the method protects the seller against cost over-runs and production delays.
Delayed Reward
in sales promotion, a purchase incentive such as a cash-back offer, for which the consumer has to wait a length of time. The alternative is to receive the reward immediately, as when a discount couponis redeemed at time of purchase. See Immediate Reward.
Delivered Pricing
a pricing method in which the final price to the buyer is adjusted to include transportation costs; the seller takes responsibility for arranging delivery but adds the cost to the quoted price. Four widely used methods of delivered pricing are single-zone pricing, multiple-zone pricing, base-point pricing and freight-absorption pricing. See Base-Point Pricing; Freight-Absorption Pricing; Multiple-Zone Pricing; Single-Zone Pricing.
Delivery-Based Classification
an approach to product classification which utilises the delivery method as its basis. For example, products may be delivered by a person (for instance, a speech therapist) or a machine (an ATM) or a combination of both (a taxi).
Delphi Technique
a forecasting method in which a cordinator seeks predictions from experts who revise their opinions in light of the opinions of the others until some degree of consensus is reached.
Demand
a measure of those in a market who wish to buy a product and can afford to do so.
Demand Analysis
the measurement of the demand for a particular good or service. See Demand
Demand Backward Pricing
a pricing method in which an estimation is made of the price that customers are willing to pay for a given product; this price is then compared to the per unit cost to see if it meets the firm's profit objectives.
Demand Chain
the network of intermediaries between a manufacturer and the consumers of its product. The term ‘demand chain’ is often used in preference to the more traditional ‘supply chain’ which many marketers believe does not adequately describe the role of consumers in pulling the product through the channels of distribution. See Supply Chain.
Demand Chain Management
the selection, support and control of the network of intermediaries that comprise an organisations distribution channel. See Demand Chain; Supply Chain.
Demand Curve
a line drawn on a graph to represent the number of units of a product which will be purchased at any particular price point.
Demand Elasticity
see Elasticity of Demand.
Demand Fluctuation
see Fluctuating Demand.
Demand Forecasting
all of the tasks involved in determining the volume and profitability of sales to a targeted segment that will result from an organisation’s customised marketing efforts.
Demand Function
the demand for a particular product as a function of total market demand which will vary with ever-changing market conditions.
Demand Inelasticity
see Inelasticity of Demand.
Demand Management
the way in which marketing managers deal with varying demand states, such as no demand, adequate demand, irregular demand and over-demand.
Demand Measurement
estimation of the current and/or future size of the market for a particular good or service. See Demand.
Demand Schedule
a hypothetical but systematic rating of the relationship between price and quantity sold for a given product. See Demand; Demand Curve.
Demand-Backward Pricing
a method of pricing in which prices are set by determining what consumers are willing to pay; then, costs are deducted to see if the profit margin is adequate.
Demand-Pull Approach
In new product development, the creation of new products on the basis of market demand rather than on company-generated ideas. See Product-Push Approach
Demand-Related Attractiveness
an approach to evaluating the attractiveness of market segments in which the segment or segments to be targeted are selected on the basis of current size rather than growth potential, competitive intensity or other characteristic.
Demand-Side Market Failure
the effect that occurs when marketing research tools and techniques such as focus groups and surveys produce negative responses and reactions that lead to the creation of advertising and promotional campaigns that have a negative impact on the market. See Supply-Side Market Failure.
Demarketing
marketing aimed at limiting market growth; for example, some governments practice demarketing to conserve natural resources, and organisations use a demarketing approach when there is so much demand that that are unable to serve the needs of all potential customers adequately.
Democratic Leadership Style
a style of leadership characterised by group participation in decision-making. See Autocratic Leadership Style.
Demographic Characteristics
variables within a nation's population, such as age, gender, income level, marital status, ethnic origin and education level; demographic characteristics are commonly used as a basis for market segmentation. See Demographic Segmentation.
Demographic Dividend
the economic benefit which a nation receives from a favourable age structure.
Demographic Factors
see Demographic Characteristics.
Demographic Segmentation
the division of the heterogeneous population of a country into relatively homogeneous groups on the basis of variables within the population mix; sometimes called State-of-Being Segmentation. See Segmentation Bases.
Demographic Variables
see Demographic Characteristics.
Demographics
the range of physical, social and economic characteristics that exist within a population. See Demography.
Demography
the study of the range of physical, social and economic characteristics that exist within a population.
Department Store
a large retail store offering a wide variety of goods in different departments. See Full-Line Department Store; Limited-Line Department Store.
Dependent Variable
a variable in a research experiment which is affected by manipulation of the explanatory or experimental variable or variables. See Experimental Variable; Independent Variable.
Deployment
the configuration or arrangement of a sales force into territories on some logical basis.
Depreciation
an allowance made in a balance sheet for wear and tear; a measure of the loss of value of a fixed asset because of use or obsolescence.
Depth Interviews
a qualitative marketing research approach in which interviews are conducted by a trained moderator with individuals, rather than with groups, to obtain information about a product or brand. See Focus Group.
Depth of Product Line
see Product Line Length.
Depth Selling
see Problem-Solving Approach.
Deregulation
the complete or partial removal of government control and restrictions relating to a specific business activity or industry.
Derived Demand
demand for raw materials in a producer market which is based on the demand for consumer products. See Primary Demand.
Descriptive Label
a label on a product which announces the size, net weight, ingredients, composition, nutritional value, etc. See Label.
Descriptive Research
marketing research that is aimed at understanding problems or marketing situations in greater depth and that will help to define them more satisfactorily. See Causal Research; Exploratory Research.
Descriptive Research Design
The determining of the kinds of data needed for a descriptive research project and the planning of ways to gather them. See Descriptive Research.
Descriptor
in market segmentation, a single factor or variable such as age, gender, income level or marital status, that is used as the basis for customer grouping. See Market Segmentation.
Design
a general arrangement, layout or scheme to accomplish a project.
Designated Marketing Area
See Area Of Influence.
Desirable Product
a term used in a classification of products by societal marketers to describe any good or service that gives high immediate satisfaction and long-term benefits. See Deficient Product; Pleasing Product; Salutary Product.
Desire
an unsatisfied longing; a strong urge to acquire something.
Desire Competitors
all companies and organisations offering a product that the consumer desires immediately. See Competitors.
Desk Jobber
see Drop Shipper.
Desk Research
see Secondary Research.
Desk-to-Desk Direct Marketing
a form of business-to-business selling in which firms purchase and use computer databases to locate potential customers; typically, the databases are compiled by list brokers and are organised according to business type, sales revenue, number of employees, location and telephone area code.
Destination Store
a retail store which shoppers purposely plan to visit; some major retail chains reduce costs by selecting quite isolated locations for their free-standing stores knowing that consumers will seek them out when buying shopping goods. See Shopping Goods.
Detailer
a salesperson, especially in the pharmaceutical drug industry, whose primary task is to inform clients about new products. See Missionary Selling.
Determinance Model (of Brand Evaluation)
a model used in the study of consumer decision processes to evaluate alternative brands. The idea that consumers, about to make a purchase, will not be swayed in their product choice by any one product attribute, no matter how important, if all products possess the same amount of the attribute. Thus, the decision is made on the basis of a less important attribute. Other models of brand evaluation include the expectancy-value model, ideal brand model, conjunctive model, lexicographic model and determinance model.
Deterministic Models
a statistical tool used in sales forecasting in which marketing variables, such as price levels, advertising expenditures and sales promotion expenses, are used to predict market share or sales.
Developmental Marketing
marketing activity intended to increase demand for a product that appears to meet an evident market need.
Developing Nation
a country in which a large percentage of the population is poor, has limited infrastructure and which is working to improve economic and social conditions; also referred to as a Developing Country.
Dichotomous Question
a closed-ended question in a marketing research questionnaire in which the respondent must choose one of only two possible responses. See Multichotomous Question.
Difference-Testing
in marketing research, the measurement of the difference between means of variables using a range of statistical techniques.
Differential Advantage
the element or factor in a firm's product or strategy which makes it superior to that of a competitor.
