Essential Business & Marketing Terms: A Comprehensive Glossary
Essential Business & Marketing Terms
After-Sales Service: Service that continues after the sale of a product (e.g., maintenance).
Agent: Person or company that acts for another and provides a specified service.
B2B E-commerce: Business-to-business e-commerce: use of commercial networks, online product catalogs, and other online resources to obtain better prices and reach new customers.
B2C E-commerce: Business-to-consumer e-commerce: online sale of goods and services directly to consumers.
Benchmarking: Comparing one’s products to those of competitors in order to improve quality and performance.
Buyer: 1) Any person who makes a purchase. 2) A person employed to choose and buy stock for a company.
Cash Refund Offer: Offer to pay back the purchase price of a product to customers who are not satisfied and send a “proof of purchase” to the manufacturer.
Chain Store: Two or more shops or outlets that have the same owner and sell similar lines of merchandise.
Client: A person who buys services or advice from a lawyer, an accountant, or other professional.
Close: Finalize or conclude a sale or deal.
Convenience Store: Small shop located near a residential area that opens long hours, seven days a week.
Deal: A business transaction.
Department Store: A large retail establishment offering a wide variety of merchandise organized into departments.
Coupon: A voucher offering a discount to customers when they purchase a specific product.
Discount: A reduction in price.
E-commerce: Buying and selling on the internet.
E-marketing: Promoting products and services on the internet.
Extranet: Network that connects a company with its suppliers and distributors.
Follow-up: Maintain contact after the sale to ensure customer satisfaction.
Franchise: Association between a manufacturer or wholesaler (franchiser) and an independent business person (franchisee) who buys the right to own and operate a unit in the franchise system.
Guarantee: A promise that the product will be repaired or replaced if faulty.
Intranet: A network that connects people to each other within a company.
Joint Venture: A way of entering a foreign market by joining with a foreign company to manufacture or market a product or service.
Markup: Percentage of the price added to the cost to reach a selling price.
Market Leader: The company with the largest market share in an industry.
Opinion Leader: Person with a reference, who, because of competence, knowledge, or other characteristics, exerts influence on others.
Packaging: Designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product.
Product Line: A group of products that are closely related.
Prospect: A potential customer.
Representative: A person who represents and sells for a company.
Retail: To sell in small quantities, as in a shop, directly to customers.
Shopping Center: Group or complex of shops with a common area for cars to park.
Telephone Marketing: Using the telephone to sell directly to customers.
Trade Fair: An exhibition at which companies in a specific industry can show or demonstrate their products.
Viral Marketing: The Internet version of word-of-mouth marketing: email messages that customers pass on to friends.
Wholesale: To sell goods in large quantities at low prices to those buying for resale (e.g., a shop) or for business use.