Whether you're looking for an obscure phrase or your basic marketing definition, the AMA Dictionary has it all! Originating from the print version in 1995, we're always adding new terms to keep marketers up to date in the ever-evolving marketing profession.
| Term | Definition | See Also |
|---|
| macro/micro segmentation | A multistep, nested approach to industrial market segmentation, in which one moves from general macro criteria at the level of the organization, such as SIC code and size of the buying firm, through criteria at the level of the order or application, such as order size and urgency, to specific micro criteria at the level of the buying center, such as risk perception and attitude toward the vendor. | |
| macroenvironment | The collection of uncontrollable forces and conditions facing a person or a company, including demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces | |
| macromarketing | The study of marketing processes, activities, institutions, and results from a broad perspective such as a nation, in which cultural, political, and social, as well as economic interaction are investigated. It is marketing in a larger context than any one firm. | |
| magazine | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| magazine supplement | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Im | This act requires the seller of a consumer product who provides a written warranty to indicate clearly and conspicuously whether the warranty is a "full" or "limited" warranty. The FTC was given responsibility for administering the act as well as additional powers including the authority to promulgate trade regulation rules that specifically define "unfair or deceptive acts or practices." | |
| mail questionnaire | A questionnaire administered by mail to designated respondents under an accompanying cover letter and its return, by mail, by the respondent to the research organization. | |
| mail-order house | An establishment primarily engaged in distributing merchandise through the mail as a result of mail or telephone orders received. | |
| main brand | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| maintained item | A specific item that is continuously maintained in assortments. | |
| maintained markon | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| maintained markup | 1. The amount of markup that the retailer wishes to be maintained on a particular category of merchandise after allowing for markdowns or other reductions. It is net sales minus cost of goods sold. 2. The differential between the cost of goods sold and net sales. | |
| maintenance and repair services | Business services aimed at keeping the plant and equipment in good operating condition or repairing inoperable equipment. They are usually available from the original equipment manufacturer, but in many industries specialized organizations perform this function as well. Examples are window cleaning and air conditioning system repairs. | |
| maintenance items | See maintenance, repair, and operating items and supplies maintenance, repair, and operating items and supplies (MRO) Maintenance items are the supplies used to preserve the plant and equipment in good working condition such as paint, mops, and brooms. Repair items are the materials or replacement items used to keep equipment in good operating condition or to repair inoperable equipment such as light bulbs, new switches, new valves. Operating items are the supplies used to operate the equipment such as fuel oil, typing paper. | |
| maintenance stage | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| majority fallacy | A marketing strategy that directs a new product to an entire market, or to the largest segment in it, solely because of its size. Today, this "shotgun" approach is felt to be almost always inferior to the alternative strategy of targeting to smaller segments. | |
| make-good (1) | The rescheduling of an ad or commercial by an advertising media operator when it has been incorrectly printed, broadcast, or distributed or when unavoidably canceled or preempted. | |
| make-goods (2) | Free time or space provided to advertisers to make up for a program’s lower than expected ratings or an advertisement insertion that has been missed or has been incorrectly printed or broadcast.
Source: IEG | |
| mall intercept | A method of data collection in which interviewers in a shopping mall stop or intercept a sample of those passing by to ask them if they would be willing to participate in a research study; those who agree are typically taken to an interviewing facility that has been set up in the mall where the interview is conducted. | |
| mall-type shopping center | A grouping of stores near the center of a shopping center plot with parking area surrounding the store concentration on all sides. All or most of the stores face a mall or pedestrian shopping area. | |
| management information system (MIS) | A set of procedures and methods for the regular, planned collection, analysis, and presentation of information for use in making management decisions. | |
| management of marketing | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| management of products | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| management of sales force | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| management-by-exception leadership | A leadership style wherein sales managers intervene only when their salespeople have failed to meet their performance standards (e.g., a sales quota). If sales personnel are performing as expected, the sales manager will take no action. | |
| manifest conflict | Overt behaviors, such as disagreements or blocking behaviors, that arise as a result of the earlier states of conflict. | |
| manipulation check | A measurement that is taken in an experiment to make sure that subjects accurately perceived the actual changes in the treatment variable. | |
| manual submission | Adding a URL to the search engines individually by hand - part of search engine optimization (SEO). | |
| manufacturer's agent | An independent business person who is paid a commission to sell a manufacturer's products or services but does not take title to the products. | |
| manufacturers' agent | An agent who generally operates on an extended contractual basis; often sells within an exclusive territory; handles noncompeting but related lines of goods; and possesses limited authority with regard to prices and terms of sale. | |
| manufacturer's branch house | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| manufacturer's brand | A brand owned by a manufacturer, as distinguished from a brand owned by a reseller. | |
| manufacturer's export representative | Combination export management firms often refer to themselves as manufacturer's export representatives whether they act as export distributors or export commission representatives. | |
| manufacturer's sales branches and sales offices | The captive wholesaling operations owned and operated by manufacturers. Sales branches carry inventory, whereas sales offices do not. | |
| manufacturer's sales offices | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| manufacturing resource planning (MRP-11) | An extension of standard MRP (materials requirements planning) to include planning and feedback in the manufacturing system. It also integrates the manufacturing plan into the financial business plan of the firm. It is sometimes referred to as "closed-loop" MRP. | |
| mapping approach | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| margin | The difference between the selling price and total unit costs for an item. | |
| marginal analysis | A technique of explanation that focuses on the impact of producing, marketing, or consuming one more unit. | |
| marginal cost (MC) | The net change in total cost that results from producing and marketing one additional unit. | |
| marginal efficiency of capital | The rate of discount that, when applied to the whole series of future incomes from a capital good, will bring the sum of their present values equal to the cost or supply price of the capital good. | |
| marginal propensity to consume | The fraction of each extra dollar that consumers will spend on consumption, given an extra dollar of real income. | |
| marginal propensity to save | The fraction of each extra dollar that consumers will save, given an extra dollar of real income. | |
| marginal revenue (MR) | The net change in total revenue that results from producing and marketing one additional unit. | |
| marginal unit | The last unit, i.e., that unit whose acquisition or loss is under consideration. | |
| marginal utility | The change in total utility due to purchasing or consuming one additional unit of a product. | |
| mark | Any official visual representation of a property, including emblems and mascots.