Differential Pricing
a pricing strategy in which a company sets different prices for the same product on the basis of differing customer type, time of purchase, etc; also called Discriminatory Pricing, Flexible Pricing, Multiple Pricing, Variable Pricing. See One-Price Policy.
Differentiated Marketing
the division of a heterogeneous market into relatively homogeneous segments so that the needs and wants of the different segments may be served more effectively; a segmented approach to marketing.
Differentiated Segmentation Strategy
one of four possible approaches (with concentrated segmentation strategy, market segment expansion strategy and product line expansion strategy) available to a firm in relation to the segment or segments it wishes to target; in a differentiated segmentation approach a firm operates in several or all segments and targets different products to each. See Segmentation Strategies; Concentrated Segmentation Strategy; Market Segment Expansion Strategy; Product Line Expansion Strategy.
Differentiated Strategy
see Differentiated Marketing; Differentiated Segmentation Strategy.
Differentiation
an approach to competitive advantage in which a company attempts to outperform its rivals by offering a product that is perceived by consumers to be superior to that of competitors even though its price is higher; in adopting a differentiation approach, the company seeks to attract a broad market audience. See Differentiation Focus.
Differentiation Focus
an approach to competitive advantage in which a company attempts to outperform its rivals by offering a product that is perceived by consumers to be superior to that of competitors even though its price is higher; in adopting a differentiation focus strategy, the company focuses on narrow market coverage, seeking only to attract a small, specialised segment. See Differentiation.
Diffusion of Innovation
the idea that some groups within a market are more ready and willing to adopt a new product than others and that the product is diffused through a society in waves; the groups, in order of their readiness to adopt are innovators (2.5 percent of the population), early adopters (13.5 percent), early majority (34 percent), late majority (34 percent) and laggards (16 percent).
Diffusion Process
the manner in which an innovative technology spreads across a market group by group according to the readiness of each group to adopt it. See Diffusion of Innovation.
Digital Economy
a term coined to describe the omnipresence and importance of microprocessor chips in product development, manufacture and marketing and in everyday life.
Digitisation
the development, manufacture and use of goods and services with microprocessor chip componentry.
Direct Accounts
large accounts serviced by head office personnel or company executives rather than by salespeople in regional offices; sometimes called House Accounts or National Accounts.
Direct Advertising
advertising aimed narrowly at single businesses or individuals by means of leaflets, brochures, catalogues and similar materials rather than to a wider audience through the mass media. See Direct Marketing.
Direct Channel
a channel of distribution in which the producer sells directly to the end-user; sometimes called a Zer—Level Channel because there are no intermediaries between producer and consumer.
Direct Close
the most straight-forward closing approach; the salesperson simply asks the buyer for an order. See Close.
Direct Competition
a product or brand which competes in the same product category. See Indirect Competition.
Direct Competitive Advertising
advertising intended to stimulate immediate purchase of a particular brand. See Indirect Competitive Advertising.
Direct Costs
costs which can be attributed directly to the production of a particular product. See Indirect Costs.
Direct Denial Method
handling a buyer's objection by contradicting it in a "head-on" manner. See Objections.
Direct Foreign Investment
see Direct Investment.
Direct Investment
in international marketing, a foreign-market entry strategy in which an organisation develops a manufacturing and/or assembly plant in an overseas country.
Direct Mail
the posting of advertising material to a potential customer with the objective of making a sale or getting a response of some kind. See Direct Mail Advertising.
Direct Mail Advertising
advertising direct to end-users by sending catalogues or other sales literature through the post.
Direct Mail Survey
a questionnaire that is sent by a researcher by mail to selected respondents for self-completion.
Direct Marketing
communications, often interactive, between an organisation and its customers to effect a measurable response and to make a sale; the use of advertising and sales promotion via electronic media, catalogues, direct-mail advertisements, and other media for this purpose. See Direct Selling.
Direct Marketing Channel
a distribution channel in which no intermediaries are used; a manufacturer sells direct to an end-user; also called a Zero Level Channel. See Channel Length.
Direct Observation
a marketing research technique in which the behaviour of respondents is watched and usually recorded as it occurs.
Direct Print and Reproduction
a form of direct marketing in which a tailored offer is made to potential customers by means of a catalogue, brochure, CD-disk or similar advertising vehicle.
Direct Rating
a technique for pre-testing the communication effect of a planned advertisement or campaign in which a consumer panel is asked to rate alternative versions; the ratings are then analysed to assess their appeal and effectiveness.
Direct Reference Group
small informal groups with which individuals have face-to-face contact and membership, and whose norms and values have an influence on their buying behaviour; direct reference groups can be primary (for example, the family) or secondary (clubs and societies to which the individuals belong). See Indirect Reference Group; Reference Group).
Direct Retailing
a form of retailing in which goods and services are sold door-to-door, office-to-office or at home parties rather than from stores in particular locations; Avon and Mary Kay Cosmetics are companies that use this approach.
Direct-Response
see Direct-Response Campaign; Direct-Response Marketing.
Direct-Response Campaign
a planned advertising program which utilises mass media to promote a direct-response offer. See Direct-Response.
Direct-Response Marketing
a form of non-store retailing in which customers order merchandise by mail or telephone and the goods are shipped direct to their homes; also referred to as Direct-Response Selling. See At-Home TV Shopping.
Direct-Response Radio Marketing
a planned advertising program which utilises radio to promote a direct-response offer. See Direct-Response.
Direct-Response Television Marketing
a planned advertising program which utilises television to promote a direct-response offer. See Direct-Response.
Direct Selling
selling directly to end-users by means of a sales force. See Direct Marketing.
Direct-to-Home Retailing
see Direct-Response Selling.
Direct-to-Store Delivery
the delivery of goods direct to a retailer’s various premises rather than to its central warehouse.
Directed Data
comprehensive information about customers collected by organisations by means of the Internet.
Directive Probes
questions posed to prospective buyers to obtain a better understanding of the customer and the customer's business.
Directories
classified lists of names and addresses of individuals and organisations used in selling for prospecting for new accounts and in marketing research as sources of secondary data.
Disaggregated Market
a market in which separate products must be made for each customer because each has different needs; also referred to as Complete Segmentation. See Customised Marketing Mix; Market Atomisation Strategy.
Discontinuous Innovation
entirely new-to-the world products made to perform a function for which no product has existed previously.
Discount
a reduction off the list price offered by a producer to a buyer; five types of discounts are common: trade, quantity, cash, seasonal and allowances. See Allowances; Cash Discount; Quantity Discount; Seasonal Discount; Trade Discount.
Discount Department Store
a retailing operation which, like conventional department stores offers a wide range of merchandise but differs from them in offering lower prices and providing fewer services. See Department Store.
Discount House
a retailer specialising in consumer durables and soft goods, attracting customers with low prices; typically, discount houses operate on low mark-ups and offer a minimum of customer service.
Discount Pricing
a pricing strategy in which a company reduces its price to encourage bulk buying, off-peak use or early payment.
Discount Specialty Store
see Discount Department Store.
Discount Store
see Discount House.
Discrete Pricing
setting a price which will attract a particular customer type or segment.
Discrepancy of Assortment
the difference between the range of items carried by a supplier and the items required to satisfy the needs of a customer. See Discrepancies; Temporal Discrepancy; Time Discrepancy; Spatial Discrepancy.
Discrepancy of Quantity
the difference between the quantity a manufacturer produces and the quantity end-users want to buy. See Discrepancies; Temporal Discrepancy; Time Discrepancy; Spatial Discrepancy.
Discrepancies
In logistics, the differences between sellers and buyers in relation to relate to time, place, quantity and assortment, which must be overcome in planning the channel structure; sellers will often manufacture goods at times (time or temporal discrepancy) and places (spatial discrepancy), and in quantities (discrepancy of quantity) and assortments (discrepancy of assortment) that do not suit sellers and so they have to managed by the channel members in ways that are appropriate.
Discretionary Effort
in services marketing, the service that managers or employees of an organisation provide which is over and above that which they are obliged or expected to provide in carrying out their normal tasks. For example, a taxi driver who helps an elderly passenger out of the car and escorts him or her across the road to the safety of a footpath is making a discretionary effort.
