Definitions of Marketing Terms
Over the years, the field of marketing has become more complex. With new channels, new tools, and new technologies constantly emerging, the meaning of even the most basic terms often starts to blur. People redefine words to fit their own context, startup, app, book etc, or they inherit definitions that differ from others, and before long, everyone is talking about different things using the same words.
To bring some clarity, I’ve put together this glossary of marketing terms. These are the definitions I use in my own work and writing. I’ll keep adding to it over time, but for now, it’s here as a simple reference, a way to make sure that when I use a word, you know exactly what I mean by it. Don’t hesitate to let me know which ones should be added.
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Marketing
Marketing is the complete set of activities that bring a product or service from concept to sustained sales. It covers everything from pricing strategy, packaging, distribution, and product positioning to promotion, advertising, and public relations. In consumer markets, marketing ensures that the product reaches customers through the right channels and that demand is continuously stimulated. In business-to-business contexts, marketing extends further to equip sales teams with the tools, messaging, and training needed to convert prospects. The natural handover point between marketing and sales in B2B is when a lead is qualified and ready to become a real sales opportunity. While marketing cannot control individual salesperson performance, it is responsible for making sure that every sales representative is informed and supported enough to engage prospects confidently and turn qualified leads into opportunities.
Examples:
A beverage company creating a new sparkling water line, setting its price, designing its packaging, planning supermarket distribution, running digital ads, and tracking retail sales to maintain momentum.
A software company launching a cloud-based hotel PMS, shaping its product messaging, training the sales team, building case studies, and creating lead-nurture campaigns until qualified leads turn into opportunities.
A fashion brand planning a seasonal collection, researching market trends, organizing runway shows and influencer partnerships, selecting stores and e-commerce channels, and ensuring ongoing customer engagement.
A consumer electronics maker introducing a smart home device, deciding on features and pricing tiers, preparing retail displays and online demos, and coordinating global advertising to drive adoption.
A B2B consultancy releasing a new service package, refining its positioning, producing white papers and webinars, setting up CRM-driven lead scoring, and coaching its business development team on messaging and objection handling.
Word history:
The word marketing comes from the Latin mercatus, meaning “marketplace” or “trade,” from merx, “goods.” In Middle English, “to market” meant simply taking products to sell. With the Industrial Revolution, the term expanded beyond selling to include pricing, distribution, and promotion. In the 20th century, mass media and consumer culture pushed marketing to cover advertising, branding, and public relations. Today, it refers to the full discipline of creating and communicating value, managing relationships, and shaping how products and companies are perceived.
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Positioning
Positioning in marketing is the deliberate act of defining and communicating the place a brand, product, or service occupies in the mind of its intended audience. The term can be confusing because people use it in different ways. Some speak of physical shelf placement in a store, others of tailoring an offer for a specific customer segment, and some even use it as a synonym for B2B marketing itself. While those uses reflect parts of the marketing process, the most precise and effective meaning is mental positioning. This is the perception or mental model that customers form when they hear or see your brand.
Effective positioning starts with understanding how people already classify and compare things. It then makes sure the product fits naturally into a known mental framework while highlighting what makes it distinct. A clear position might be luxury versus budget, faster versus slower, easier to use versus complex, or similar to a familiar category but with a unique twist. When positioning is vague, people cannot place the product and may hesitate to engage, as when a software creator refuses to call an app an app, leaving users unsure if it is an operating system or something else. By anchoring a brand in the mental categories that customers already recognize, positioning gives them an immediate, confident answer to what the product is and why it matters.
Examples OF POSITIONING PHRASES:
It tastes like chicken
Used when describing an unfamiliar meat. It positions the new food within a known taste category so people feel comfortable trying it.
Uber for ___
Applied to any on-demand service (groceries, tutors, lawn care). It positions a new product by linking it to the well-known Uber experience of instant, app-based, point-to-point service.
Anti–Coca Cola
A drink brand might describe itself this way to signal it is the opposite of sugary mainstream soda, positioning itself as natural, healthy, or artisanal.
Like New York, but with more nature
Could be used to describe a city such as Vancouver or Zurich. It positions the place as equally vibrant and cosmopolitan while adding a mental picture of greener surroundings.
Just like riding a bicycle
Applied to a skill that is easy to pick up again after time away. It positions the task as familiar and effortless.