Source: IEG | |
| markdown | 1. (pricing definition) The amount of a reduction from the selling price. 2. (retailing definition) A reduction in the original or previous retail price of a piece of merchandise. For management purposes, a markdown is stated as a percentage of net sales in contrast with off-retail percentage. | |
| markdown cancellation | An upward price adjustment that is offset against a former markdown. The most common example is the restoration of a price to original retail after the goods have been marked down temporarily for purposes of a special sales event. | |
| markdown control | Any system ensuring that every markdown taken is accounted for, so that book retail inventory may be kept in line with the actual physical inventory. | |
| markdown money | The funds provided by a vendor to a retailer to cover decreased gross margin from markdowns and other merchandising issues. | |
| market area | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market attractiveness | A measure of the profit potential inherent in the structure of a market or industry. There are a multitude of factors contributing to (and which can be used to measure) market attractiveness. The major categories and some examples from each of the categories are provided in the following: (1) market factors-market growth rate, market size, and life cycle stage; (2) economic and technological factors-invest-ment intensity, industry capacity, bar-riers to entry or barriers to exit, and access to raw materials; (3) competitive forces-types of direct rivals, structure of competition and substitution threats, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers; and (4) environmental factors-regulatory climate, degree of social acceptance, and human factors. | |
| market attractiveness-competitive position matrix | In this matrix, each business unit or product is classified jointly by market attractiveness and the strength of the competitive position. The market attractiveness-competitive position matrix is a multifactor portfolio model developed jointly by McKinsey and General Electric (GE), with each dimension of the matrix being based on multiple factors. It is sometimes called a nine-block matrix because each of the two dimensions is divided into three levels. | |
| market basket analysis | An algorithm that examines a long list of transactions in order to determine which items are most frequently purchased together. The end result of the analysis should help companies deter-mine how to grow each customer's "basket." | |
| market concentration | The degree to which relatively few firms account for a large proportion of the market such as in an oligopolistic situation. It is also known as the concentration ratio. | |
| market coverage | The number of available outlets in a given line of retail or wholesale trade, relative to a saturation level, that are selling a manufacturer's brand in a given market area. Manufacturers typically follow one of three forms of market coverage: exclusive distribution, intensive distribution, or selective distribution. | |
| market coverage strategies | Alternative approaches that a company can use to select and target markets. Five common market coverage strategies are: (1) single market concentration, focusing on one part of the market; (2) product specialization, making one product for all markets; (3) market specialization, making all products for one market; (4) selective specialization, making products for multiple niches; and (5) full coverage, making a product for every customer. | |
| market crystallization | A market development stage that refers to the effort needed to identify a latent market (i.e., organizations that share a similar need or want for something that does not yet exist) and to work to crystallize that need. The result is a new method or service that can satisfy all or part of the market. For example, the videotext market is in the market crystallization phase. It appears to have some market benefits, but those benefits have not been fully developed. | |
| market defense | The strategic moves that attempt to minimize or deter threatening actions by existing or potential competitors. Strategic moves can deter all or some of the prospective challengers by making the profit prospects so unattractive and risky that market share gains are not worth pursuing. Deterrence strategies include the following: (1) signaling intentions to defend, (2) foreclosing avenues for attack by building barriers to entry or mobility, (3) increasing entry costs or investments, and (4) reducing market attractiveness by lowering prices. If challengers cannot be deterred, then the purpose of market defense is to contain challengers' moves and minimize the damage | |
| market demand | The total volume of a given product or service bought by a specific group of customers in a specified market area, during a specific time period. | |
| market development | The expansion of the total market served by a business, achieved by (1) entering new segments-by expanding the geographic base of the business or by using new channels to reach unserved customers; (2) conversion of nonusers-by lower prices or increased (or specially designed) promotion; and (3) increasing usage by present users-by developing and promoting new uses for the product. | |
| market economy | 1. (environments definition) An economic system in which decisions concerning production and consumption are made by individuals and organizations without intervention by a central planning authority. The economic "laws of supply and demand" operate relatively unrestrained by governmental direction, as contrasted with a planned economy. 2. (economic definition) An economy in which decisions about what and how much to be produced and marketed are made by the collective action of competitors vying for consumer patronage. | |
| market evolution | The market (or industry) life cycles describe the evolution of the market. These cycles have a similar shape to the product life cycle and similarly, have a number of distinct stages: (1) embryonic-the product class and industry definitions are virtually synonymous, diffusion rates are gradual, and there is considerable uncertainty about the product; (2) growth-the industry structure develops, the introduction of new product classes becomes easier as consumers become more knowledgeable, and the channels facilitate the marketing of new product classes established; and (3) maturityan established infrastructure facilitates rapid introduction and diffusion of new product variants or product classes, competitors jockey for position, and older products have to make adjustments to protect their declining position. | |
| market expansion potential (MEP) | A term used in trade area analysis to estimate an area's potential for creating new demand. | |
| market extension strategies | A strategy of "extending" i.e., using a country strategy from one country to another country. | |
| market factor | A feature or characteristic in a market that is related to the demand for the product, e.g., number of households in the market is related to the demand for many products. | |
| market factors | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market fragmentation | The emergence of new market segments with distinct needs and requirements out of previously homogenous segments. These new segments limit the usefulness of mass marketing and erode brand loyalty. | |
| market index | A mathematical expression that combines two or more market factors into a numerical index, typically by forming a linear combination of the factors in which the weights assigned each factor reflect their relative importance in affecting demand for a product or products. | |
| market life cycle | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market management organization | An organization in which market managers are responsible for developing marketing plans, implementing the plans (or coordinating their implementation by functional departments), and monitoring performance for their assigned market. The market manager may be a staff position for planning and for providing authoritative market information to the functional departments that implement plans. Or it may be a line position with its own (for example) sales and advertising personnel. Market managers may report directly to the marketing manager or (if numerous) to an intervening level of management such as a group marketing manager. Or market managers may report to a product manager of a major product line that is sold to different markets. Comment: The market management form of organization may be appropriate when company products are sold to different markets through different channels of distribution. This is often the case with industrial goods companies that sell the same or similar products to different industries (i.e., markets) and when knowledge of industry product application is essential to successful market penetration. With expert knowledge of the needs and practices of a particular market, the market manager provides feedback from customers for the guidance of research and development, sales engineers, and technical service personnel. | |
| market manager | Within an organization, a person assigned responsibility for overseeing all functional activities (e.g., manufacturing, pricing, service) that relate to a particular market (customer group or product application). The market manager is to a market what a product manager is to a product, and delineating their respective roles in industrial firms is difficult. | |
| market models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market niche strategies | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market opportunity | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market opportunity analysis | The analysis and evaluation of probable future situations by a variety of techniques to identify market opportunities that a company can profitably cultivate. It is part of the strategic analysis of the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. | |
