Business Terms

Ma and Pa shop: a small family-run business.

Macroeconomics: the branch of economics that studies national income and the economic systems of national economies.

Mail order: a form of retailing in which consumers order products from a catalogue for delivery to their home.

management: the use of professional skills for identifying and achieving organizational objectives through the deployment of appropriate resources. The art of conducting and supervising a business.

market: A set of potential or real buyers or a place in which there is a demand for products or services. Actual or potential buyers of a product or service.

marketable: possessing the potential to be commercially viable.

market analysis: the study of a market to identify and quantify business opportunities.

market development: marketing activities designed to increase the overall size of a market through education and awareness.

market demand: Total volume purchased in a specific geographic area by a specific customer group in a specified time period under a specified marketing program.

Market forecast: An anticipated demand that results from a planned marketing expenditure.

Marketing: one of the main management disciplines, encompassing all the strategic planning, operations, activities, and processes involved in achieving organizational objectives by delivering value to customers. Marketing management focuses on satisfying customer requirements by identifying needs and wants.

Market niche: A well-defined group of customers for which what you have to offer is particularly suitable.

Market positioning: Finding a market niche that emphasizes the strengths of a product or service in relation to the weaknesses of the competition.

market share: A company's percentage share of total sales within a given market.

market targeting: Choosing a marketing strategy in terms of competitive strengths and marketplace realities.

marketing mix: The set of product, place, promotion, price and packaging variables, which a marketing manager controls and orchestrates to bring a product or service into the marketplace.

marketing research: The systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data regarding a specific marketing situation.

markup: the difference between the cost of a product or service and its selling price.

mass marketing: Selecting and developing a single offering for an entire market.

merchandise: Goods bought and sold in a business. "Merchandise" or stock is a part of inventory.

microbusiness: An owner-operated business with few employees and less than $250,000 in annual sales.

micromarketing: marketing to individuals or very small groups.

middleman: A person or company that performs functions or renders services involved in the purchase and/or sale of goods in their flow from producer to consumer.

multilevel sales: Also known as network marketing. Rather than hiring sales staff, multilevel sales companies sell their products through thousands of independent distributors. Multilevel sales companies offer distributors commissions on both retail sales and the sales of their "down-line " (the network of other distributors they sponsor).