Marketing jargon can be overwhelming. In every meeting, acronyms are thrown around, and emails are full of terms like CDPs (customer data platforms) and SQL (Structured Query Language). I often have to Google acronyms to make sure I know what everyone is talking about.
I know you're a marketing whiz, so you're probably familiar with most of these acronyms. But just in case you ever find yourself unsure of what GDPR means (General Data Protection Regulation), I've put together a list of marketing acronyms that you can refer to.
If you know someone on your team who would benefit from having a handy reference sheet, please pass this along and tell them I said hello!
Marketing can be challenging, but this list can help.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): The cost of finding your next paying customer, the cold hard cash that got them through the door and signing on the dotted line. AKA "How much do I have to spend to get someone to buy my stuff?"
CPM (Cost Per Mille): The cost of showing off your ad to 1,000 people! The amount of $ spent to show your product to 1,000 users on the other end. AKA "How much do I have to pay to get people to see my ad?"
LTV:CAC (Lifetime Value to Customer Acquisition Cost): Basically, the moolah you make from keeping a customer long-term divided by the cost of getting them onboard. AKA "How much money do I make from each customer over the course of their relationship with me?"
CPL (Cost Per Lead): The cost of finding your next potentially viable lead (PLEASE CLOSE!). AKA "How much do I have to spend to find someone who might be interested in my product?"
ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend): Your ROAS can be described like this. If you made $2, but spent 1, you have a ROAS of 2x. AKA "How much money did I make from the money I spent on advertising?"
GTM (Go-to-Market): Your overall plan for getting your product or service out there and seen! Picture it this way » "How am I going to get people to know about our awesome Hotel App Solution AKA Sopago ?"
UTM (Urchin Tracking Module): A simple code added to a URL to track where your website traffic is coming from – savvy! AKA "Where did all these people come from?"
CPC (Cost Per Click): The cost of one single click on your ad or link – every click counts! AKA "How much do I have to pay every time someone clicks on my ad?"
SEM (Search Engine Marketing): Using paid ads on search engine results pages to drive traffic to your website – it's all about that visibility! AKA "How can I make sure my ad shows up at the top of the search results?"
CRM (Customer Relationship Management): The strategies and tech used to manage and analyze your customer interactions and data! AKA "How can I keep track of all my customers and make sure they're happy?"
SLA (Service Level Agreement): A contract (sometimes its internal, and sometimes you have a set expectation that you've discussed with your customer) outlining the level of service they can expect. AKA "What kind of service can I expect from my customers?"
PLG (Product Led Growth): A growth strategy focused on using your product to attract and retain customers – the product is the engine! AKA "How can I make my product so good that people can't help but buy it?"
PQL (Product Qualified Lead): A lead who has shown interest in your product and is likely to buy. Are they crushing hard? Window shopping? We'll find out!! AKA "Is this person actually interested in my product, or are they just browsing?"
API (Application Programming Interface): A set of protocols and tools for building software applications – tech wizard! AKA "How can I make my product talk to other products?"
NPS (Net Promoter Score): A measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty, based on the likelihood of them recommending your product or service. AKA "How likely are my customers to tell their friends and family about my product?"
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue): The amount of predictable recurring revenue generated each month from your subscription-based products or services – cha-ching! AKA "How much money am I making every month from my recurring customers?"
ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue): The money you can count on every year from your loyal customers who just can't get enough of your product or service. AKA "How much money am I making every year from my recurring customers?"
RSS (Really Simple Syndication): A super convenient way to keep up with your fave blog posts, podcasts, news articles and updates without having to constantly refresh a website. AKA "How can I make sure I never miss a new blog post from my favourite brands?"
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User): How much money each user is bringing in for you on average, so you can see who your top spenders are. AKA "Who are my most valuable customers?"
**ACV (Annual Contract Value): The total amount of money a customer is worth to you over the
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): Your dream customer, in detail, including demographics and psychographics. This helps you focus your marketing efforts and attract more of your target audience. AKA "The person you want to buy your stuff the most."
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): A lead that your marketing team has deemed likely to convert into a customer based on their engagement with your marketing efforts. AKA "The person who's showing interest in your stuff."
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead): A lead that's been checked out and is ready for the sales team to work their magic. AKA "The person who's ready to buy your stuff."
SQO (Sales Qualified Opportunity): A potential customer who has shown interest and is ready to move forward with a sale – ready to seal the deal! AKA "The person who's about to buy your stuff."
SAO (Sales Accepted Opportunity): A potential sale that has met certain criteria and is considered a valid opportunity for the sales team to close. AKA "The person who's definitely buying your stuff."
BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline): A way for sales reps to figure out if a potential customer is ready to make it official. AKA "The four things you need to know before you can close the deal."
PPL (Pay Per Lead): The cost of finding your next potential customer through various marketing channels, where you only pay when you actually get a lead! AKA "The price of getting someone to say 'I'm interested'."
SERP (Search Engine Results Page): The page you see after you type in a search query on Google or another search engine. The goal is to get your website at the top of the list. AKA "The place where your website needs to be if you want people to find you."