| market opportunity index | The use of relevant criteria by a company to rank future opportunities that have been identified and facilitate the selection of the most promising opportunities. | |
| market penetration | A growth strategy designed to enhance competitive advantage by developing low-risk improvement or revisions to the present product range. These are either proactive moves designed to identify and target changing customer requirements, or reactive moves for market defense triggered by competitive actions. | |
| market penetration strategy | A move by management to increase its market share held by current products in currently serviced markets. Market share may be increased by some combination of (1) attracting users of competitive brands, (2) persuading current users to increase usage, or (3) attracting nonusers of the product category. | |
| market position | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market positioning | Positioning refers to the customer's perceptions of the place a product or brand occupies in a market segment. In some markets, a position is achieved by associating the benefits of a brand with the needs or life style of the segments. More often, positioning involves the differentiation of the company's offering from the competition by making or implying a comparison in terms of specific attributes. | |
| market potential | An estimate of the maximum possible sales of a commodity, a group of commodities, or a service for an entire industry in a market during a stated period. | |
| market profile | A breakdown of a facility's market area according to income, demography, and life style. | |
| market research | The systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data with respect to a particular market, where market refers to a specific customer group in a specific geographic area. | |
| market response function models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market rollout | The introduction of a new product into a market sequentially. The rollout may be by geographical areas, by applications or uses, or by individual customers. Over time, depending on the speed of the rollout, the entire market is covered. | |
| market segment | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market segmentation | The process of subdividing a market into distinct subsets of customers that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Each subset may conceivably be chosen as a market target to be reached with a distinct marketing strategy. The process begins with a basis of segmentation-a product-specific factor that reflects differences in customers' requirements or responsiveness to marketing variables (possibilities are purchase behavior, usage, benefits sought, intentions, preference, or loyalty). Segment descriptors are then chosen, based on their ability to identify segments, to account for variance in the segmentation basis, and to suggest competitive strategy implications (examples of descriptors are demographics, geography, psychographics, customer size, and industry). To be of strategic value, the resulting segments must be measurable, accessible, sufficiently different to justify a meaningful variation in strategy, substantial, and durable. | |
| market segmentation strategies | Having segmented a market, the task is then to determine which segments are profitable to serve. The business can adopt one of three market segmentation strategies: (1) undifferentiated marketing-in which the business attempts to go after the whole market with a product and marketing strategy intended to have mass appeal; (2) differentiated marketing-in which the business operates in several segments of the market with offerings and market strategies tailored to each segment; (3) concentrated marketing-in which the business focuses on only one or a few segments with the intention of capturing a large share of these segments. | |
| market share | 1. (geography definition) A proportion of total sales in a market obtained by a given facility or chain. 2. (strategic marketing definition) The proportion of the total quantity or dollar sales in a market that is held by each of the competitors. The market can be defined as broadly as the industry, or all substitutes, or as narrowly as a specific market segment. The choice of market depends on which level gives the best insight into competitive position. | |
| market share model | See next column | |
| market specialization | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| market structure | The pattern formed by the number, size, and distribution of buyers and sellers in a market. | |
| market test | A controlled experiment, done in a limited but carefully selected sector of the marketplace, whose aim is to predict the sales or profit consequences, either in absolute or relative terms, of one or more proposed marketing actions. | |
| market testing | The phase of new product development in which the new item and its marketing plan are tested together. Prior testing, if any, involved separate components. A market test simulates the eventual marketing of the product and takes many different forms, only one of which bears the name test market. | |
| market-driven innovation | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing | Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. | |
| marketing (only) division | This division contains the usual marketing functions, including sales, but its products are supplied by a centralized production operation that supplies two or more marketing divisions. When standardized products can be mass produced by a centralized facility, economies of scale are the usual result. | |
| marketing and consumer satisfaction | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing channel | A set of institutions necessary to transfer the title to goods and to move goods from the point of production to the point of consumption and, as such, which consists of all the institutions and all the marketing activities in the marketing process. | |
| marketing conduct | A legal view of marketers' decisions on marketing mix variables and the process by which they make these decisions. | |
| marketing cost analysis | An attempt to determine the actual costs incurred for marketing and distributing a product. | |
| marketing decision variables | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing driven modified financial portfolio mode | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing ethics | 1. (legislation definition) Standards of marketing decision making based on "what is right" and "what is wrong," and emanating from our religious heritage and our traditions of social, political, and economic freedom. 2. (environments definition) The use of moral codes, values, and standards to determine whether marketing actions are good or evil, right or wrong. Often standards are based on professional or association codes of ethics. | |
| marketing geography | The field of study that analyzes the spatial characteristics of marketing activities: the consumers and the distribution network. | |
| marketing goals | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing information system (MkIS) | A set of procedures and methods for the regular, planned collection, analysis, and presentation of information for use in making marketing decisions. | |
| marketing intelligence system | The development of a system to gather, process, assess, and make available marketing data and information in a format that permits marketing managers and executives to function more effectively. Marketing data, when analyzed, may yield information that can then be processed and put into a format that gives intelligence for planning, policy making, and decision purposes. | |
| marketing management | The process of setting marketing goals for an organization (considering internal resources and market opportunities), the planning and execution of activities to meet these goals, and measuring progress toward their achievement. Comment: The process is ongoing and repetitive (as within a planning cycle) so that the organization may continuously adapt to internal and external changes that create new problems and opportunities. | |
| marketing manager | The generic title for the line executive responsible for designated marketing functions (such as marketing research, product planning and market planning, pricing, distribution, the promotion mix, and customer services) and for coordinating with other departments that perform marketing related activities (such as packaging, warehousing, order filling, shipping, design of new and improved products, credit, billing, collections, accounting, legal, transportation, purchasing, prod-uct repair, warranty fulfillment, and technical assistance to customers). The marketing manager may have an officer title (such as vice president of marketing) and usually reports to the chief executive officer in a functionally organized company or to the division manager (president) in a divisionalized company. Comment: The above definition describes the marketing manager with full responsibility for marketing. However, the title is sometimes used for jobs of lesser scope; for example, in a multiproduct division a manager may be in charge of a line of products or a business segment and report to the division marketing manager. Also, it is not uncommon for the sales and marketing functions to report separately to a common supervisor such as the division manager. In such a case the marketing manager may be in charge of marketing functions other than personal selling. This dichotomy most often occurs in industrial or consumer durable goods businesses in which personal selling is the key aspect of promotion. | |
