Download Common Language Initiative Aims to Eliminate Ambiguity in

Common Language Initiative Aims to Eliminate Ambiguity in
Marketing Terminology
By Nancy Pekala
How would you define “marketing research”? How about “brand”, “return on investment” or
“customer satisfaction”? Chances are a roomful of marketing professionals would offer up a variety
of definitions to describe the same terms.
That’s why the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), in conjunction with the AMA, set
out to develop a common marketing language through its new Common Language Project, headed
by Dr. Paul Farris of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. MASB is an
independent, private sector, self-governing body where marketing and finance align on
measurement for reporting, forecasting and improving financial returns from buyers.
COMMON LANGUAGE TERMS
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Ad awareness
Annual growth %
Average price per unit
Average unit price
Awareness
Brand
Brand awareness
Brand equity
Brand loyalty
Brand penetration
Brand preference
Copy testing
Customer satisfaction
Dollar market share
Fixed cost
Gross margin
Gross sales
Loyalty
Margin (%)
Market penetration
Market share
Marketing
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Marketing Accountability
Standards Board (MASB)
Marketing Metric Audit
Protocol (MMAP)
Market penetration
Marketing research
Marketing spending
MMAP characteristics
Net profit
Operating margin
Penetration
Predictive validity
Pre-testing
Price per statistical unit
Price per unit
Price premium
Profit-based sales targets
Quality assurance
Reliability
Retention rate
Return on investment (ROI)
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Return on marketing
investment (ROMI)
Return on sales (ROS)
Sales (accounting)
Sales effectiveness
Sales force effectiveness
Sales forecasting
Sales potential forecast
Sales territory
Sales total
Target revenues
Target volumes
Top-of-mind awareness
Total cost
Unit margin
Unit market share
Unit price
Validity
Variable cost
Volume projections
Willingness to recommend
One of the hurdles to effective marketing accountability is the lack of agreed upon definitions of
marketing activities and associated metrics and measures for evaluating outcomes in the marketing
industry. The objective of the Common Language Terms project is to eliminate ambiguity in
marketing terminology and definitional differences between marketing and other functions within
firms and across firms engaged in the practice of marketing.
Farris noted that “To become more transparent and accountable, it is ever more important for
marketing to add precision to its common language.”
For more information about the Common Language Project, visit the MASB web site. The AMA's
online dictionary also contains links to the Wikipedia entries.
Nancy Pekala is the AMA’s Senior Director of Online Content. Continue the conversation about common
marketing language terminology in the Marketing Academics group of AMAConnect, the AMA’s online
community for marketing professionals. Follow us on Twitter @marketing_power.
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