Revenue Catalyst: Glossary of Definitions
Measure
Measures are just the numerical data, no more. They are the result of quantifying.
Metric
Metrics are calculated from measures and are developed to show the extent of marketing and business success.
Normally, metrics are associated with one or both of two qualities:
They track over time
They show proportion to something else
Number
Any measure or metric.
Impressions
An impression occurs when an advertisement or another image that represents the company is shown to a viewer. Ideally, the view is in the market selected by the company and they have the opportunity to see the advertisement, message or post related to the company and its products. To track impressions, a sum of impressions shown for a specific channel or campaign is calculated for a given period of time.
Visits
A visit occurs when contact is established between the company and someone from the market. A visit can be a phone call, an email, a visit to a store location, a click to a website or a visit to a social media site. To track visits, a sum of visits to a specific location, digital or physical, is calculated for a given period of time such as an hour, day, week, month or longer.
Prospects
A person becomes a prospect whenever a company records the contact information of someone who is in the market. Ideally, this person has expressed an interest in the company and its products. The information from the prospect could be from a website, a social media site, a landing page, a phone call, a loyalty card, or an event. To track prospects, a sum of the prospects, such as new contacts, is calculated for a given period of time.
Offers
An offer occurs when a price for a product is shown or given to a prospect in the market. Examples of offers include proposals, quotes, estimates, rate cards, pricing on a web page and pricing within a store location. To track offers, a sum of offers, such as new quotes or proposals, are calculated for a given period.
There is a multitude of ways to present an offer. It could be on an e-commerce website, a quote, a rate card, a sign, or verbally (redundant… said above). The method of delivery and the format depends on the company and what is best for their prospects.
Ultimate Outcome
The desired behavior of the members of the market influenced by the marketing investment and effort.
The ultimate outcome is not always a sale. Some examples include buying a product, voting for a candidate, booking an appointment, or obtaining a résumé.
Leading Indicators
Leading Indicators are measures of marketing activity that need to occur before or in advance of generating prospects, quotes, sales and revenue. A good example is subscribers to your eNewsletter (or Blog).
Conversions
Some people use the language of “micro-conversions” and “macro-conversions” to classify indicators and outcomes.
The definition of a conversion depends on the situation. A “macro-conversion” is generally an online sale or an online sales prospect. A “micro-conversion” is some other measurable behavior by a visitor such as signing up for a newsletter, liking your Facebook page, or watching a video. Many of these “micro-conversions” are prospects.
KPI
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a measure or a metric deemed by the marketer to represent the success or failure for an outcome. KPIs are typically levels in the middle the Intentional Marketing System which are critical to the success of the organization in meeting targets. Each company will have a different set of KPIs related to marketing, however, common KPIs are:
The volume of visits in the market that come to the website, a social platform, or a location
The volume of prospects gained
The volume of offers presented to the market
In each case, the more the better but the quality of visitors, the prospect, and person accepting the quote is important. At times the quantity decreases as the quality of visitors, prospects, and people accepting the quotes increases. KPIs may be represented visually in charts, which are often shown with trend lines to indicate the direction of change or positioned against targets.
Target
A desirable minimum or maximum number for a measure or metric to be accomplished by a certain date.
Market
The people whom a marketer wishes to influence.
For simplicity, we assume that the “market” is people, but it could be companies or some other entity.
Acquisition
Attracting and creating customers.
Retention
Keeping customers.
Consumer Buying Path
The stops that consumers often take before arriving at the ultimate outcome. For many products this may be:
Need Recognition & Problem Awareness
Information Search
Evaluation of Alternatives (e.g., Test Drive)
Purchase
Post-Purchase Evaluation
Reach, Frequency and Impressions
The three foundational media measurement concepts are:
Reach - The number of people in the market exposed to the message
Average Frequency - The average number of times that people in the market are exposed to the message within a time period (usually one week)
Impressions - The number of times the message was shown to the market group
Impressions are based on Reach x Frequency, that is – the numbers of persons exposed to the message x the average frequency of exposure is the number of impressions
Brand and Transactional Marketing
Two types of marketing commonly practiced by companies
Brand marketing has the intent of strengthening brands of products or services by making promises, reducing risk and conveying symbolic value
Transactional marketing has the intent of enticing a sale within a short time frame
Unaided and Aided Survey Questions
Characterize the type of answer requested of the respondent
Unaided questions ask the respondent to reply suggest the answer
Aided questions provide a list of choices and ask the respondent to choose
Line of Business
A general term that often refers to a set of one or more highly related products that serve a particular customer transaction or business need.
e.g., Stores such as Staples and Future Shop now have a product line of business (they sell things) and a service line of business (they service and maintain products such as computers).
e.g., Internet marketing businesses may offer a website development line of business and a separate SEO service line of business.