| marketing manager, corporate level executive | Some large divisionalized companies have a corporate marketing vice president who performs a staff role designated by the corporate chief executive officer. In general, the principal role is to view marketing problems and opportunities from a broader perspective than that of division management. It may also include specific functions such as providing marketing counsel to corporate management, monitoring divisional marketing performance, critiquing divisional marketing plans, evaluating potential acquisitions, assisting with or directing the corporate strategic planning function, searching for new product and business opportunities outside of present division charters, assisting with setting research and development priorities, and administering the corporate advertising and/or corporate image programs. This position usually reports to the corporate chief executive. | |
| marketing mix | The mix of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the desired level of sales in the target market. The most common classification of these factors is the four-factor classification called the "Four Ps"-price, product, promotion, and place (or distribution). Optimization of the marketing mix is achieved by assigning the amount of the marketing budget to be spent on each element of the marketing mix so as to maximize the total contribution to the firm. Contribution may be measured in terms of sales or profits or in terms of any other organizational goals. | |
| marketing mix models | The determination of an optimal marketing mix is often aided by models that take into account the market response to the various marketing mix elements and their interactions. These models include econometric market response models to the marketing mix variables of the firm (and its competitors) as well as specialized models such as Advisor and BRANDAID, microsimulation models, various optimization models, and customized applications of the analytic hierarchy process and other resource allocation models. | |
| marketing objectives | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| marketing of services | The organizational structure for the marketing of intangible services is the same as, or similar to, the marketing of tangible products. The term product as used in the organizational definitions in this dictionary can be read to mean services as well. Also, the term production refers to manufacturing, assembly, or other means of creating a tangible product, while the term operations commonly refers to the functions that supply an intangible service. Hence, when substituting service for product in a definition, one can also substitute operations for production. Comment: Service has meanings in marketing other than product. This can be seen in the definition for marketing services, in which service refers to auxiliary functions that aid in the sale, distributions, and customer usage of a product. Another meaning of service can be seen in the definition for marketing services department, in which a centralized department supplies assistance (i.e., services) to division marketing departments in a divisionalized company. | |
| marketing organization, forms of | No two companies are likely to have identical structures. Most utilize one or more of the classic structural forms with the choice at any one time having to do with the stage of company development. It should be noted that larger companies may be using different forms in different parts of the company at the same time. | |
| marketing plan | A document composed of an analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and threats analysis, marketing objectives, marketing strategy, action programs, and projected or pro-forma income (and other financial) statements. This plan may be the only statement of the strategic direction of a business, but it is more likely to apply only to a specific brand or product. In the latter situation, the marketing plan is an implementation device that is integrated within an overall strategic business plan. | |
| marketing planning | The process that leads to the development of the marketing plan. | |
| marketing public relations | Publicity activities intended to encourage product purchase and consumer satisfaction. | |
| marketing research | Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications. | |
| marketing research manager | This manager is responsible for providing professional research services to executives who require objective and timely market information to assist with planning, problem resolution, and decision making. Normally the marketing research manager reports to the marketing manager. In larger companies, however, there may be multiple marketing research managers reporting, for example, to the corporate marketing or strategic planning executive, to division managers, and to the research and development director. Comment: The types of research carried out will vary by type of company, industry, and the organizational unit to which the manager is assigned. With the growth of computerized data systems and the availability of outside marketing research organizations that report repetitive market data, the marketing research manager assembles the information needed for a particular problem and, when necessary, directs the development of information that must be obtained via special studies. The typical marketing research manager works with a small staff and uses outside research firms to carry out all or parts of field studies. | |
| marketing services | Sometimes called customer services, this is an all-inclusive term that covers different sets of functions for different companies. Historically it has included some or all of the functions needed to service channel intermediaries and/or end customers, such as inventory planning and control; order processing, shipping, and delivery information; product installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and warranty administration; and answering customer inquiries. Organizationally most of these services are provided by functional departments other than marketing. They may or may not be coordinated by a marketing service manager or customer service manager reporting to the marketing manager. Comment: While the above named services are basic to providing marketing services to channels of distribution and customers, another use of the term applies to a centralized department that provides in-house services to company divisions. | |
| marketing services department | A unit in a multidivision company that performs marketing functions for divisions that can be performed better or at less cost when carried out centrally. Although the functions of this unit may vary by company, they may include some or all of the following: media planning, coordination of media buying, sales promotion planning and counselling, providing sales promotion materials, package design, control of advertising production costs, advertising research, creative services, and advertising claims substantiation. For small divisions with limited personnel, the marketing services department may serve as their advertising, sales promotion, product publicity, or marketing research department. | |
| marketing services director | This person manages the marketing services department and may report to a corporate executive, group executive, or to the manager of a major division. Irrespective of the reporting level, this manager provides the services for all divisions that require them. | |
| marketing strategy | A statement (implicit or explicit) of how a brand or product line will achieve its objectives. The strategy provides decisions and direction regarding variables such as the segmentation of the market, identification of the target market, positioning, marketing mix elements, and expenditures. A marketing strategy is usually an integral part of a business strategy that provides broad direction to all functions. | |
| Marketing Surplus | A theory developed by McKinsey’s David Court, which holds that success is determined not by market share, but by which one of the entities in any transaction–from raw-goods supplier through manufacturer, retailer, and consumer–holds the greatest amount of the surplus or profit made at each step of the process. As the market reaches saturation, marketing surplus moves to the consumer.
Source: IEG | |
| marketing tactics | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| markon | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Markov model | Brand switching matrices (from time t - 1 to t) are sometimes envisioned as arising from a stationary first-order Markov model. This model assumes that only the brand chosen in t - 1 affects brand choice at t. The transition probability matrix describes the brand choice. Higher order models (i. e., in which choice at t is dependent on several previous choices) with varying transition probabilities have also been proposed. | |
| markup | 1. (pricing definition) The amount of increase in price over total unit costs. 2.(retailing definition) The difference between merchandise cost and the retail price. It is also referred to as markon. 3. The increase in the retail price after the initial markup percentage has been applied, but before it is placed on the selling floor. | |
| markup percentage | The difference between cost and retail, expressed either as a percentage of cost or, commonly, as a percentage of retail. | |
| markup table | A tabulation giving markup percentages on cost price with the corresponding markup percentage on retail price. | |
| markup wheel | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| mascot | A graphic illustration of a character, usually a cartoon figure, used to promote the identity of a property.