Discretionary Income
the balance of a person's income which is available for spending after payment of the basic necessities of life and fixed commitments such as mortgage, rent and rates. See Disposable Income.
Discriminant Analysis
a statistical technique used in the analysis of marketing research data when the dependent variable is categorical and the independent variables are intervals. See Dependent Variable; Independent Variable.
Discriminant Function
the linear combination of independent variables developed by discrimination analysis that will best discriminate between categories of the dependent variable. See Discriminant Analysis.
Discriminant Function Coefficients
the multipliers of variables in the discriminant function when the variables are in the original units of measurement.
Discriminant Score
in discriminant analysis, the score of each respondent on the discriminate function. See Discriminant Analyis; Discriminant Function.
Discrimination
in consumer behaviour, the capacity of customers to recognise the differences between sets of similar products or other stimuli and make differing responses to each; in this sense, discrimination is the opposite of generalisation, in which customers faced with similar sets of product or other stimuli will respond to them all in a similar way.
Discriminatory Power
in statistical analysis, the ability of a scale to differentiate significantly between categorical scale responses.
Discriminatory Pricing
see Differential Pricing.
Diseconomies of Scale
see Economies of Scale.
Disguised Observation
a marketing research technique in which the behaviour of unaware respondents is observed in marketing situations. The ‘mystery shopper’ technique is an example of disguised observation.
Disintermediation
the shortening of a channel of distribution by the removal of one or more members. See Distribution Channel.
Disjunctive Model (of Brand Evaluation)
a model used in the study of consumer decision processes to evaluate alternative brands; the idea that consumers, about to make a purchase, evaluate competing brands on the basis of one or a few attributes, ignoring their standing on other attributes. Other models of brand evaluation include the expectancy-value model, ideal brand model, conjunctive model, lexicographic model and determinance model.
Display Aids
see Visual Aids.
Display Allowance
a type of trade sales promotion in which buyers are given incentives in the form of price reductions or merchandise to encourage them to display the items purchased prominently. See Allowances.
Display Centre
a complex, usually managed by an industry association, set up to display new products and innovations such as building products and home renovation ideas.
Display Media
any form of advertising material, especially that used in retail stores, used to display or promote merchandise.
Disposable Income
the balance of a person's income after payment of tax liability. See Discretionary Income.
Disposer
the person who has to dispose of a product or its container after it has been consumed; for example, the person who disposes of the cardboard milk cartons when empty. Especially for societal marketers, the disposer can play an important role in the buying decision process because if disposing of the cardboard cartons becomes difficult, he or she could influence the others in the buying centre to purchase milk in a different container form.
Disproportionate Stratified Sampling
an approach to stratified sampling in which the size of the sample from each stratum or level is not in proportion to the size of that stratum or level in the total population.
Dissociative Groups
groups with whom an individual does not wish to be associated; groups whose use of a product will deter other buyers. See Aspirational Groups;
Dissonance
see Cognitive Dissonance.
Dissonance-Reducing Buying Behaviour
in consumer behaviour, any activity that is aimed at lessening the tension or feelings of discomfort and unease which accompany an unfamiliar purchase.
Distance Property
a measurement scheme that is capable of precisely expressing the exact or absolute difference between each of the descriptors, scale points or responses.
Distortion
see Selective Distortion.
Distributed Marketing Information System
an approach to the provision of marketing information and intelligence in which marketing managers have direct access to marketing information through personal computers and other technologies.
Distribution Centre
a short-term storage centre located close to a major market to facilitate the rapid processing of orders and shipment of goods to customers; unlike a warehouse, the emphasis is on the moving of goods rather than on long-term storage.
Distribution Channels
see Marketing Channels.
Distribution Centre
a large warehouse, usually highly automated, established centrally by a manufacturer or wholesaler to receive goods from multiple suppliers and dispatch them to customers.
Distribution Costs
costs associated with the holding of inventory and the shipment of goods to customers.
Distribution Decisions
all decisions involved in the efficient delivery of goods and services from producer to end-user.
Distribution Intensity
the level of availability selected for a particular product by the marketer; the level of intensity chosen will depend upon factor such as the production capacity, the size of the target market, pricing and promotion policies and the amount of product service required by the end-user. See Exclusive Distribution; Intensive Distribution; Selective Distribution.
Distribution Management
see Physical Distribution Management.
Distribution Objectives
specific goals and targets relating to the efficient delivery of goods and services from producer to end-user.
Distribution Strategy
see Place Strategy.
Distribution Structure
the way in which an organisation arranges the movement or delivery of its products to end-users, either by direct supply or by means of one or more intermediaries. See Marketing Channels.
Distribution-Based Pricing Strategies
pricing methods designed to recover or offset the costs associated with the shipment of goods to distant customers. See Geographic Pricing.
Distributor
a wholesaler, agent or other intermediary in a distribution network.
Distributor's Brand
a brand owned or controlled by an organisation, the primary economic commitment of which is to distribution rather than production; also called a private brand or a house brand. See Manufacturer's Brand.
District Sales Manager
a sales manager with responsibility for the sales activities within a particular region or district.
Divergent Acquisition
difersification into new or unrelated businesses. See Convergent Acquisition; Diversification.
Diversification
introducing new offers to new markets. See Diversification Strategy.
Diversification Risk Model
a technique for evaluating the risk involved in a diversification strategy in which relevant product and market factors are evaluated against a set of pre-determined criteria. See Diversification; Diversification Strategy.
Diversification Strategy
a growth strategy in which an organisation takes on new products and new markets at the same time. See Diversification; Growth Strategies; Concentric Diversification; Conglomerate Diversification; Horizontal Diversification.
Diversionary Pricing
a pricing tactic in which an organisation sets a low price to encourage trial of its goods or services in expectation that the trial or initial purchase will lead to more significant purchasing at a later time.
Diverting
a business practice that occurs when an organisation takes advantage of a discounted price a manufacturer is offering for a product in one particular geographic region, purchases it in large quantity and then ships it to another region.
Divest Strategy
a planned decision to get out of a particular business or product line; to sell off.
Divisibility
the extent to which a new product can be tested in a limited scale purchase. See Adoption Rate Determinants.
Division of Labour
a common business practice in which workers in a factory or on a manufacturer’s assembly line or similar specialise in one aspect of a task; for example, a group of automotive assembly workers may specialise in fitting headlights and play no other role in the vehicle’s assembly.
Divisional Marketing Manager
a marketing manager with responsibility for the marketing activities of one of the operating divisions of a company.
Divisional New Product Development Structure
an organisational structure in which each of the company’s divisions is responsible for developing its own new products and bringing them to market.
Divisional Sales Manager
a sales manager with responsibility for the sales activities of one of the operating divisions of a company.
DIY Goods
goods produced for the "do-it-yourself" market.
DMA
See Designated Marketing Area.
Dogs
a product classification used in the Boston Consulting Portfolio Analysis Matrix; dogs are products with a relatively low market share in a slow-growth market. See Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Analysis Matrix; Cash Cows; Question Marks; Stars.
Dollar Volume Quota
a common form of sales assignment, goal or target used to measure a salesperson's performance; for example, the salesperson may be told that his or her sales must total $400,000 during the coming year. Other common forms of sales quotas are unit volume quotas, gross margin quotas, net profit quotas and activity quotas. See Sales Quota.
Domain Name Segmentation
the division of a market into segment groups on the basis of their internet addresses. For example, it is possible for a manufacturer of video equipment to target all educational institutions in Australia by obtaining a list of organisations with ‘dot-edu- dot-au’ in their internet domain name.
Domain of Observables
the set of components of an abstract construct that can be identified and measured.
Dominant Design
a product configuration which endures; a particular combination of product features which appears to satisfy the market and survives, without major change, for some time.
Door-to-Door Selling
direct selling in which a salesperson calls on prospective buyers at their homes without appointments.
Downstream
the channel members between a manufacturer and its consumers.
Down-Ageing
a recently-observed cultural phenomenon or cultural shift in which many people dress and behave to make themselves appear younger, healthier, more active and more vibrant than they are.
Down-Market Consumers
consumers who habitually look for, and purchase, low-priced rather than more expensive products. See Up-Market Consumers.
