When you were a kid, what did your mom tell you every time you asked her what a word meant?
“Just look it up in the dictionary.”
Well, we’re not your mom, but we’ve got the same advice when it comes to learning about marketing automation. That’s why we’ve created The Ultimate Marketing Automation Glossary.
Whether you’re a marketing newbie or a certified expert, our glossary goes back to the basics and breaks down some of the essential terms* and lingo every marketer should be able to comfortably toss around.
We even have a special section with terms specific to marketing agencies.
*This blog post only contains 12 of 78 terms every marketer should know. To get fully up to speed on marketing automation, download the complete guide.
Marketing Automation Terms for Agencies
[Or skip to Terms for All Marketers]
– A –
Agency-Focused Features
These features help agencies create higher-value relationships, generate monthly recurring revenue and prove value to clients. They transform marketing automation platform into a profit center. This, in turn, gives the agency more time to focus on delivering high-value results to its clients.
– J –
Joint Sales Calls
When a marketing automation vendor helps a marketing agency pitch the platform to its clients by joining in (or even leading) sales calls as an extension of the agency’s team.
– P –
Platform Rebranding/White-Labeling
Rebrandable automation software that allows agencies to rebrand their management console’s interface (including the logo and colors) and client notifications. The URL agencies provide to clients can also be white-labeled so there’s no confusion over who owns and manages the marketing hub clients rely upon (i.e. the agency).
– R –
Rebrandable Marketing & Sales Materials
A repository of materials supplied as open, editable files so that agencies can rebrand them for use in pitching marketing automation to clients.These materials may include white papers, fact sheets, presentations, feature lists, etc.
Marketing Automation Terms for All Marketers
– A –
A/B Testing
The process of comparing two versions of marketing copy, typically a web page or an email, to determine which version produces better results. Most A/B testing is directed toward improving conversion rates.
– B –
Buyer Persona
A buyer persona is a hypothetical customer made up of common attributes typically seen in real buyers. Based on real data, personas reflect who customers are, what drives their behavior, and how, when and why they buy certain things. A business can have multiple buyer personas. The more detailed the personas are, the better.
See our blog post, ‘How to Create Buyer Personas: 11 Tools to Get You Started,’ for more info.
– D –
Drip Campaign
Sending marketing information to prospects strategically over designated periods of time. This can be to nurture prospects or leads through the marketing funnel, to educate prospects, to onboard clients, to perpetuate engagement, etc. The term comes from the idea that focussed, intentional messages are being dripped methodically over time.
See our blog post, ‘Why You Need Drip Marketing in Your Life,’ for more info.
– I –
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is a strategy marketers use to pull potential customers into a company’s marketing funnel. It uses social media, SEO, content marketing, events, blogs and more to create brand awareness and attract new business. Typically, inbound marketing includes the use of a marketing automation platform to carry out these initiatives.
– L –
Landing Page
A landing page is a specific web page that a visitor can visit or “land” on from a link or an ad. It is built to engage a visitor with information that is specific to the ad, to the clicked link or to a certain keyword. Its purpose is to convert. Typically, the visitor to the landing page provides information via a form in exchange for a marketing offer, such as an eBook or a webinar.
– P –
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
A type of internet advertising where a company places an advertisement on a website pays a sum of money to the host website when a user clicks on to the advertisement. The most common example of PPC advertising is Google AdWords. A marketing automation platform will measure your PPC advertising as part of campaign analytics.
– S –
Sales Funnel
Sales funnel (or conversion funnel) is a term used in e-commerce to describe the journey a consumer takes through marketing and nurturing until a conversion results. The metaphor of a funnel is used to describe the decrease in numbers of potential customers that occurs at each step of the process.
– W –
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get” and refers to the interface of a text editor. Drag-and-drop and point-and-click editors are alternative forms of WYSIWYG. The alternative would be an HTML editor, which requires in-line coding.
*This blog post only contains 12 of 78 terms every marketer should know. To get fully up to speed on marketing automation, download the complete guide.