Anti–software (Salesforce)
A software company could use this to position itself as simpler and more human than complex enterprise platforms. It signals a user-friendly, minimal approach without needing a long explanation.
All of these illustrate the same principle: effective positioning connects a new product, service, or idea to something people already understand so they can place it quickly and confidently in their mental map.
Word history:
The word positioning comes from the Latin positio, meaning “a placing” or “a setting,” from ponere, “to put.” Originally about physical arrangement, it later took on military meaning as placing troops strategically. In marketing, popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout in the 1970s, the term shifted from physical placement to mental placement: carving out a unique space in the customer’s mind. Today, positioning means defining how a brand is perceived relative to competitors, securing a distinct place that drives preference and choice.
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Brand and Branding
A brand is a symbol that represents a company. That symbol can be a name, a logo, or any other sign that stands in for the business. On its own, the brand has no meaning. It is nothing more than a sequence of letters, shapes, or sounds, just like a newly invented word that nobody understands until it is used and defined. The meaning of a brand is not found in the name itself but in the associations, experiences, and values that are built around it over time. Companies create brands by consistently attaching meaning to their chosen symbol through their actions, products, and communication. This is why the world’s most recognized brands, which often began with simple or even awkward names, became powerful not because of the names themselves but because of the meaning invested in them. A brand, at its core, is a symbol infused with meaning by repetition and use.
Branding is the process of making that meaning stick. It is the work of repeatedly showing the symbol alongside the values, messages, and experiences a company wants people to connect with it. Branding requires time, consistency, and investment, because only through repetition and alignment does the symbol take root in the audience’s mind and begin to carry the intended meaning on its own.
Examples:
Apple began as a simple, even odd, name for a computer company. Over decades, through product design, innovation, and consistent storytelling, it has come to mean creativity, simplicity, premium quality, and a certain lifestyle of forward-thinking technology.
Nike, originally tied to the Greek goddess of victory, built its meaning not from mythology but from years of association with performance, athletes, and the spirit of “just do it.” Today the brand stands for ambition, determination, and excellence in sports and beyond.
Hermès started as a family name with no inherent connection to luxury goods (or greek gods). Through generations of craftsmanship, exclusivity, and refinement, the name now signifies timeless elegance, heritage, and unmatched quality in fashion and accessories.
Word History:
The word brand comes from the Old Norse brandr, meaning “to burn,” referring to the marks burned into livestock to show ownership. Over time, the idea of marking spread to goods, as craftsmen began stamping their products to signal origin and quality. With industrialization and advertising, the word expanded beyond physical marks to mean the reputation and identity of a product or company. Today, a brand is no longer just a name or logo but the lasting impression etched into people’s minds, much like the original burn mark, now symbolic rather than literal.
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Public Relations
Public relations is the discipline of gaining goodwill and acceptance from an audience. It sits within marketing but is distinct from advertising and direct selling, since its goal is not immediate revenue but trust, credibility, and positive perception. Public relations covers the broad spectrum of activities that make a company, brand, or individual seen as a valuable and acceptable part of society. This can range from media relations and community sponsorships to internal communications that build cohesion among employees. In politics, it is used to gain public approval, and in business it creates the conditions that make people more likely to engage with and eventually buy from a brand. At its core, public relations is about shaping reputation and securing a lasting place of acceptance in the minds of stakeholders, which in turn strengthens and supports the broader goals of marketing. There are many types of public relations activities that fall outside of Marketing. Such as programs done within the company to foster team relationships.
Examples of public relations in practice include a company sponsoring a local sports team to strengthen community goodwill, a hospital running an awareness campaign about public health to build trust beyond its direct services, or a corporation holding internal team-building events to foster employee loyalty and pride. All of these activities may not directly generate sales, but they shape long-term acceptance and reputation, making people more inclined to value and support the organization.
Word History:
The term public relations first appeared in the late 19th century, with “public” meaning “the people as a whole” (from Latin publicus) and “relations” meaning “the way in which two parties are connected” (from Latin relatio, “a bringing back, a report”). Originally used to describe communication between institutions and the public, the phrase took on its modern meaning in the early 20th century, particularly through the work of pioneers like Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays, who formalized PR as the art and science of managing reputation and public acceptance.