Downside Elasticity
a term used in reference to the sensitivity of consumers to a decrease in the price of a particular product; downside elasticity means that the demand for the product increases significantly as the price falls. See Downside Inelasticity; Upside Elasticity; Downside Elasticity.
Downside Inelasticity
a term used in reference to the sensitivity of consumers to a decrease in the price of a particular product; downside inelasticity means that there is no significant increase in demand as the price falls. See Downside Elasticity; Upside Elasticity; Upside Inelasticity.
Downsizing
a business practice in which organisations restructure and reconfigure processes to enable a reduction in staff numbers for the purpose of cost reduction and increased productivity.
Downward Stretching
introducing a new product into a product line at the lower priced end of the market. See Product Line Stretching; Upward Stretching; Two-Way Stretching.
DPI
Disposable Personal Income.
Dramatisation of Presentation
the vitality given to a presentation or demonstration of a product by a salesperson to a buyer; presentations can be dramatised by using audiovisual aids, involving the buyer in the operation of the product, etc.
Drip Advertising
limited expenditure on advertising over a relatively long period of time. See Burst Advertising Expenditure.
Drive
a motivating force or need sufficiently strong to impel a person to seek its satisfaction. See Learning Process.
Driver (Social Style)
one of the four social styles (with Amiable, Analytical and Expressive) commonly used to classify salespeople and their customers; Drivers are characterised by high assertiveness and low responsiveness. See Social Style; Amiable; Analytical; Expressive.
Drop Error
a mistake made by a company in deciding to abandon a new product idea that, in hindsight, might have been successful if developed. See Go Error; New Product Development.
Drop Shipper
a marketing intermediary who receives orders from customers and forwards them to a producer for shipment direct to the customer; the drop shipper takes title to the goods but never actually handles them. Also called a Desk Jobber.
Drop-In Product
a product that is so nearly identical to that of a competitor that it can be "dropped in" to the competitor's equipment or machinery without the need to alter settings and without affecting performance.
Drop-Off Survey
a survey technique in which a researcher drops off questionnaires for respondents to complete in their own time; the completed forms are mailed back to the researcher or picked up again at some later date.
Drugstore
A term used especially in the U.S., to describe a retail store that dispenses pharmaceutical prescriptions and across-the-counter medicines as a wide range of health-related personal items and other convenience goods.
Drummers
a nineteenth century term of American origin for a travelling salesperson.
DSS
Decision Support System.
Dual Distribution
a system of marketing channel organization in which a manufacturer uses two approaches simultaneously to get products to end-users; commonly, one approach is to use marketing intermediaries, while the other is to sell direct to end-users.
Dummy Media Vehicle
a mock-up of a media vehicle (magazine, etc) used to test advertising effectiveness with a representative group of the target market.
Dummy Variable
a false or artificial variable introduced into a regression equation to represent the categories of a nominal-scaled variable
Dumping
a practice in which a firm sells its product cheaply into a foreign market undercutting the domestic price.
Durables
see Consumer Durables.

Marketing dictionary - E

2009-12-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Early Adopters
the group in a market second only to innovators in the speed with which they adopt a new product. See Diffusion of Innovation; Early Majority; Innovators; Laggards; Late Majority.
Early Majority
the group in a market who are more deliberate than the innovators and the early adopters in making purchase decisions, but less conservative than the late majority and laggards. See Diffusion of Innovation; Early Adopters; Innovators; Laggards; Late Majority.
Economic Environment
factors in the economy, such as inflation, unemployment, interest rates, etc., that influence the buying decisions of consumers and organisations.
Economic Forecast
a prediction of the likely impact on the business environment of factors such as inflation, interest rates, unemployment, government and consumer spending, etc.
Economic Order Quantity
the optimum quantity of each product that must be ordered to balance the inventory holding costs against the order processing costs; holding costs increase with more inventory, while order processing costs decrease.
Economic Utility
the ability of a good or service to satisfy a customer's needs or wants; the five kinds of economic utility are form utility, time utility, place utility, information utility and possession utility.
Economies of Scale
reductions in the price per unit of marketing or manufacturing a product as the quantity marketed or produced increases.
EEC
European Economic Community.
Effective Buying Income
an individual's disposable income, consisting of salary and wages, dividends, interest, profits, etc., less all government taxes. See Disposable Income.
EFTPOS
Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale.
Ego States
a proposition in transactional analysis that every person has three mental conditions - parent ego state, child ego state and adult ego state, and that at any particular time one of these states is dominant in the personality.
Ego-Drive
the need of one individual to persuade another to a particular point of view and feel satisfaction in having done so.
Eighty-Twenty Principle
see Pareto's Principle.
Elaboration Probes
questions posed by salespeople when positively encouraging prospects to provide additional information about their needs.
Elasticity of Demand
a measure of the degree to which any change in the price of a product will affect the demand for it. See In elasticity of Demand.
Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale
a system commonly used in retailing in which a consumer pays for purchases by means of an electronic transfer of funds from his or her bank account to that of the store.
Electronic Retailing
the use by customers of computer terminals in conveniently located shopping kiosks to call up product information and then to place orders using credit cards.
Electronic Shelf-Talkers
see Shelf-Talkers
Embargo
a total restriction on a particular good leaving or entering a county; any restriction imposed in the release of information, advertising, etc before a given date.
Embedding
a form of subliminal advertising; the concealing of imagery in various products and advertisements to appeal to the subconscious drives of potential customers. See Subliminal Advertising.
Emergency Goods
a category of consumer goods consisting of items purchased quickly in necessity. See Consumer Goods; Convenience Goods.
Emotional Appeals in Advertising
advertising messages, usually based on imagery rather than information, which attempt to achieve the advertiser's objectives by evoking strong emotionsl feelings (fear, anger, passion, etc) rather than by a rational appeal. See Rational Appeals in Advertising.
Emotional Close
a closing technique in which the salesperson attempts to get a favourable response from a buyer by appealing to his or her fear, pride or similar emotion. See Close.
Emotional Risk
the concern or uncertainty felt by a prospective buyer that he or she will feel bad about the purchase afterwards; also called Psychological Risk. See Risk.
Empathy
the ability of an individual to project his or her own personality into a situation and understand it; a quality deemed desirable in salespeople who must be able to see the product from the buyer's point of view.
Employee Poaching
the act of enticing key employees from one competing firm to another.
Employee Publics
the part of a company's public consisting of its employees. See Publics.
Empty Nesters
those in the stage of the family life cycle where the children have all grown up and left home; typically, empty nesters are at the peak of their earning potential, and are an excellent market for travel, leisure and sporting goods, and home improvement merchandise. See Family Life Cycle.
Encirclement Attack
a competitive strategy used by a strong challenger to attack the market leader; the market challenger launches an attack on several fronts at once in an attempt to break the leader's grip on the market.
Encoding
the translation of a message into code by a sender so that it can be relayed through a medium to a receiver. See Communication Process; Decoding.
Encouragement Probes
question posed by salespeople to get additional information from a prospective buyer.
Endless Chain Method
a prospecting method in which a salesperson asks each customer called upon to suggest the names of other likely purchasers of the same product. See Prospecting.
Endorsements
recommendations to purchase a particular brand of product made in advertisements by well-known personalities or experts.
ENP
Expected Net Profit.
Enterprise Competitors
firms of similar type vying for a consumer's business. See Competitors.
Entertainment Marketing
promotion of a product by means of movie tie-ins, endorsement by entertainment industry celebrities, or similar. See Movie Tie-ins; Endorsement.
Entry Barrier
see Market Entry Barrier.
Envelopes and Stubby Pencil
a rough method of calculating the size of the market for a given product, based on the known size of an overseas market.
Environmental Assessment -
Environmental Forecasting
attempting to predict the nature and intensity of the microenvironmental and macroenvironmental forces that are likely to affect a firm's decision making and have an impact upon its performance in a given period.
Environmental Management
see Megamarketing.
Environmental Scanning
the process of examining the internal and external factors which influence the firm's operations and decision making in order to identify market opportunities and threats.
EOQ
Economic Order Quantity.