Source: IEG | |
| Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1) | A popular theory of human motivation developed by Abraham Maslow that suggests humans satisfy their needs in a sequential order beginning with physiological needs (food, water, sex), and ranging through safety needs (protection from harm), belongingness and love needs (companionship), esteem needs (prestige, respect of others), and finally, selfactualization needs (self-fulfillment). | |
| Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (2) | According to the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow, as material wealth becomes decreasingly relevant to personal happiness, the desire for “belonging” “self-esteem” and “self satisfaction” becomes more important. Maslow believed that people are not controlled by mechanical forces (the stimuli and reinforcement forces of behaviorism) or unconscious instinctual impulses of psychoanalysis alone. Placing actualization into a hierarchy of motivation was a groundbreaking idea. Self actualization, as Maslow called it, is the highest drive, but before a person can turn to it, he or she must satisfy other, lower motivations like hunger, safety and belonging. The hierarchy has five levels.
Physiological (hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, etc.).
Safety (security, protection from physical and emotional harm).
Social (affection, belonging, acceptance, friendship).
Esteem (also called ego). The internal ones are self respect, autonomy, achievement and the external ones are status, recognition, attention.
Self actualization (doing things).
Source: IEG | |
| mass communications | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| mass media | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| master carton | A container that is used primarily for protective purposes in transportation and warehousing. It contains multiple, usually identical, products that may be individually packaged for resale. | |
| master production schedule | A detailed listing of how many end items are to be produced and when they will be produced. A materials requirements planning system requires a valid and detailed master production schedule as critical first input in the system. | |
| materialism | The evaluation of the self in terms of how much is owned or how much can be consumed. The importance that people attach to worldly possessions. | |
| materials handling | A term applied to the study of physical flow in a logistics system. It is usually used to describe a mechanical or electro-mechanical set of devices that facilitate the physical handling of products in a logistics environment. | |
| materials management | Either an organizational component or an approach to managing the material flow process of the firm. A distinctive characteristic of the term is that it includes the purchasing function as an integral part of the material flow process. The term materials manager is also used to describe a related job function. | |
| materials manager | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| materials requirements planning (MRP) | A production and inventory planning system that integrates product components, manufacturing and procurement schedules, lead times, and capacities against output requirements. | |
| mathematical programming | A set of optimization models whose aim is to find the maximum (or minimum) of an objective function subject to certain constraints. The most commonly used mathematical programming technique is linear programming (LP), a linear objective function subject to linear constraints. LP provides both the values of the decision variables for the optimal solution and the shadow prices for the constraints (i.e., the change in value of the objective function per unit change in the value of the constraint). Other mathematical programming techniques include integer programming (for integers as opposed to continuous values), nonlinear programming, quadratic programming, and dynamic programming. Dynamic programming is a general type of approach to solve multistage problems in continuous or discrete space under certainty or uncertainty. Uncertainty can be incorporated in linear programming as well as either stochastic programming (some of the parameters are random variables) or chance constrained programming (feasible solutions are allowed to have a small probability of violating the constraints). Mathematical programming has been used in marketing, especially in media selection and salesforce allocation problems. | |
| matrix organization | This organization attempts to combine functional and product forms of organization to obtain the advantages of each. Teams of functional personnel (e.g., manufacturing, research and development, finance, and sales) report to a manager with profit responsibility bearing a title such as business manager, category manager, or new product manager. The functional personnel also report to their functional bosses, who are responsible for maintaining the quality of functional performance. Comment: In this arrangement, functional personnel report to two bosses, which requires a high order of understanding and cooperation if it is to be effective. Matrix organization has met with mixed results and has both critics and champions. | |
| maturity market life cycle stage | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| maturity stage | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| maturity stage of product life cycle | The third stage of the product life cycle, in which initial rapid growth is over and sales level off (though there may be intermittent surges and declines over the years before final decline sets in). During the maturity stage price competition becomes very strong, similar products are made available by competition, the adoption process is mostly over, and profits fall. | |
| maximum acceptable price | The highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a product or service. It is also called a reservation price. | |
| maximum operating stock | The largest quantity of inventory that should ever be on hand during normal operating conditions, usually at the stockkeeping unit level. It consists of merchandise to sell during the buying period, the cushion, and the basic low stock. | |
| maximum system of stock control | The system of setting, for each item of staple merchandise carried, an amount large enough to take care of probable demands of customers, and of reordering, periodically, the difference between the actual stock and the maximum set. | |
| MC | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| McGuire-Keogh Fair Trade Enabling Act (1952) | This act declared that exemption of resale price maintenance agreements from antitrust laws as provided under the Miller-Tydings Resale Price Maintenance Act would be extended to non-signer agreements (whereby all dealers are bound to the contract if only one signs) in states that have non-signer clauses in their fair trade statutes. | |
| MCI model | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| means-ends chain | A simple knowledge structure that organizes consumers' product knowledge by linking product attributes to the more abstract consequences and finally to high-level consumer values. | |
| measured value | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| measurement | A rule for assigning numbers to objects to represent quantities of attributes. | |
| Meat Inspection Acts (1906) | These acts required inspection and approval of live stock, carcasses, and canned or packaged meat products as well as sanitary conditions in slaughterhouses. | |
| mechanical | The final photo-ready assembly of all of the elements of a print ad, brochure, or other printed material that is transmitted to the printer. This is also known as a paste-up. | |
| media | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media buy | The purchase of a specific amount of time or space in an advertising media vehicle. It is sometimes referred to as a buy. | |
| media buying | The advertising agency function that involves negotiating with the salespeople of various advertising media in order to obtain needed time and space for advertising agency clients at the most favorable prices. | |
| media buying service | An organization that specializes in buying media time and space for advertisers. Some media buying services also engage in media planning activities for their clients. | |
| Media Equivalencies | Measuring the exposure value of a sponsorship by adding up all the coverage it generated and calculating what it would have cost to buy a like amount of ad time or space in those outlets based on media rate cards.
