Marketing dictionary - B
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.
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.
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