Top 40 Marketing Terms You Should Know

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1 1601 Trapelo Road Phone Suite 246 Fax Waltham, MA Top 40 Marketing Terms You Should Know If you have ever felt out of your depth in a discussion about marketing, rest assured you are not alone. The top forty common marketing terms and definitions below will help you expand your marketing vocabulary and make you look and feel like an expert. 1) Affirmative Consent - another word for permission. The recipient of your has been clearly and fully notified of the collection and use of his address and has consented prior to such collection and use. Affirmative consent is not only a best practice; it is required by all reputable marketing services. 2) Auto Responder (a.k.a. auto-response or auto-reply) - a program or a script that automatically sends a response when someone sends a message to its address. The most common uses of auto responders are for subscribe and unsubscribe confirmations, welcome s and customer-support questions. 3) Blacklist/blocklist - It is common for an ISP to a use a blacklist to determine which s should be blocked. Blacklists contain lists of domains or IP addresses of known and suspected spammers. Unfortunately, these blacklists also contain many legitimate service providers. Just a few spam complaints can land an service provider or IP address on a blacklist despite the fact that the ratio of complaints to volume of sent is extremely low. 4) Campaign - an marketing message or a series of messages designed to accomplish an overall goal. 5) Can Spam Act of Federal anti-spam legislation passed in 2003 that requires the following in each a legitimate header, a valid From address, a straightforward Subject line, an unsubscribe/opt-out link and/or instructions and a physical address. It also requires that all unsubscribes are processed within ten days of receipt. 6) Challenge Response - an automated message triggered by the receipt of an for the purpose of identifying the sender as a trusted source. The challenge is a message to the sender of the with instructions on how to validate themselves. If the sender provides a valid response, his address is added to the recipient s list of trusted senders and his message is passed along to the recipient. Copyright Roving Software Incorporated D/B/A Constant Contact. All Rights Reserved.

2 7) Confirmed Opt-In (a.k.a. double opt-in) - a more stringent method of obtaining permission to send campaigns. Confirmed opt-in adds an additional step to the opt-in process. It requires the subscriber to respond to a confirmation , either by clicking on a confirmation link, or by replying to the to confirm their subscription. Only those subscribers who take this additional step are added to your list. 8) CTR (or Click-through rate) - The percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your . 9) Conversion rate - The number or percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in a given marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your campaign s success. You may measure conversion in sales, phone calls, appointments etc. 10) blocking - blocking typically refers to blocking by ISPs. s that are blocked are not processed through the ISP and are essentially prevented from reaching their addressed destination. blocking occurs when the receiving server (e.g. Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail etc.) prevents an inbound from reaching the inbox of the intended recipient. Most of the time the sender of the receives a "bounce" message notifying the sender that their has been blocked. ISPs actively block coming from suspected spammers. 11) Filters Filtering" is a technique used to block based on the content in the "from:" line, "subject:" line, or body copy of an . Filtering software searches for key words and other indicators that identify the as potential spam. This type of blocking occurs on a per basis. 12) False Positive - A false positive occurs when a legitimate permission-based is incorrectly filtered or blocked as spam. 13) newsletter ads or sponsorships - Buying ad space in an newsletter or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles. Advertisers pay to have their ad (text, HTML or both depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the . newsletter ads and sponsorships allow advertisers to reach a targeted audience driving traffic to a Web site, store or office, signups to a newsletter or sales of a product or service. 14) E-zine - an ezine is an electronic magazine ed to a list of subscribers. Advertisers pay to have their ad (text, HTML or both depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the . Buying ad space in an e-zine or newsletter, or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles allow advertisers to reach a targeted audience driving traffic to a Web site, store or office, signups to a newsletter or sales of a product or service. 15) False Positive - legitimate permission-based that is erroneously blocked due to the limitations of current blocking and filtering techniques. False positives are an industry wide problem. Currently, 17% of permission-based is erroneously blocked. 16) From Line or sender line - the from line has two parts: part one is the From Name - such as Constant Contact s Marketing Diva, Michelle Keegan. Part two is the From Address - the electronic address such as, tips@constantcontact.com. Your recipients may see just the from name, just the from address, or both depending on the configuration of their client. 2

3 17) Hard bounce/soft bounce - A hard bounce is the failed delivery of an due to a permanent reason like a non-existent address. A soft bounce is the failed delivery of an due to a temporary issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server. 18) House list (or Retention List) - A permission-based list that you built yourself. Use it to market, cross sell and up-sell, and to establish a relationship with customers over time. Your house list is one of your most valuable assets because it is 15 times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. Use every opportunity to add to it and use it. 19) HTML - An that is formatted using Hypertext Markup Language instead of plain text. HTML makes it possible to include unique fonts, graphics and background colors. HTML makes an more interesting and when used properly can generate higher response rates than plain text. 20) Landing Page - a web page that is linked to an for the purpose of providing additional information directly related to products or services promoted in the . 21) Links - text links, hyperlinks, graphics or images that, when clicked or when pasted into a browser, send the prospect to another online location (e.g. a landing page or other pages of a Web site). A link in an is a call-to-action. To be most effective in motivating action, links should be visible, clear and compelling. 22) Open rate - The percentage of s opened in any given marketing campaign, or the percentage opened of the total number of s sent. 23) Opt-in (or Subscribe) - To opt-in or subscribe to an list is to choose to receive communications by supplying your address to a particular company, Web site or individual thereby giving them permission to you. The subscriber can often indicate areas of personal interest (e.g. mountain biking) and/or indicate what types of s she wishes to receive from the sender (e.g. newsletters). 24) Opt-out (or Unsubscribe) - To opt-out or unsubscribe from an list is to choose not to receive communications from the sender by requesting the removal of your address from their list. 25) Permission-based - sent to recipients who have opted-in or subscribed to receive communications from a particular company, Web site or individual. Permission is an absolute prerequisite for legitimate and profitable marketing. 26) Phishing (pronounced fishing ) - refers to scams whose purpose is identity theft. Identity thieves send fraudulent messages with return addresses, links, and branding that appear to come from credit card companies, banks and some of the Web s most well known sites including ebay, PayPal, MSN, Yahoo, and AOL. These messages are designed to phish for personal and financial information (e.g. passwords, usernames, social security numbers, credit card numbers, mother s maiden name, etc.) from the recipient. For examples, see 3

