Marketing dictionary - D
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.
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.
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