Equipment-Based Services
Services in which machinery or equipment plays a significant role in delivering; for example, automatic telling machines play a significant role in the delivery of banking services. See People-Based Services.
Error Rate
the percentage of errors (wrong items, wrong quantity, wrong address, etc.) made in shipping merchandise to customers.
Escalator Clause
a clause in a contract which allows a tenderer to adjust the final amount charged to take account of price rises in component parts between acceptance of the bid and completion of the delivery, installation, etc.
ESP
see Envelopes and Stubby Pencil.
Esteem Needs
the desire to feel important in the eyes of others. See Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Ethics
see Marketing Ethics.
European Economic Community
a group of European nations acting as a trading block, limiting trade barriers among members and applying common tariffs to products from non-members.
Evaluative Criteria
features of a supplier, product, etc. considered by a buyer when choosing between alternatives; evaluative criteria may be objective or subjective.
Evaluative Probes
questions posed by salespeople to help their understanding of a prospective customer's feelings on a subject.
Evoked Set
brands that a buyer is aware of, and thinks well of, when considering a purchase ; also called the Consideration Set. See Inept Set; Inert Set.
Exchange
the transfer of an object, idea, service, etc. from one person or organisation to another in return for something desired. See Centralised Exchange Processes; Decentralised Exchange Processes.
Exclusive Agreements
agreements between manufacturers and middlemen in which the latter are granted sole rights to distribute a product within a defined territory.
Exclusive Assortment
an assortment strategy in which a reseller decides to carry the product line of only one manufacturer. See Assortment Strategies; Broad Assortment; Deep Assortment; Scrambled Assortment.
Exclusive Dealing Agreement
an arrangement in which a manufacturer prohibits a marketing intermediary from carrying competitors' products.
Exclusive Distribution
restricting the availability of a product to one particular outlet. See Distribution Intensity; Intensive Distribution; Selective Distribution.
Exclusive Sales Territory
a region in which a distributor has been given sole rights to a manufacturer's product.
Exclusivity
see Exclusive Agreements; Exclusive Distribution.
Expectancy-Value Model (of Brand Evaluation)
a model used in the study of consumer decision processes to evaluate alternative brands. In this model, brand attributes are weighted; a consumer's beliefs about each brand's attributes are multiplied by the respective weights to produce a preference ranking of the alternatives. Other models of brand evaluation include the ideal brand model, the conjunctive model, the disjunctive model, the lexicographic model and the determinance model.
Expected Return Model
a forecasting technique used to predict future profits where firms bid for business in an uncertain situation; a method of determining the expected value of a set of alternative outcomes. Total expected return in a given period is the sum of the profit from each job bid for, after each profit has been reduced by a factor corresponding to the degree of probability of the bid being accepted. Also called the Expected Value Method and Expected Value Analysis.
Expected Value Analysis
see Expected Return Model.
Expected Value Method
see Expected Return Model.
Expense Account
a budgeted amount of money advanced to a salesperson for food, travel, accommodation, entertainment of clients, and other items of expenditure considered necessary to make sales.
Expense Quota
the amount budgeted for a salesperson for expenses associated with making sales in a territory; used as a cost control measure by sales managers.
Experience Curve
see Learning Curve.
Experience Curve Pricing
the pricing of a product at a lower than average-cost level on the basis that costs will decrease as production experience increases.
Experimental Research Method
a systematic and scientific approach to marketing research in which the research manipulates one or a number of variables and measures any change in other variables.
Experimental Variables
the variables a researcher manipulates in conducting an experiment; also called Explanatory Variables. See Dependent Variables.
Expert Forecasting Survey
a sales forecasting method in which outside specialists or industry experts - economists, academics, management consultants, advertising executives, etc. - are asked to assist in the preparation of the sales forecast.
Explanatory Variables
see Experimental Variables.
Exploratory Research
desk research undertaken before primary research is commenced in a marketing research study, including an informal search for material from internal, external and secondary sources, interviews and discussions with informed sources, etc. See Marketing Research; Primary Research; Secondary Research.
Exponential Smoothing
a quantitative technique for sales forecasting using historical data weighted to favour the most recent information.
Export-Import Agent
an independent marketing intermediary bringing together buyers and sellers from different countries and taking a commission on sales.
Express Warranty
a manufacturer's guarantee, stated in written or spoken words, that the product offered for sale will satisfactorily perform the task for which it is intended, and to the buyer's reasonable expectations. See Warranty; Implied Warranty; Promotional Warranty; Protective Warranty.
Expressive (Social Style)
one of four social styles (with Amiable, Analytical and Expressive) commonly used to classify salespeople and their customers; Expressives are characterised by high assertiveness and high responsiveness.
Extension Approach to Pricing
an approach to global pricing in which a firm sets the same price for its product around the world and expects purchases to pay whatever additional freight and import costs apply. See Adaptation Approach to Pricing; Geocentric Approach to Pricing.
Extensive Decision Making
see Extensive Problem Solving.
Extensive Problem Solving
buying situations which require considerable effort because the buyer has had no previous experience with the product or suppliers; also called Extensive Decision Making. See Limited Problem Solving; Routine Problem Solving.
External Marketing Environment
relatively uncontrollable factors outside the firm which influence its decision making. See Internal Environment.
External Stimuli
advertisements, posters, coupons, point-of-purchase materials, store displays, etc which give rise to a drive. See Learning Process; Drive.
Extrinsic Rewards
rewards for doing a job which are external to the individual, such as wages, bonuses, incentives, fringe benefits, job promotions, and so on. See Intrinsic Rewards.
Eye Pupil Dilation Test
a physiological method of objectively pre-testing advertisements in which involuntary eye pupil dilation is used to measure the level of interest shown by a particular consumer.

Marketing dictionary - F

2009-12-25T23:35:00.000-08:00

FABS
acronym for Features and Benefits Selling.
Face Validity
the apparent plausibility of the results of marketing research, which on the basis of logic and common sense, seems to be correct.
Face-to-Face Selling
selling situations in which salesperson and buyer meet together (rather than use telephone or mail, for instance) to conduct their business.
Facilitating Channel Institution
an agency or organisation, such as a bank, transport company or insurance agency, which provides specialised assistance to members of a marketing channel; the facilitating channel institution does not take title to the goods.
Factor Analysis
a statistical procedure for trying to discover the basic factors that may underlie and account for the correlations among a larger number of variables. For example, factor analysis might be used to determine and interpret the basic factors underlying some negative attitudes towards the purchase and use of male toiletries and cosmetics.
Factory Outlet
a retail store that sells the products of one manufacturer, usually at very low prices.
FACTS
abbrev. Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations.
Fad
a product, especially a fashion, that comes quickly to the attention of an eager public, achieves peak sales in a relatively short time, and rapidly declines in popularity; that is, a popular product with a particularly short life cycle. See Fashion.
Fake Interview
a job interview held when a company advertises a non-existent position in its firm hoping to attract personnel from competing firms; the aim of this unethical tactic is usually, to obtain competitive information.
False Objection
see Hidden Objection; Objections.
FAMI
abbrev. Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute.
Familiarity Scale
a scaling device for measuring a target audience's awareness and knowledge of a company or its products. Responses are commonly recorded on a five-stage scale: 1. Never Heard of It; 2. Heard of It; 3. Know a Little; 4. Know a Fair Amount; 5. Know It Well. See Favorability Scale.
Family Brand
a brand name used for a number of products in the same line, such as Revlon cosmetics or Heinz canned foods; also referred to as a Blanket Brand. See Corporate Branding; Individual Brand; Corporate Branding; Single Brand Name.
Family Life Cycle
a series of stages through which the typical family passes, including bachelor stage, young marrieds, full nest, empty nest and sole survivor.
FARB
Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters.
FAS
Free-alongside-Ship (at port of export).
FAS Pricing
see Free-alongside-Ship Pricing.
Fashion
a product that is popular at the moment; fashions tend to follow recurring life cycles. See Fad.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
a term used in reference to frequently purchased consumer goods, such as foodstuffs, toiletries, etc.