Source: IEG | |
| media exposure patterns | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media kit | A package of promotional materials relating to a specific advertising media vehicle, including the rate card, audience statistics, case studies showing success stories, and related materials. | |
| media mix | The specific combination of various advertising media (including network television, local television, magazines, newspapers, specialty advertising, etc.) used by a particular advertiser and the advertising budget to be allocated to each medium. | |
| media model | A mathematical formula (or computer algorithm) used in combination with audience data from specific media vehicles to estimate the reach, frequency, and exposure distribution of alternative media schedules. | |
| media planning | The advertising agency function that involves the determination of advertising objectives, advertising strategies, and advertising tactics relating to the advertising media to be used by specific clients. A media plan includes a statement of objectives, target market definition, types of advertising media to be used, and the amount of resources to be allocated to each (the media mix), and a specific time schedule for the use of each media vehicle. | |
| media relations | The activities involved in working with the media to generate publicity for a product, service, or organization. This includes establishing contact with members of the media, providing publicity materials, and being available to answer any questions the media might have. | |
| media rep | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media representative | A person or a company that specializes in selling space or time in advertising vehicles to advertisers and advertising agencies. | |
| media schedule | A specific schedule showing the media vehicles (including dates, positions in the publication or time of day, and size of ad space or duration of commercials) to be used during an advertising campaign. | |
| media scheduling models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media selection models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Media Sponsor | Broadcast, online, print, out-of-home and outdoor media that provide either cash, or more frequently advertising time or space, to a property in exchange for official designation, according to IEG.
Source: IEG | |
| media type | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media vehicle | A specific newspaper, magazine, radio station, television program, outdoor advertising location, edition of Yellow Pages, etc., that can be employed to carry advertisements or commercials. For example, The New Yorker magazine is a media vehicle in the magazine category of advertising media. | |
| media viewing pattern model | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| media weight | A measure of the amount of advertising media used in an advertising campaign. It can be expressed in terms of dollar amounts, gross rating points, circulation data, or other means. | |
| MEDIAL | A model providing a decision support system for the advertising media selection and scheduling decision (Little and Lodish 1969). Little and Lodish (1966) describe the perspective adopted by the model: "The population is divided into `market segments.' Each segment has its own sales potential and media habits. . . . A media schedule consists of insertions in `media vehicles'. . . . An insertion brings about exposures in the various market segments. The exposures serve to increase what we shall call `exposure value' in the market segments. However, people are subject to `forgetting,' and so the retained exposure level decays with time in the absence of new exposures. The 'anticipated sales' to a market segment increases with exposure level but with diminishing returns." | |
| medium | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| membership group | A small group of individuals in which the individual is phychologically and formally a member. A fraternity, the Rotary Club, or a bowling team are examples of membership groups. It is those groups in which the individual has direct, face-to-face psychological relations and interdependence with other members. | |
| memorandum purchase and dating | This indicates that merchandise shipped to a buyer is returnable within a specified period of time. Payment for goods kept longer or sold need not be made until this time, though legal title usually transfers at the time of shipment. | |
| memorandum terms | A special form of indefinite future dating under which the title of the merchandise passes to the buyer, and the buyer assumes all risk of ownership. | |
| MEP | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| mercantile trade credit | The credit one businessperson extends to another when selling goods on time for resale or commercial use. | |
| mercantilism | A set of economic policies designed to give a country an advantage by developing a favorable balance of trade, encouraging agriculture and manufacturing, creating a merchant marine, and establishing foreign trading monopolies. | |
| merchandise budget | A statement prepared by management containing planned dollar commitments for all the components of the merchandise plan (sales, reductions, stocks, margins, and purchases) for a seasonal period. | |
| merchandise classification | A subdivision of a selling department; a dissection of a department's inventory, purchase, and/or sales figures for the purpose of closer control. | |
| merchandise control | The determination and direction of merchandising activities, both in terms of dollars (dollar control) and in terms of units (unit merchandise control). | |
| merchandise cost | The billed cost of merchandise less any applicable trade discounts or quantity discounts, plus inbound transportation costs if paid by the purchaser. | |
| merchandise dissection | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| merchandise in-transit | Merchandise with its legal title passed to the retailer, but which has not been charged to a merchandise selling department. | |
| merchandise line | A group of products closely related because they are intended for the same end use, are sold to the same customer group, or fall within a given price range. | |
| merchandise management | The analysis, planning, acquisition, promotion, and control of merchandise sold by a retailer. | |
| merchandise mix | The breadth and depth of the merchandise inventory carried by retail establishments. | |
| merchandise performance analysis | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| merchandise plan | A plan, generally for department stores, for a six-month period, by months, in which the chief elements enter into gross profit. The essential are sales, markdowns, retail stocks at the first of each month, purchases, and markup percentages. Inventory shortages, cash discounts, and alteration costs may also be budgeted. | |
| merchandise productivity analysis | A financial analysis of the productivity (performance) of various merchandise categories. | |
| merchandise shopping | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| merchandising | A term of many varied and not generally adopted meanings. It can (1) relate to the promotional activities of manufacturers that bring about in-store displays, or (2) identify the product and product line decisions of retailers. | |
| merchant | A business unit that buys, takes title to, and resells merchandise. | |
| merchant middleman | A middleman who buys the goods outright and takes title to them. | |
| merchant wholesalers | The wholesalers who take title to the products they sell. | |
| mere exposure effect | The repeated exposure to an object resulting in a more positive attitude toward the object; the mere exposure to the object is believed to produce the more positive attitude. | |
| merger | The joining together of two or more independent business organizations into a single entity. | |
| message | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| message argument | A statement of the customer benefit and the specific product performance characteristic that delivers that benefit. | |
| Meta Feeds | Ad networks that pull advertiser listings from other providers. They may or may not have their own distribution and advertiser networks.
Source: SEMPO | |
| META Refresh redirect | A client-side redirect.
Source: SEMPO | |
| meta search engine | A search engine that displays results from multiple search engines. | |
| meta tags | HTML coding used to describe various features of a Web page. | |
| metasearch engine | A type of Internet search that looks for matches in several search engines simultaneously. | |
| method variance | The variation in scores attributable to the method of data collection. | |
| Metrics | A system of measures that helps to quantify particular characteristics. In SEO the following are some important metrics to measure: overall traffic, search engine traffic, conversions, top traffic-driving keywords, top conversion-driving keywords, keyword rankings, etc.
