Sometimes, as marketers, we get so caught up in our own industry that we forget to make sure everyone is on the same page. We throw out lingo like “marketing strategy,” “marketing plan,” “ROI,” “Variable Data Print,” “marketing automation,” etc. and we just assume that everyone understands these terms inside and out–like we do. And every so often, we are met with a blank face staring back at us or a head scratch. That’s when we realize that marketing is our expertise, not everyone else’s.

So let’s briefly define some of the most commonly used marketing terms.

Marketing Strategy:

Marketing strategy is a long-term, forward-looking approach to planning with the end goal of achieving a competitive advantage.

Marketing Plan:

Your Marketing Plan is the implementation of your marketing strategy-the plan of attack for reaching the goals you outlined in the strategy.

ROI:

Return on Investment (ROI) is a measure used to evaluate how well a marketing initiative performed and how much profit or revenue growth it gained.

VDP is a form of digital printing, in which elements such as text and images may be changed depending on the recipient.

Automation:

Marketing Automation allows businesses, through technology, to target customers with automated messages via email, social media, web, text, etc. This streamlines marketing tasks.

A/B Testing:

A/B Testing refers to two versions of a marketing piece, for instance two different email subject lines, which are tested against each other to see which performs better.

Persona:

A persona is a fictional representation of an ideal customer based on research and real data surrounding your existing customers. Its goal is to help define a target audience.

Call to Action:

A CTA is the “what should people do” marker on a marketing piece. It could be a button, link, call out, etc. The goal is to direct the user o perform some sort of action.

Inbound Marketing:

Inbound Marketing draws people in, rather than having to go in search of prospects. It is achieved by earning the attention of customers through valuable content that will, over time, convert and close customers.

Infographic:

An infographic is a highly visual piece of content that breaks down complex concepts in a simple, easy to view manner.

Lead Nurturing:

This is also called Drip Marketing. Lead Nurturing is the practice of qualifying and engaging a lead in order to push them along the sales funnel.