Favorability Scale
a scaling device for measuring a target audience's feelings or attitudes towards a company or its products. Responses are commonly recorded on a five-stage scale: 1. Very Unfavorable; 2. Somewhat Unfavorable; 3. Indifferent; 4. Somewhat Favorable; 5. Very Favorable. Also called Image Analysis. See Familiarity Scale.
Fear Appeals in Advertising
advertising messages which use fear as their focus; often employed in public service announcements, such as those seeking to discourage smoking, reduce the road toll, warn of the dangers of hard drugs, etc. See Emotional Appeals in Advertising; Rational Appeals in Advertising.
Feature Modification
a change made to any feature of a product in order to make it safer, more useful or more valuable to a purchaser; also called Functional Modification.
Features
prominent or distinctive characteristics of a product's use, construction or design; also referred to as Attributes.
Features and Benefits Selling
a selling style in which a salesperson is careful to relate each feature of the product being presented to a particular benefit which the feature will deliver to the buyer.
Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations
an association of Australian commercial television stations responsible for the control of television advertising standards; the Federation must preview and approve all commercial announcements before they are broadcast.
Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters
an association of Australian commercial radio stations responsible for the control of radio advertising standards; the federation must preview and approve all radio commercials before they are broadcast.
Feedback
the mechanism in the communication process which allows the sender to monitor and evaluate the receiver's response to a message. See Communication Process.
Fictitious Pricing
the unethical, possibly illegal, practice of announcing a price reduction (eg. "now $20, formerly $49") when, in fact, there has been no reduction at all.
Field Research
see Primary Research.
Field Sales Manager
a sales manager whose prime responsibility is for the supervision of the sales force in its outside selling activities; generally, the field sales manager will have only minimal involvement in the internal, administrative sales management operations.
Field Selling
face-to-face sales calls made by company representatives on customers in their homes or places of business.
Fighting Brand
a low-priced manufacturer's brand sold with minimal advertising and promotional expenditure; the brand is used to compete with dealers' brands and generics. Also called a Price Brand.
Financial Leverage
a measure of the extent to which a firm uses debt in its total capital structure; the higher the component of debt the more leveraged is the firm. Leverage is calculated by dividing total assets by equity.
Financial Resources
the availability of money in the form of cash, securities, creditors, loan facilities, etc possessed by an organisation.
Financial Risk
concern in the buyer's mind that the product being considered for purchase is too expensive, or will be a waste of money. See Risk.
FIS
Free-in-Store.
FIS Pricing
see Free-in-Store Pricing.
Fishyback
a term used in the physical distribution of goods to refer to a system of transportation requiring the transfer of containers from truck to ship. See Birdyback; Piggyback.
Fixed-Sum-Per-Unit
an approach to promotional budget setting in which the total to be spent in a given period is the sum of a certain set amount allocated to each item produced.
Flag
an area on a product label which interrupts the design to announce a special offer or similar promotion.
Flanker Brand
a brand introduced into a market by a company which already has an established place in order to increase overall market share in a product category.
Flanking Attack
a competitive marketing strategy in which one company attacks another in a weak spot, commonly by paying maximum attention to either a geographic region or a market segment in which the rival is under-performing.
Flanking Defence
a competitive marketing strategy in which the market leader attempts to identify and strengthen its own weak points, commonly geographic areas or market segments in which it is under-performing, before a smaller rival can mount an attack against it.
Flanking Strategy
see Flanking Attack; Flanking Defence.
Flexible Pricing
a pricing method in which the price charged for some consumer shopping goods and specialty goods and for many industrial products is open to negotiation between buyer and seller; also known as Multiple Pricing and Variable Pricing.
Flighting
scheduling advertising campaigns in irregular bursts followed by periods of relative or complete inactivity. See Continuity; Pulsing.
Floor Price
see Price Floor.
Fluctuating Demand
demand in the industrial sector which rises and falls sharply in response to changing economic conditions and consumer spending patterns.
Flyer
a promotional leaflet or mailing piece.
FMCG
Fast Moving Consumer Goods.
FOB
Free-on-Board.
FOB Pricing
see Free-on-Board Pricing.
FOC
Front-of-Counter.
Focus Group
a qualitative marketing research technique in which an independent moderator interviews a small group of consumers from the target market in an informal setting to get an immediate market reaction to a new product or brand name, to generate new product ideas, etc. Also referred to as a Customer Panel. See Qualitative Marketing Research.
Follow-the-Leader Strategy
decisions and actions taken by a firm which chooses to follow the market leader as an alternative to challenging it; essentially reactive, follow-the-leader strategies, also known os "me-too" strategies, minimise the risk of retaliation which might result from an attack, direct or indirect, on the market leader's share. See Breakthrough Strategies.
Follow-the-Leader Pricing Strategy
a pricing strategy adopted by firms which copy the market leader's prices.
Follow-Up
the vital final stage in the selling process; the salesperson's call-back upon a client after the ordered goods have been supplied to check that all has been handled to the buyer's satisfaction.
Follower Role
see Market Follower.
Foothold Firm
see Market Nicher.
Forecasting
predicting future variables, such as the level of sales in a given period, the environmental factors that will influence the firm's performance, etc.
Foreground Radio
a term used in reference to pre-recorded or live radio programs featuring music and commercial announcements broadcast direct to stores where the advertised merchandise is available.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate
the price of one country's currency expressed in terms of the currency of another country.
Foreign Market Entry
expansion by entering an overseas market; the four possible ways of entry an overseas market are by exporting, licensing, joint venturing or direct ownership.
Foreseeability Doctrine
the notion under product liability laws that a manufacturer has an onus to foresee how a product might be misused and warn consumers accordingly.
Form Utility
the value given to a product by virtue of the fact that the materials and components which comprise it have been combined to make the finished product. See Utility.
Formal Product
see Actual Product.
Formal Training
training given in a classroom setting as opposed to that given in the field. See Curbside Sales Training; On-the-Job Training.
Formula Approach
an approach to selling in which the salesperson uses a formula such as AIDA - awareness, interest, desire, action - as a guide to taking the buyer from one stage of the buying process to the next; also called the Mental States Approach. See AIDA Concept.
Formula Marketing
a term used to describe an approach to marketing practice which relies heavily on conventional wisdom and spurns anything innovative.
Forward Buy
the placement of an inventory purchase order earlier than required in order to take advantage of a special price offer, or similar.
Forward Integration
a strategy for growth in which a company develops by seeking ownership of, or some measure of control over, its distribution systems. See Backward Integration; Horizontal Integration.
Four Ps
the four major controllable variables of the marketing mix - product, price, promotion and place.
Franchise-Building Sales Promotions
consumer sales promotions which impart a selling message along with the deal, as in the case of free samples or premiums related to the product. Consumer sales promotions which are not "franchise-building" include price-off packs, contests and sweepstakes, and premiums not related to the product. See Consumer Franchise.
Franchise Extension
see Brand Extension.
Franchising
an arrangement in which a supplier grants a dealer the right to sell a product in return for some percentage of the total sales; typically, the supplier provides buildings and equipment, management advice and marketing assistance to the franchisee, who agrees to operate according to the franchisor's general rules.
Free Associations
a method of collecting qualitative marketing research data in which respondents are asked to supply the word or idea which first comes to mind in response to a word or phrase given to them by a researcher; the technique is used to further understand shopping, advertising, branding, etc.
Free Market
a market place which has minimum direct involvement of government in market decisions.
Free Merchandise
a type of trade sales promotion in which resellers are given a certain quantity of merchandise free of charge in return for an order of a specified size. See Trade Sales Promotion.
Free Samples
see Samples.
Free-alongside-Ship Pricing
a pricing approach in which the manufacturer pays the freight cost to the wharf; costs associated with loading and shipping are borne by the purchaser. See Geographical Pricing.
Free-Form Presentation
a selling approach which does not rely upon any set formula or method. See Formula Approach.
Free-in-Store Pricing
a pricing method in which the producer is responsible for all freight and delivery costs; the ordered goods are delivered freight free to the customer. See Geographical Pricing.
Free-In-The-Mail Premium
a type of sales promotion in which consumers are offered a gift which is sent to them by post in return for proof of purchase of the product.