4 27) Preexisting Business Relationship - the recipient of your has made a purchase, requested information, responded to a questionnaire or a survey, or had offline contact with you. Important note: Federal law recognizes your right to send to people with whom you have a preexisting business relationship provided that you include a working unsubscribe link or instructions, however, be aware of the difference between your legal rights and best practices. Blasting off an campaign to all of your past customers will likely engender bad will and get you a high complaint, or abuse, rate. First, forget about the customers who are more than one year old if you haven t ed them before. To your remaining list, you may want to send a permission letter that reminds customers of their relationship with you. Then, encourage them to unsubscribe if they do not want to receive your future mailings. Your permission letter reassures your customers that you care about their permission, minimizes complaints and starts you off with a cleaner list. 28) Privacy policy - A clear description of a Web site or company s policy on the use of information collected from and about Web site visitors and what they do, and do not do, with the data. Your privacy policy builds trust especially among those who opt-in to receive from you or those who register on your site. If subscribers, prospects and customers know their information is safe with you, they will likely share more information with you making your relationship that much more valuable. 29) Segmentation - dividing your list based on interest categories, purchasing behavior, demographics and more for the purpose of targeting specific campaigns to the audience most likely to respond to your messaging or offer. Your list segmentation and targeting efforts pay off in higher open and click-through rates. 30) Signature file (sig file for short) - A tagline or short block of text at the end of an message that identifies the sender and provides additional information such as company name and contact information. Your signature file is a marketing opportunity. Use it to convey a benefit and include a call-toaction with a link to your Web site, a number to call or a store/office location to visit. 31) Single Opt-In (with a subscriber acknowledgement ) - the most widely accepted and routinely used method of obtaining addresses and permission. A single opt-in list is created by inviting visitors and customers to subscribe to your list. When you use a signup tag on your Web site, a message immediately goes out to the subscriber acknowledging the subscription (this is often accomplished using an auto-responder). This message should reiterate what the subscriber has signed up for, and provide an immediate way for the subscriber to edit her interests or opt-out. 32) Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial ) - sent to someone who has not optedin or given permission to the sender. 33) Spoofing - the falsification of an header so that the appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Illegitimate marketers use spoofing to disguise their identity in an attempt to commit fraud and avoid prosecution for sending UCE or spam. Federal law prohibits spoofing, however, until sender identity can be established, spammers will continue to escape the law. 4

5 34) Subject line - the short line of type in an that indicates what the message is about. Your subject line should be short (30-40 characters including spaces, or 5-8 words), and it should include a specific benefit that accurately reflects your offer in order to be effective. Federal law prohibits the use of misleading subject lines. 35) Suppression list (a.k.a. opt-out list) - a list of addresses whose owners have asked to be removed from an list so that they longer receive regarding an advertiser s products or services. A reputable marketing service makes this process automatic, however, if you use multiple products, or have multiple databases from which you send s, you should use a suppression list to process all unsubscribe requests across all lists. 36) Targeting - Selecting a target audience or group of individuals likely to be interested in a certain product or service. Targeting is very important for an marketer because targeted and relevant campaigns, yield a higher response and result in fewer unsubscribes and complaints. 37) USP or Unique Selling Proposition - your USP is the unique attribute(s) of your business that makes your company, product or service the best solution to a problem, the best way to fulfill a need or desire or the best way to achieve a goal. Your USP answers the prospect s question: Why should I do business with you instead of someone else? 38) Viral Marketing - A type of marketing that is carried out voluntarily by a company's customers. It is often referred to as word-of-mouth advertising. has made this type of marketing very prevalent. Tools such as "send this page, article or Web site to a friend" encourage people to refer or recommend your company product, service or a specific offer to others. 39) WIIFM or What s In It For Me? - the question at the forefront of every recipient s mind when making a decision to open, read and take action on your (e.g. click on a link, call for an appointment, visit an office or retail location). 40) Whitelist - A whitelist is the opposite of a blacklist. Instead of listing IP addresses to block, a whitelist includes IP addresses that have been approved to deliver despite blocking measures. It is common practice for ISPs to maintain both a blacklist and a whitelist. When service providers, like Constant Contact, say they are "whitelisted" it means that their IP addresses are on a specific ISP's whitelist and are confident that s sent using their service will be delivered. 5