Advertising and Marketing Key Terms

Terms to know to help with your advertising and marketing efforts

Advertising and marketing are two extremely important elements that contribute to the success of your business. Be sure you understand some key terms to help you with your marketing and advertising efforts. Be sure you know what a marketing plan and a marketing mix are. Learn what a target market is and how to identify yours. Figure out what branding, direct mail and promotional products are and how they can help your business.

 

Marketing plan

A marketing plan is a detailed outline of a company's product or service, who it plans to market it to, how it plans to market it, its marketing strengths, its marketing weaknesses, its competition and its budget.
Try: Marketing Plan Pro gives you a good example of a marketing plan and what it includes for you to look at.

Target market

Target market describes the specific group of people that a company plans to market to in order to sell its product or service. Target markets can be broken down by various factors, including age, gender, socioeconomic status, race and geographic location. Each business has its own target market and sometimes a business will have several target markets with different marketing strategies for each.
Try: Entrepreneur Media has an excellent definition of what a target market is and how you can identify yours.

Brand

A company's brand is the image that company conveys to its target audience through every aspect of its business operations. The branding of a company's image must be achieved and be consistent through print pieces, logos, product, word of mouth, customer service and more.
Try: American City Business Journals has a great article on company branding, what it is and tips on how to achieve it through all of your marketing efforts.

Marketing mix

A marketing mix is a combination of marketing tools and strategies aimed to market a product in several ways to a target audience. A marketing mix always involves the four Ps: product, price, place and promotion.
Try: Marketing Teacher details what a marketing mix is and breaks down the four Ps to help you understand each part they play in the marketing mix.

Direct mail

Direct mail is when a business delivers a printed advertising piece directly to its target audience through snail mail. If done right, direct mail can be an effective marketing and advertising tool for a business to increase sales and awareness of its product or service.
Try: Marigold Technologies defines what direct mail is in its direct marketing glossary definitions.

Promotional products

Promotional products are any products that a company gives away to raise awareness of its product, service or company brand. Examples include calendars, umbrellas, pens and more. Promotional products are an essential marketing and advertising tool for any business.
Try: Advertising Specialties Associates explains what promotional products are, why you should use them and how they can help your business.

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