Free-on-Board Pricing
a pricing method in which a producer bears only the costs involved of delivery of goods "free-on-board" to a local carrier's despatch point; at that time, title for the goods passes to the purchaser, who is responsible for the remainder of the freight charge. See Geographical Pricing.
Free-Standing Inserts
brochures, leaflets and similar advertising material distributed with magazines and newspapers as loose inserts.
Free-Standing Retailer
a retail store, not located in a shopping complex with other retailers, having its own premises and parking area.
Freight Absorption Pricing
a pricing method in which the manufacturer bears some or all of the freight costs involved in transporting the goods to the customer. See Delivered Pricing.
Freight Charges
transportation costs involved in shipping goods from producer to customer.
Freight Forwarders
firms specialising in the supply of transportation services; by buying large volumes of land, sea, air and pipeline transportation at low rates, they are able to offer attractive rates to small businesses whose products they combine into large shipments.
Frequency
the number of times the target consumer will be exposed to the message during the specified period of the campaign.
Freudian Motivation Theory
the theory that a consumer's buying preferences are dictated by unconscious motives, and that visual, auditory and tactile elements of a product may evoke emotions which stimulate or inhibit purchase. See Motivation; Maslow's Theory of Motivation; Herzberg's Theory of Motivation.
Fringe Benefits
benefits enjoyed by employees as part of a total remuneration or compensation package; fringe benefits are subject to taxation in Australia.
Front-of-Counter
the prime and most sought after position for impulse goods. Hence, front-of-counter (or FOC) display pack.
Full Nesters
a term used to describe the stage in the typical family life cycle in which the household consists of parents and growing children; three sub-stages of "full nesters" are used by marketers in targeting their products: Full Nest 1, where the youngest child is under six years of age; Full Nest 2, where the yougest child is over six; and Full Nest 3, where the household consists of parents and older dependent children. See Family Life Cycle.
Full-Cost Pricing
a pricing strategy in which all relevant variable costs and a full share of fixed costs directly attributable to the product are used in setting its selling price. See Incremental-Cost Pricing.
Full-Function Merchant Wholesaler
see Full-Service Wholesaler.
Full-Line Department Store
a department store which offers many different lines of products, including clothing, sporting goods, food, furniture, electrical goods, etc., and many diffrent services, including wrapping, delivery and credit. See Limited-Line Department Store.
Full-Line Strategy
the decision by a producer to offer a large number of product variations in a product line. See Limited-Line Strategy.
Full-Service Advertising Agency
an advertising agency offering a complete range of services including marketing research; media planning; creative design of packaging and advertisements, etc. See Limited-Service Advertising Agency.
Full-Service Research Supplier
a marketing research firm which can offer a client a complete range of services, including problem definition or conceptualisation, research design, data collection and analysis, and reporting. See Limited-Service Research Supplier.
Full-Service Wholesaler
a wholesaler offering a complete range of services including buying, selling, storage, transporting, sorting, financing, providing market feedback and risk-taking; also called a Full-Function Wholesaler. See Limited-Function Wholesaler.
Functional Costs
costs associated with a specific business activity, such as selling, advertising, marketing research, etc.
Functional Discount
a price allowance given to a firm performing some part of the marketing function for other members of the channel of distribution; also called Trade Discount.
Functional Middlemen
see Functional Wholesalers.
Functional Modification
see Feature Modification.
Functional Organisation
the organisation of a firm's business activities so that a separate division is responsible for each business function - production, finance, personnel, marketing, etc; the organisation of a firm's marketing activities so that a separate division is responsible for each marketing function - planning, research, sales, advertising, distribution, new product development, etc. See Organisational Structure.
Functional Risk
see Performance Risk.
Functional Wholesalers
agents, brokers, commission merchants, etc. who facilitate exchanges between producers and resellers and receive commissions for their services; also referred to as Functional Middlemen.

Marketing dictionary - G

2009-12-25T23:23:00.000-08:00

Galvanic Skin Response
a physiological testing technique in which the electrical conductivity of the skin is measured to check the level of arousal caused by an advertisement. See Galvanometer.
Galvanometer
a scientific instrument used in marketing research to measure the reaction of a subject in a study to an advertisement; the instrument measures the perspiration that accompanies the subject's interest or arousal. See Galvanic Skin Response.
Gap Analysis
the determination of the methods and techniques used to fill the "gap" between corporate sales and financial objectives and the current long-range forecasts of the sales team.
Gatekeepers
people within organisations who can control the flow of information to members of the buying centre. See Buying Centre.
GE Matrix
see General Electric Strategic Business Portfolio Planning Grid.
General Electric Strategic Business Portfolio Planning Grid
a portfolio analysis and planning grid developed by General Electric; it uses a two-dimensional matrix based on industry attractiveness and business strength.
General Public
all of the people in the society in which a firm operates; within the general public there may be some who view its actions favourably and some who view them unfavourably. See Publics.
Generic Advertising
advertising a category or class of product rather than a particular brand, as in "Butter is good for you!", "Feed the man meat!", "Drinka Pinta Milka Day!", etc.
Generic Brand
a "no-name" brand; a product that does not carry a brand name.
Generic Competitors
products which are all different in type but are capable of satisfying the same basic want of the prospective purchaser. For example, the consumer may want to buy some new kitchen appliances but must choose between a dishwasher, a refrigerator and a microwave oven.
Generic Products

unbranded products identified only by product category.
Generics
see Generic Brand.
Geocentric Approach to Pricing
an approach to global pricing in which affiliate or subsidiary companies supply information about local market conditions and the corporation then sets prices accordingly to maximise profits in each national market. See Adaptation Approach to Pricing. Extension Approach to Pricing.
Geocentrism
the view that the whole world is one single market.
Geodemographics
Geographic Deployment
the deployment of a sales team on a regional or district basis as opposed to a product-type or customer-type basis.
Geographic Market Concentration
a distinctive characteristic of the industrial market; the industrial market tends to be more geographically concentrated than the consumer market.
Geographic Organisation
the organisation of firm's marketing activities so that a separate division is responsible for each of its major geographic markets. See Organisational Markets.
Geographic Price Adjustments
see Geographical Pricing.
Geographic Segmentation
the division of a total, heterogeneous market into relatively homogeneous groups on the basis of area, district, region, state, etc. See Segmentation Bases.
Geographic Variables
area or regional differences used to segment a market.
Geographical Pricing
a pricing method in which customers bear the freight costs from the producer's location to their own; examples of geographical pricing include FOB pricing, base-point pricing and zone pricing. See FOB Pricing; Base-Point Pricing; Zone Pricing.
Global Brands
brands sold to world markets with essentially the same promotion.
Global Marketing
marketing the same or very similar products to world markets with essentially the same promotion; also commonly referred to as International Marketing.
GNP
Gross National Product
Go Error
a failure at any stage (but especially at the screening stage) in the new product development process when a decision is made to proceed with a product which, in hindsight, should have been abandoned. See Drop Error; New Product Development.
Goals
aims of a broad, long-term nature as opposed to objectives which are more explicit and relate to a specified time period. See Objectives.
Goods-Services Continuum
the idea that products contain elements of both goods and services in varying degrees.
Goodwill
the difference between the value of a business as a going concern and the sum of the value of its assets if taken separately.
Government Markets
federal, state and local government departments and agencies which buy goods and services needed to conduct their operations.
Grade Label
a tag, sticker, label, letter, mark or symbol which identifies the quality or grade of a product offered for sale. See Label.
Green Marketing
the marketing of "environmentally friendly" products; marketing which takes into account environmental issues such as wastefulness of the earth's resources, pollution, the release of toxins into the atmosphere, etc.
Greeters
a mid-nineteenth century term for a salesperson; greeters, representing manufacturers and wholesalers, met retailers in hotel lobbies as they arrived on buying visits.
Grey Market
the importing of particular goods by firms which have not been appointed by the manufacturer as official distributors of the product; a term also used to describe the "over 60s" market for various goods and services of interest to this age group.
Greying of Australia
a term used to describe the ageing of the population; the median age of the Australian population has been rising steadily since 1960 because of a declining birth-rate and increased longevity.