Source: SEMPO | |
| metropolitan statistical area (MSA) | A freestanding metropolitan area surrounded by non-metropolitan counties, including a large central city or urbanized area of 50,000 or more people. | |
| MFN | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| microenvironment | The set of forces close to an organization that have direct impact on its ability to serve its customers. The microenvironment includes channel member organizations, competitors, customer markets, publics, and the capabilities of the organization itself. | |
| micromarketing | The study of marketing activities of an organization. | |
| microsimulation models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| middle income countries | Countries whose income per capita falls between the highest and the lowest group. | |
| middle-class | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| middleman | 1. (retailing definition) A business concern that specializes in performing operations or rendering services directly involved in the purchase and/or sale of goods in the process of their flow from producer to consumer. 2. (channels of distribution definition) An independent business concern that operates as a link between producers and ultimate consumers or industrial users. There are at least two levels of middlemen: wholesalers and retailers. | |
| military buying | The purchase of goods and services by the Defense Department largely through the Defense Logistics Agency, the General Services Administration, and the three military departments: Army, Navy, and Air Force. | |
| military organization | See hierarchical organization and nonbusiness marketing organization | |
| Miller-Tydings Resale Price Maintenance Act (1937) | In this act, resale price maintenance contracts prescribing minimum prices for name brand commodities were made exempt from the Sherman Antitrust and Federal Trade Commission Acts in those states having fair trade laws permitting such contracts. | |
| MIME | Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions, a method of encoding a file for delivery over the Internet.
Source: Lazworld | |
| minimum and maximum system of stock control | A system whereby for each item of staple merchandise carried, a minimum quantity of inventory is established which, when reached, indicates a need to reorder. Maximum stock consists of the minimum and the predetermined reorder quantity. | |
| Minimum Bid | The least amount that an advertiser can bid for a keyword or keyword phrase and still be active on the search ad network. This amount can range from $0.01 to $0.50 (or more for highly competitive keywords), and are set by the search engine.
Source: SEMPO | |
| minimum charge | In most transportation tariffs, the minimum charge is the lowest price at which a carrier will accept a shipment for delivery. A minimum charge reflects the fixed cost component of the transportation carrier's cost of doing business and is often used as an incentive to encourage the shipper to consolidate multiple shipments. | |
| Minimum Guarantee | A sponsor agrees to pay a specific minimum sum, regardless of the actual result of the program. In cause-related marketing–which raises funds for nonprofits by donating a percent of each sale during the promotional period to the nonprofit–a minimum guarantee means if sales do not trigger the sum anticipated, the company makes up the difference. When the minimum guarantee is also the total sum that will be given to the nonprofit–even if sales would justify more–it should be explained as a “capped minimum guarantee,” according to IEG.
Source: IEG | |
| minimum order | The smallest unit of sales permitted by a manufacturer or wholesaler. It may be expressed in units, as a dollar amount, or, sometimes, as a weight. | |
| MIS | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| misredemption | The improper claiming of price savings, premiums, prizes, or other sales promotion rewards by not following the stated rules, after the specified time period, or by persons not eligible for the incentive. | |
| mission | See also column | |
| mission statement | An expression of a company's history, managerial preferences, environmental concerns, available resources, and distinctive competencies to serve selected publics. It is used to guide the company's decision making and strategic planning. | |
| missionary salesperson | A salesperson who is employed by a manufacturer to call on end-users with the objective of stimulating demand for the manufacturer's offerings even though the purchases will be made from other firms in the channel of distribution. | |
| mixed bundling | The practice of offering for sale two or more products or services either at individual prices or for one single price. The single price for the "bundle" is usually less than the sum of the individual prices. | |
| mixed-use development (MXD) | The shopping centers that have various types of non- retail uses such as office towers, hotels, residential complexes, civic centers, and convention complexes on top of or attached to the shopping area. | |
| MkIS | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MNC | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Mod_rewrite | URL Rewrite processes, also known as “mod rewrites,” are employed when a webmaster decides to reorganize a current web site, either for the benefit of better user experience with a new directory structure or to clean up URLs which are difficult for search engines to index.
Source: SEMPO | |
| model stock approach to space allocation | A method of determining space allocation for departments in a retail store. It is based upon an analysis of an ideal stock necessary to achieve projected sales volume, of how much stock should be displayed versus how much should be kept in reserve space, of how much physical space will be required to display the merchandise, and of how much physical space will be needed for any service requirements. | |
| model stock list | An assortment of fashion merchandise indicating in very general terms (product lines, colors, and size distribution) what should be carried in a particular merchandise category. | |
| model stock plan | An outline of the composition of an ideal stock in terms of general characteristics or assortment factors, usually with optimum quantities indicated in an amount that reflects balance in relation to expected sales. | |
| model system | The part of a decision support system that includes all the routines that allow the user to manipulate the data so as to conduct the kind of analysis the individual desires. | |
| modeling | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Modem | A contraction for "modulation/demodulation," it is the device that converts a digital bit stream into an analog signal (and Back again) so computers can communicate across phone lines.
Source: Lazworld | |
| modified rebuy | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| modified risk return models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| momentum strategy | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| monetary perceived risk | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| monetary policy | The pursuit of a course of action by a government acting through its central bank to control money and credit. | |
| money income | 1. (environments definition) The income received by an individual exclusive of certain items such as capital gains, social security and the like. It does not include non-cash benefits. 2. (economic definition) Income before the deduction of income taxes and social security taxes. Non-cash benefits are excluded. | |
| monopolistic competition | 1. A market situation where many sellers, each with a relatively small market share and with slightly differentiated products, compete for consumer patronage. 2. A market situation where many sellers compete, often emphasizing marketing variables other than price. The term originated with Harvard economist Edward Chamberlain in the 1930s. | |
| monopoly | 1. (environments definition) A market situation where one firm markets all the goods or services and can influence price. 2. (economic definition) The complete control of an economic good for which there is no substitute. | |
| monopsony | A single buyer with monopoly buying power. | |
| mood | An emotional state at a particular time. A mood felt by an individual at one point in time may be unrelated to emotions felt an another point in time. | |
| moral self | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| mores | The cultural norms that specify behavior of vital importance to society and embody its basic moral values. The prohibition against bigamy or child abandonment in some cultures are examples. Mores often are codified into law such that legal as well as social sanctions can be applied to assure conformity. In comparison, folkways are cultural norms that specify behavior not vital to the welfare of the groups and the means of enforcement are not clearly defined (according to Krench, Crutchfield and Ballachov). For example, folkways specify that a student shall wear specifically defined clothes on campus. If the student does not, the student may be considered a boor or a nerd, but this nonconformity is not regarded as having important consequences for the group. The punishment for nonconformity is informal, mild, and variable. | |
| Most Favored Nation (MFN) | Principle The principle whereby each country agrees to extend all countries the most favorable terms that it negotiates with any country. | |
| motivation | The positive or negative needs, goals, desires, and forces that impel an individual toward or away from certain actions, activities, objects, or conditions. It is the needs and wants of the individual, the driving force, guided by cognitions, behind the behavior to motivational approach to attitudes purchase, approach, or avoid products and ideas and things. | |
| motivational approach to attitudes | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| motivationally neutral | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| motor carrier | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Motor Carrier Act (1980) | This act was designed to reduce unnecessary regulation by the federal government in the trucking industry; however, it introduced new and complex regulations. | |
| mousetrapping | A phrase that describes the use of browser tricks to keep a visitor captive at a site, such as disabling the "Back" button or generating repeated pop-up windows. | |
| moving averages models | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MPEG | The file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online.
