B2B Slang Decoded: Demystifying Marketing Jargon
Ever feel like you need a secret decoder ring to understand B2B marketing lingo? You're not alone. From "ICP" to "AMB," and "KPIs" to "conversion funnels," the world of B2B marketing sometimes seems like it's speaking its own language.
But fear not, I’ve got your back.
Welcome to your ultimate survival guide for navigating the odd world of B2B marketing jargon.
B2B Marketing Terms - Explained
A/B Testing
A methodology for comparing two versions of something against each other to determine which one performs better. For example, you can A/B test an email subject line, a landing page, or an ad.
ABM (account-based marketing)
Hyper-personalized marketing campaigns to specific, named companies to warm them up and turn them into customers.
BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel)
The last stage in the three-part buyer's journey. It aligns with the bottom ‘decision’ stage of the buyer’s journey before the buyer becomes a customer.
Content Marketing
A type of marketing that involves creating and sharing online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services. Learn the difference between content marketing and product marketing.
(CTA) Call To Action
A CTA is a design or piece of copy that prompts the audience to take a specific action.
Case Study
A case study is a detailed look at a real situation, such as a person, group, event, or place. Businesses often create case studies about their work with clients to highlight their services and results.
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation)
The process of optimizing the percentage of visitors who convert to customers on a website.
CPC (Cost per Click)
The cost per click is the total cost of a click on your ad.
CPL (Cost per Lead)
The total cost of acquiring a single lead. Calculated by dividing the amount you have spent by the total amount of leads gained.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Software that lets you keep track of your customer information so it can be used for marketing and sales purposes.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The number of clicks your ad receives is divided by the number of times it is shown.
Customer
A contact or company with at least one closed deal.
Customer Journey Mapping
The creation of a visual representation of the buyer’s journey from discovery to purchase.
Dark social
The untrackable and invisible shares that happen through channels and do not contain any digital referral information about the source.
Demand generation
A mix of organic and paid programs to create awareness in the target market, attract the attention of target buyers, educate them and create demand for your product.
Evangelist
A customer that has advocated for your organization.
Funnel
A marketing funnel visualizes the customer’s journey from lead to customer.
Growth hacking
Experimenting with different marketing tactics on different channels to accelerate growth.
GTM (go-to-market) Strategy
A strategic document that explains how a company is going to market and sell to specific markets to achieve their business goals, including:
objectives
resources
role of marketing
ICP
marketing message
marketing plan
marketing report
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
A list of attributes that your best customers from a specific market segment have in common, including:
Firmographics
Buying committee structure
Account qualification
Account segmentation
Account enrichment (How your customers buy and why based on customer interviews)
Lead
A contact or company that has converted on your website or through some other interaction with your organization beyond a subscription sign-up.
Lead Generation
Cold outbound activity (cold calling, cold emailing, and messaging) + direct ads or ads that promote webinars or eBooks that generate a list of contacts that is later sent to sales.
Marketing Message
This is a document that explains:
—>Your positioning
What your product does, for whom, and how do you want to be perceived by target buyers.
—>UVP (unique value proposition)
What differentiates you from the competition and delivers value to target buyers.
—>UVP amplifiers
Why your customers should select you.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is software that automates marketing tasks, actions and workflows.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
A contact or company that your marketing team has qualified as ready for the sales team.
MOFU (Middle of the Funnel)
This is the middle stage of marketers' sales funnel - see TOFU and BOFU. It aligns with the middle ‘consideration’ stage of the buyer’s journey and is when a prospect knows about your product and is thinking about purchasing it.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
The revenue that a business will generate in a month from subscriptions.
NPS - Net Promoter Score
A metric used to calculate customer experience and satisfaction.
Opportunity
A contact or company that is associated with a deal (e.g., they're involved in a potential deal with your organization).
Pain Points
The specific problems of a customer persona.
Performance marketing
Paid direct ads on different channels that generate leads, have a clear attribution and measure:
CPC (cost per click)
CPL (cost per lead)
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
A contact or company that your sales team has qualified as a potential customer. This stage often includes sub-stages that the sales team works within.
Social selling
Connecting, engaging, and building relationships with target buyers on social media, learning more about their needs and helping them (consultations, content) by sharing your experience of solving the same challenges. That’s social selling!
Strategic narrative
Your communication with the target market (content, ads, etc.) that educates the target market about your solution, amplifies your marketing message, and provides more context why your service exists.
E.g. We often talk that you don’t need more leads, and that linear lead gen funnels are dead. You need fewer, but more qualified leads with higher buyer intent.
Subscriber
A contact that has opted in to hear more from you by signing up for your blog or newsletter.
TOFU (Top of The Funnel)
This is the top stage of the sales funnel. It aligns with the top ‘awareness’ stage of the buyer’s journey when a prospect first becomes aware of a business’s product or service.