TOFU (Top of the Funnel): The beginning of the customer journey, where a potential customer is first introduced to your product or service. It's like a first date! AKA "The stage where you're trying to get people's attention."
MOFU (Middle of the Funnel): The stage of the customer journey where a potential customer is considering your product or service. Think of it like a "getting to know you" phase. AKA "The stage where you're trying to build trust and rapport."
BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel): The final stretch of the customer journey, where a potential customer is close to making a purchase. Think of it like the last lap of a race. AKA "The stage where you're trying to close the deal."
GDD (Growth-Driven Design): When building your website, using continuous data-driven adjustments. AKA "The way to build a website that's always getting better."
ESP (Email Service Provider): A company that helps you with your email marketing, from sending messages to keeping track of open rates. AKA "The tool that helps you stay in touch with your customers."
PPC (Pay-per-Click): An online advertising model where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You only pay for results! AKA "The way to get your ads in front of the right people."
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get): A fancy way of saying, "What you see on the screen is exactly what you're gonna get in real life." AKA "The way to make sure your website looks the way you want it to."
WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing): When your friends give you the lowdown on the latest product or service, that's WOM. Think of it as the OG influencer marketing. AKA "The best kind of marketing."
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization): This one's all about maximizing the number of people who do what you want them to do on your website. Like, seriously, it's like a superpower. AKA "The way to make your website more effective."
MVP (Minimum Viable Product): It's like the beta version of a product, with just enough features to get people hyped. Think of it as a sneak peek. AKA "The way to test your product and get feedback
MAU (Monthly Active User): Basically, a user who pops in once a month for some good times. Like, "Hey, what's up? It's been a while!"
TAM (Total Addressable Market): The whole shebang of people who could potentially be into your product or service. Think of it as a dating pool, but instead of looking for love, you're looking for customers.
SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): The portion of the total market that a company can realistically reach and sell its products or services to. Like, the people in your dating pool who are actually interested in dating you.
SAM (Serviceable Available Market): The portion of the total addressable market that you can actually serve. Like, the people in your dating pool who are actually available to date you.
BR (Bounce Rate): The action a user takes when visiting your website. A user “bounces off the page” when they land on your page and quickly leave. Like, when you match with someone on a dating app and they never message you back.
DSP (Demand-Side Platform): A platform that lets advertisers buy ad space on the fly, like, whoa. Like, when you're swiping through dating profiles and you see someone you're really interested in, so you swipe right immediately.
DMP (Data Management Platform): A platform used for organizing and managing data for targeted advertising and audience analysis – data, organized and ready to conquer! Like, when you're on a dating app and you match with someone who has all the same interests as you.
SSP (Supply Side Platform): The platform that connects advertisers with a massive network of publishers to serve up their ad campaigns – you're the matchmaker of the ad world! Like, when you're on a dating app and you're constantly swiping right, hoping to find your perfect match.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): The EU law regulating data privacy and protection for individuals – you got that data security on lock! Like, when you're on a dating app and you're careful about who you give your personal information to.
TOS (Terms of Service): The legal agreement between you and the service provider that outlines what's expected from both parties. Like, the fine print on a dating app that you have to agree to before you can start using it.
POC (Proof of Concept): Think of it as a mini experiment to show that your big idea is actually, well, a big idea. Like, when you try out a new dating app to see if it's actually worth your time.
PM (Project Manager): Your one-stop-shop for getting things done and keeping the team on track. Like, the person who organizes all your first dates and makes sure you don't stand anyone up.
MARTECH (Marketing Technology): All the cool tech tools you need to make your marketing dreams come true. Like, the dating app that matches you with your perfect partner.
TK (To Come): A placeholder used in text when a piece of information is not yet available. It's like the "Coming Soon" sign on a movie poster. Like, when you're on a dating app and someone's profile says "More about me coming soon."
H/t (Hat Tip): A way to show appreciation for someone or something that inspired or helped you – a digital high five! Use this to repost and still give credit! Like, when you retweet someone's dating app profile and give them a shout-out.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): The language used to style and format web pages. Like, the outfit you put together to impress your crush.
PV (Page View): The number of times a single page has been viewed. Like, the number of times your crush has checked out your social media profile.
NRR (Net Revenue Retention): A metric that measures the amount of revenue you keep from existing customers. Like, the amount of money you keep in your wallet after paying your bills.
LP (Landing Page): Your digital BFF (best friend forever) that welcomes your visitors with open arms – it's like your online home! Like, the first impression you make on a date.
PDP (Product Detail Page): The ultimate destination for all the deets on your product – it's like your online showroom! Like, the product page where you can learn everything about the product you're interested in.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read): A summarization of a long piece of text. It's like the CliffNotes of a book. Like, the SparkNotes version of a lecture.
CMS (Content Management System): The tech that helps you manage and publish your website content with ease – you're the boss of your own website! Like, the software that lets you create and edit your website without having to know how to code.
CDP (Customer Data Platform): A centralized hub for all customer data – reigning supreme over the kingdom of customer info! Like, the database where you keep all the information about your customers.
SQL (Structured Query Language): A programming language used to manage and manipulate databases – you got mad database skills! Like, the language you use to talk to your database.