Marketers, like other business professionals, use jargon and acronyms to communicate industry knowledge, technology, procedures and processes. In a constantly evolving marketplace, it can be a full-time job to keep up with new terminology. To stay current, we’ve compiled a list of 20 essential sales and marketing acronyms that are key to communicating with peers and thought leaders in the business world.

Marketing Acronyms

B2B:    Business to Business. Businesses that provide services or goods to other businesses rather than to consumers directly.

B2C:     Business to Consumer. Businesses that provide services or goods directly to consumers.

BR:       Bounce Rate. The percentage of visitors who land on your website and leave before engaging with any interactive content or links. 

CRM:    Customer/Client Relationship Management. The process, procedures and technologies for managing interactions with customers and prospects.

CR:       Conversion Rate. The percentage of users who interact with your content or visit your website and then become a client or customer.

CRO:    Conversion Rate Optimization. The process of optimizing your company’s website and content to channel leads toward a purchase decision.

CTA:     Call-to-action. A device, graphic or piece of content used to induce a user to perform a specific type of action, such as click-through to view additional content or make a purchase.

CTR:     Click-through Rate. The percentage of users who click on a specific link on a page, email or advertisement versus the total number of users who view it.

CX:       Customer Experience. The entire range of interactions a customer has with a company through its brand, website, content interaction, advertising, customer service and sales representatives.

KPI:     Key Performance Indicators. A type of performance measurement used to evaluate the success of an organization or a particular initiative. Examples include revenue, engagement, generated leads and customer retention.

PPC:     Pay-Per-click. A form of advertising where advertisers pay the publisher or hosting website each time an ad is clicked.

PR:       Page Rank. An algorithm that ranks web pages in search-engine results based on the number and quality of links to a page.

PR:       Public Relations. The strategies and tactics a company uses to create a public’s perception and opinion of an organization through external communications and brand management.

ROI:     Return on Investment. The measurement of gains or losses on a particular initiative or expenditure.

SMM:    Social Media Marketing. Any type of marketing communications made via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

SEO:     Search Engine Optimization. The practice of optimizing your website so that it ranks higher on a search engine results page. The goal is to increase the company’s visibility on platforms such as Google. Methods for SEO include keyword use and link-building.

SERP:   Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed in response to a search engine query. Results are ranked according to the search engine’s algorithm.

SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. A method of analyzing a project, department or entire organization to assess the best strategies for success.

UX:       User Experience. The overall experience of a user interacting with a company in any form including website navigation, content consumption or representative interactions, regardless of whether a purchase decision is made.

WIIFM: What’s In It For Me? A method for framing a sales or marketing initiative from a customer or client’s point of view. Answering this question helps define the value proposition of your company and its products and services.

The Secret Language

Understanding the “secret” language of your industry is an essential skill. New trends, terms and practices are emerging all the time. This list barely scratches the surface of the marketing acronyms used by today’s marketers and businesspeople. The best marketers make it a priority to keep learning every day. Do you have an acronym to add to our list? We’d love to hear it. Comment below with the term and its definition.