Gross Margin
see Gross Profit.
Gross Margin Quota
a common form of sales assignment, goal or target used to measure a salesperson's performance; a gross margin quota is used to urge a salesperson to sell a healthy portion of higher-profit items which are usually higher in price and often harder to sell. Other commonly used types of sales quotas are unit volume quotas, dollar volume quotas, net profit quotas and activity quotas. See Sales Quota.
Gross National Product
the total market value of goods and services produced by a nation in a year.
Gross Profit
the amount left when selling costs and operating expenses are deducted from total revenue; also called Gross Margin.
Gross Rating Points
a ratio measuring the value of a media schedule in advertising, calculated by multiplying reach by frequency. See Frequency; Reach.
Gross Sales
the total revenue from all sales to customers in a specified period.
Group Influences
members of a family, peers, opinion leaders, etc. who have an effect on a consumer's spending or purchase behaviour. See Reference Groups; Aspirational Reference Groups; Contactual Reference Groups; Membership Reference Groups.
Group Prospecting
finding new customers by displaying and demonstrating merchandise at functions, clubs, home parties, etc. See Prospecting.
Group Sales Training
the training of sales representatives, usually in formal sessions, as a group. See Formal Training.
Group Selling
a selling situation in which a salesperson presents a product or product range to a group of buyers from one company or to a buying committee. See Team Selling.
Growth Rate
see Market Growth Rate.
Growth Stage of Product Life Cycle
the second stage (after the introductory stage) in the life cycle of a successful product; sales revenues increase steadily as the product finds market acceptance, prices generally remain high despite increasing competitive threats and profit margins are at peak level.
Growth Strategies
the means by which an organization plans to achieve its objective to grow in volume and turnover. Four broad growth strategies are available - market penetration, product development, market development and diversification.
GRP
See Gross Rating Points.
Guarantee
a written assurance by the manufacturer that a product will be replaced or repaired to the customer's satisfaction if it is found to be defective or does not perform as intended. See Warranty.
Guaranteed Price
an assurance given by a manufacturer to a marketing intermediary that if the wholesale price of a product is lowered while the intermediary is still holding stocks, the difference will be refunded; the purpose of the guaranteed price is to encourage the intermediary to order a large quantity of the product with confidence.
Guided Dreams
a method of collecting qualitative marketing research data in which respondents are asked to imagine they are dreaming or fantasising; whilst in this state, a researcher seeks their emotional reactions to particular products and brands. See Qualitative Marketing Research.

Marketing dictionary - H

2009-12-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

Habitual Decision Making
consumer decision making or problem solving requiring only minimal search for, and evaluation of, alternatives before purchasing. Also referred to as Automatic Response Behaviour, Routine Response Behaviour and Routinised Problem Solving. See Extensive Problem Solving; Limited Problem Solving.
Halo Effect
the transfer of goodwill from one product in a company's line to another; the attribution, by association, of the qualities of one item to others in the group.
Hard Sell Approach
an approach to selling in which the salesperson puts pressure on the buyer to make a commitment to purchase; an approach typical of the period of the "selling era" from the 1930s to 1950s.
Harvest Strategy
a deliberate decision to cut back expenditure of all kinds on a particular product (usually in the decline stage of its life cycle) in order to maximise profit from it, even if in doing so it continues to lose market share. See Hold Strategy.
Head-to-Head Competition
a competitive situation characteristic of oligopolistic circumstances, where the second or third leading company, decides to challenge the leader.
Hedonists
formally, those who habitually seek pleasurable experiences; individuals who, by nature, seek products which provide them with the most pleasure, without regard to calories, sugar content, salt content, cholesterol levels, colouring or preservative additives, and so on; hedonists are above-average consumers of chocolates, soft drinks, beer, etc.
Herzberg's Theory of Motivation
a theory of motivation developed by Henry Herzberg in which satisfiers (factors that cause satisfaction) are distinguished from dissatisfiers (factors which cause dissatisfaction). Thus, consumers will compare the number and degree of satisfiers to the number and degree of dissatisfiers before making purchase decisions. See Freudian Motivation Theory; Maslow's Theory of Motivation.
Heterogeneity
see Variability.
Heterogeneous Shopping Goods
shopping goods perceived by consumers as markedly different in quality and attributes; price is consequently less important. See Homogeneous Shopping Goods; Shopping Goods.
Hidden Objection
an unstated objection which a prospective buyer has to a product offered by a salesperson. See Objection; Invalid Objection; Stated Objection; Valid Objection.
Hierarchy of Effects Models
various illustrations of the notion that marketing promotion induces consumers to move in steps from one mental state to the next before eventually deciding to purchase a particular product; in the AIDA model the steps, in ascending order, are awareness, interest, desire and action, while in Lavidge and Steiner's expanded model (1962) they are ignorance, awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction and purchase.
Hierarchy of Needs
see Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
High-Contact Retailing
a recent trend in retailing in which some retailers attempt to position themselves by emphasising the services aspects of their products more than the goods themselves.
High-Involvement Products
products for which the buyer is prepared to spend considerable time and effort in searching. See Low-Involvement Products.
High-Price Strategy
a planned approach to pricing, appropriate in situations of inelastic demand, in which an organisation decides to keep its prices high; reasons for such a strategy might include a growing super-premium segment of the market, overcrowding at the bottom-end of the market, or the desire to create a prestige image for the product. Also called Premium Pricing.
High-Touch Service
customer service that is characterised by a high level of personal contact with customers, as opposed to "low-touch" customer service which is provided by vending machines, self-service counters, etc. See Low-Touch Service.
Historical Analogy
an approach to sales forecasting in which the past sales results of a similar product are used to predict the likely sales of a similar new product.
Ho-Hum Products
a colloquial term used in reference to common, everyday items (such as paper clips, drawing pins, staples and scribble-pads) which cannot be differentiated significantly from those of competitors; purchasers of "ho-hum" products will generally favour the cheapest available.
Hoisting the Flag
an approach to product introduction or launching, useful when the cost of introducing a new item is low; a new variant is introduced to see if it proves more popular than an existing one.
Hold Strategy
a course of action appropriate for a product (usually in the decline stage of its life cycle) in which a company decides to hold by keeping expenditure on it to a minimum to maximise the return before having to delete it from the line. See Harvest Strategy.
Holding Costs
costs associated with keeping inventory, including warehousing, spoilage, obsolescence, interest and taxes; also called Inventory Carrying Costs.
Home Shopping
forms of non-store retailing which include television home shopping (in which articles are demonstrated on TV so that consumers can place telephone orders for direct-to-home delivery), videotext or electronic catalogue shopping, etc.
Homogeneous Shopping Goods
shopping goods perceived by consumers to be essentially the same in quality and attributes; price is consequently the deciding factor. See Heterogenous Shopping Goods; Shopping Goods.
Horizontal Channel Conflict
discord among members at the same level of a marketing channel, eg. wholesaler-wholesaler discord or retailer-retailer discord. See Channel Conflict; Inter-Type Channel Conflict; Vertical Channel Conflict.
Horizontal Co-Operative Advertising
shared advertising by two or more members at the same level of a distribution channel, each paying part of the total cost.
Horizontal Diversification
a growth strategy in which a company seeks to add to its existing lines new products that will appeal to its existing customers. See Concentric Diversification; Conglomerate Diversification.
Horizontal Integration
a strategy for growth in which a company develops by seeking ownership of, or some measure of control over, some of its competitors. See Backward Integration; Forward Integration.
Horizontal Market
a market for a product which is bought by many industries. See Vertical Market.
Horizontal Marketing Management
the organisation of marketing activities by independent firms on the same level in a marketing channel so that they work closely together in buying, promotion, etc. to achieve economies of scale.
Horizontal Price Fixing
the practice, usually unlawful, of sellers of different brands of the same product making agreements to charge the same price to consumers. See Collusion; Price Fixing; Vertical Price Fixing.
House Accounts
see Direct Accounts.
Hypermarche
see Hypermarket.
Hypermarket
a giant, one-stop shopping facility offering a wide choice of grocery and general merchandise at discount prices; sometimes called a Hypermarche.