Source: Lazworld | |
| MR | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MRO | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MRP | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MRP-11 | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MSA | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| MSRP | Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price - a pricing concept often used in car sales that establishes a high retail starting point for price negotiations. | |
| multiattribute attitude models | These models are designed to predict attitudes toward objects (such as brands) based on consumers' evaluations of product attributes or expected consequences. | |
| multiattribute models of attitudes | The several theories of attitudes, such as Fishbein's learning theory of attitudes, with the basic assumption that attitudes are based upon the individual's perceptions of the attributes of the choice alternatives. These models usually include the idea that the individual assigns importance weights to each attribute and arrives at an overall evaluation on the basis of these weighted attributes. | |
| multibrand strategy | In this strategy, the company has more than one brand of product, competing with each other, in a given market. This contrasts with the strategy of family brands where the separate items are given a common line identity and are usually each directed to one segment within the market. Under multibrand strategy there may not even be manufacturer identification, unless required by law. | |
| multibusiness organization | This is a corporation engaged in more than one class of business. Each business may be organized as a division of the corporation or as a subsidiary company. Comment: Organizationally there may be no difference in the way a division and a subsidiary are viewed by corporate management even though the subsidiary is a separate legal entity controlled by the parent corporation through majority ownership or full ownership. (See also bureaucratic organization; centralized management, decentralized management; divisional organization; flat organization; functional organization; geographic organization; hierarchical organization; market management organization; marketing organization, forms of; matrix organization; nonbusiness marketing organization; and product management organization. | |
| multichotomous question | A fixed-alternative question containing three or more alternatives in which respondents are asked to choose the alternative that most closely corresponds to their position on the subject. | |
| multidimensional scaling | An approach to measurement in which people's perceptions of the similarity of objects and their preferences among the objects are measured, and these relationships are plotted in a multidimensional space. | |
| multidomestic strategy | A strategy that enables individual subsidiaries of a multinational firm to compete independently in different domestic markets. The multinational headquarters coordinates financial controls and some marketing policy, and may centralize some R&D and component production. Each subsidiary behaves like a strategic business unit that is expected to contribute earnings and growth proportionate to the market opportunity. | |
| multifactor productivity | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multilevel selling | 1. A sales approach that involves using company employees at multiple levels in the firm's hierarchy to call on similar levels in the account. For example, the Vice President of Sales would call on the Vice President of Purchasing. 2. A strategy used by direct selling companies to have independent agents serve as distributors and resell merchandise to other agents who eventually make sales to consumers. | |
| multi-market firm | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multinational corporation (MNC) | A stage in the development of the global/transnational corporation. | |
| Multinomial distribution | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multipage insert | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multiple basing-point pricing system | In a multiple basing-point pricing system, several locations are designated as basing points. The choice of a basing point is the point that yields the lowest delivered cost to the buyer. | |
| multiple channels | The use of a combination of channels in selling a product or service to reach different and isolated target markets with different demands for service outputs. | |
| multiple packaging | This usually refers to multiple-unit packaging, but it also refers to situations in which a product has a primary package such as foil, bottle, or polyurethane, a secondary package such as a paper carton, and a tertiary package such as a corrugated shipping carton. | |
| multiple product purchase | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multiple purchasing | The strategy of dividing annual purchasing requirements of a good or service among more than one supplier. This is done to create a more competitive environment among suppliers and to reduce the buying firm's dependence on a single source of supply. This is also called multiple sourcing. | |
| multiple purpose trip | A key concept in central place theory that argues that consumers prefer to visit more than one store per trip, generating positive exterstores. | |
| multiple sourcing | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| multiple-unit packaging | The practice of putting two or more finished packages of a product into a larger packaged unit (such as a six-pack of soda). The new wrap may vary from a band to a larger completely closed container. Multiple packaging may be temporary, related to a promotional program. | |
| multiple-unit pricing | 1. (retailing definition) The combination of several like products as a unit of one, involving at least a slightly different markup than is obtained when the items are sold separately. 2. (pricing definition) The practice of pricing several items as a single unit. | |
| multiple-zone pricing system | In a multiple-zone pricing system, delivered prices are uniform within two or more zones. | |
| Multiplicative Competitive Interaction (MCI) model | An attraction model for explaining and predicting market share. In an MCI model each brand's attractiveness is modeled as a multiplicative function of some explanatory variables (e.g., brand attributes). Nakanishi and Cooper (1974) show how such a nonlinear model can be estimated by least squares regression techniques. | |
| multiunit establishment | One of two or more establishments in the same general kind of business operated by the same firm. It is sometimes referred to as a chain store. | |
| multivariate normal distribution | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Multivariate Testing | A type of testing that varies and tests more than one or two campaign elements at a time to determine the best performing elements and combinations. Multivariate testing can gather significant results on many different components of, for example, alternative PPC ad titles or descriptions in a short period of time. Often it requires special expertise to analyze complex statistical results. (Compare to A/B Testing which changes only one element at a time, alternately serving an “old” version ad and a changed ad.) In search advertising, you might do A/B Split or Multivariate testing to learn what parts of a landing page (background color, title, headline, fill in forms, design, images) produce higher conversions and are more cost effective.
Source: SEMPO | |
| municipal market | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |
| Municipal Marketing | Term coined by IEG to refer to promotional strategy linking a company to community services and activities (sponsorship of parks and recreation programs, libraries, etc.).
Source: IEG | |
| MXD | Refer to “See Also” column to the right. | |