MATSEC IM Marketing key terms

The activity of identifying customer needs and wants, then creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.

The coordinated set of controllable decisions a firm uses to reach its target market, traditionally grouped into four elements: product, price, place and promotion.

The specific group of customers, defined by shared characteristics or needs, at which a firm deliberately aims its marketing effort and resources.

Dividing a broad market into smaller groups of buyers with similar needs or behaviour, so that tailored offers can be designed for each group.

Splitting a market using measurable population characteristics such as age, gender, income, education, occupation or family life-cycle stage.

Grouping buyers by inner traits such as lifestyle, personality, values, interests and attitudes, rather than by observable population characteristics.

Shaping how a target audience perceives a brand relative to competitors, by choosing a distinctive place in the customer's mind based on valued benefits.

A single benefit or claim that sets a product apart from rivals and is meaningful, defensible and hard for competitors to copy.

An attribute or capability that allows a firm to outperform rivals, such as lower cost, superior quality, speed, innovation or stronger customer relationships.

The basic requirements a person feels must be satisfied, such as safety, convenience or status, which products and services are designed to fulfil.

Desires shaped by culture, personality and social influence for particular ways of satisfying a need, for example wanting a branded item rather than a generic one.

The quantity of a product buyers are willing and able to purchase at a given price over a given period, backed by both desire and purchasing power.

A clear statement of the benefits a company promises to deliver, and why those benefits are worth more than the cost or than competing offers.

The act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return, which is the core transaction marketing seeks to facilitate.

The degree to which a product's perceived performance matches or exceeds the buyer's expectations, influencing repeat purchase and word of mouth.

A buyer's consistent preference for and repeated purchase of one brand over alternatives, often reflecting satisfaction, habit or emotional attachment.

The set of beliefs, ideas and impressions a consumer holds about a brand, built up through experience, advertising and other communication.

The added value a brand name gives to a product beyond its functional attributes, reflected in willingness to pay more and in customer preference.

The pattern of sales and profit a product passes through over time, usually described in four stages: introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

The full collection of products or brands a firm offers, often analysed by market growth and relative market share to guide investment decisions.

A measure of how strongly the quantity demanded responds to a change in price, calculated as the percentage change in quantity divided by the percentage change in price.

The approach a firm takes to set and adjust prices, such as cost-plus, penetration, skimming or value-based pricing, in line with its objectives.

The chain of intermediaries, such as wholesalers, retailers and agents, through which a product passes from producer to final consumer.

The communication activities used to inform, persuade and remind target customers about a product, including advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling.

Paid, non-personal communication about a product or organisation, delivered through media such as television, print, radio, outdoor sites or digital platforms.

The coordinated use of message channels and tools to build consistent, clear and persuasive contact with target audiences across every touchpoint.

The systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data about customers, competitors and markets to support marketing decisions.

Data collected first-hand for a specific marketing problem, through methods such as surveys, interviews, observation or experiments.

The use of data already gathered by others, such as government statistics, trade reports or company records, to answer a marketing question.

A structured set of written questions used to collect standardised information from respondents, designed to be clear, unbiased and easy to analyse.

Selecting a subset of people from a larger population so that findings from the subset can be used to draw conclusions about the whole group.

A firm's sales expressed as a percentage of total sales in the market it serves, indicating its relative competitive strength.

A planning tool that sets out a firm's internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats to guide marketing strategy.

A written document setting out marketing objectives, target markets, the marketing mix, budgets and the actions and controls needed to achieve them.

A business that buys goods from producers or wholesalers and sells them directly to final consumers, adding convenience of location, assortment and service.

An intermediary that buys goods in bulk from producers and resells them to retailers or other businesses, providing storage, transport and breaking bulk.

A person's pattern of living as expressed in activities, interests and opinions, often used to group consumers for psychographic segmentation.