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K    L    M

Keep-Out Pricing - a pricing practice, common in oligopolistic market situations, in which the large companies maintain very low prices to discourage smaller competitors and thus protect their own market shares.

Kennel-Keeper - a colloquial term used in reference to a marketer whose products are largely "dogs" - those with a relatively small share of a slow-growth market.

Key Influence People - opinion leaders, consultants, experts, etc whose early and enthusiastic endorsement of a new product is sought by salespeople.

Kickback - a bribe or illegal payment offered to an organizational buyer in order to obtain the business; commonly, the kickback is a percentage of the salesperson's commission on the sale or an item of merchandise.

Kinesic Communication - body language; communication by body movement - posture, stance, hand movements, winking, head nodding, etc.

Kinked Demand Curve - the shape of a demand curve when any rise in price above the customary level will result in a sharp decline in demand.

KISS Principle - acronym for "Keep It Simple and Straightforward"

Knocking Copy - advertising copy in which one manufacturer compares a product to the product of another.

Knockoffs - a colloquial term used in reference to new product innovations which are almost identical, look-alike copies of competitors' best-selling items; knockoffs are common where the item copied fits nicely with the manufacturing and marketing strengths of the company which copies it, and are intended to take overall market share from the competitor.

Kotler's Black Box Model - a model devised by U.S. marketing academic, Philip Kotler, to explain the hidden nature of consumer decision-making; using the well-established analogy of the "black box" to represent the human mind, Kotler describes the marketer's task as that of trying to understand why, how, when, and from whom, consumers buy.

Label - the part of a package that carries information about the product it contains; a label may be a permanent part of the primary package or a tag, sticker, band, etc.

Labelling - activities associated with the design and content of the wording on a product or package which identifies it and provides instructions for its handling and use.

Laggards - those in a community who are slowest to adopt a new product. See Diffusion of Innovation; Early Adopters; Early Majority; Innovators; Late Majority.

Lagged Response - a delayed response by consumers to an advertising campaign; measuring the effect of a campaign which is running currently is made more difficult by a lagged response to an earlier one..

Late Majority - the large, conservative group in a community slower than all except the "laggards" to adopt a new product. See Diffusion of Innovation; Early Adopters; Early Majority; Innovators; Laggards.

Latent Demand - demand for a product which can satisfy a want which is unable to be satisfied by any existing product.

Lead Generation - the activity of identifying potential customers.

Learning - fixed behavioural changes resulting from an individual's experiences.

Learning Curve - a graphical representation of the way in which average unit cost of production decreases as output rises; also called an Experience Curve.

Learning Process - the way in which an individual's behaviour changes as a result of previous experiences; the process consists of four basic components - a stimulus or cue which creates a drive; the drive which motivates the individual to make a response; the response or action undertaken by the individual; and reinforcement by means of reward or punishment which determines whether the individual will act in that way again.

Leasing - the granting, under contract, of use of a product for an agreed upon period of time in return for a rental payment.

Legal and Political Environment - factors in government, the law and the regulatory system which affect the way an organization operates.

Less Than Carload Freight Rate - a U.S. term for the freight rate charged by a railroad company when a producer's shipment is less in volume than one full carload.

Lexicographic Model (of Brand Evaluation) - a model used in the study of consumer decision processes to evaluate alternatives; the idea that if two products are equal on the most important attribute, the consumer moves to the next most important, and, if still equal, to the next most important, etc. Thus, the purchase decision is made when one of the brands possesses more of an attribute, looked at in order of importance, than its rival. Other models of brand evaluation include the expectancy-value model, ideal brand model, conjunctive model, disjunctive model, lexigraphic model and determinacy model.

Licensed Characters - figures from fiction, television, movies, etc which are used, under license from their creators, in the marketing of consumer goods such as breakfast cereals, chocolate bars, ice creams and so on.

Licensed Product Strategy - marketing plans and actions based on the use of licensed characters. See

Licensing - the granting of permission by one manufacturing organization to another to use a registered brand, symbol, process, patent, etc.

Life Cycle Cost - the costs associated with the use and maintenance of a product over its expected life span.

Life Stage Buying Power Segmentation - the division of a total heterogeneous market into relatively homogeneous groups on the basis of their ability to afford a product at their particular stage in the family life cycle.

Lifestyle - an individual's way of life as shaped by his or her interests, attitudes and opinions.

Lifestyle Segmentation - the division of a total heterogeneous market into relatively homogeneous groups on the basis of their way of life as shaped by their interests, attitudes and opinions.

Likert Scale - a rating device frequently used in marketing research questionnaires in which respondents indicate their level of agreement with a statement by choosing the appropriate response from a scale, e.g. strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree.

Limited Problem Solving - buying situations in which a purchaser has had some previous experience but is unfamiliar with suppliers, product options, prices, etc. Also referred to as Limited Decision Making.

Limited Line Department Store - a department store which carries a narrower range of merchandise than a full-line department store; typically, a limited-line department store will be characterized by high-quality merchandise and high prices.

Limited Line Retailer - a retailer carrying only one line, or a few related lines, but a large assortment of produce.

Limited Line Strategy - the decision by a producer to offer a lesser number of product variations than is possible.

Limited Service Research Supplier - a marketing research firm which offers clients fewer services than a full-service research supplier.

Limited Service Wholesaler - a wholesaler providing less than the full range of services of some other wholesalers but attempting to compensate for this by offering lower prices.

Line Organization - an organizational structure in which authority moves down in a line from the chief executive; typically, there are no specialists or advisors, the chief executive having complete authority over decision making.

Liquidity - current assets, other than inventory and work in progress, to which a firm has ready access; liquidity represents a company's ability to meet its immediate liabilities.

List Brokers - firms which compile and sell mailing and prospect lists.

List Price - the regular price of a product before any discount is given or allowances made.

Loading Objective - one of a three possible aims or objectives (with loyalty objective and trial objective) of a consumer sales promotion; purchasers are offered incentives to buy a greater quantity of the product than they would otherwise have done.

Local Buy - the buying of media (print, newspapers, television, radio and outdoor advertising) serving a local region only.

Logistical Costs - costs involved in the acquisition and transportation of materials required for production, and for the storage, handling, and shipment of finished goods to customers.

Logistical Functions - one of the three kinds of functions (with transactional functions and facilitating functions) performed by intermediaries in a marketing channel; logistical functions include the assembling of a variety of products, storing them, sorting them into appropriate categories and sizes, and arranging them on retail shelves.

Logistics - activities involved with the orderly and timely acquisition and transportation of materials required for production, and with the storage, handling and dispatch of finished goods to customers.

Logo - a distinctive mark, sign or symbol, or a graphic version of a company's name, used to identify and promote its product.

Long-Range Planning - strategic planning over an extended horizon; "long-range" is commonly thought to be at least three years into the future.

Long-Run Average Cost - the average cost per unit of a set or group of products in the long term. Note that the long-run average cost may be somewhat lower than the short term average cost because of the effects of greater production experience.

Loss Leader - a product offered at less than cost to attract purchasers to a store so that they will buy other items at regular prices.

Loss Leader Pricing - the pricing of a product at less than cost to attract purchasers to a store so that they will buy additional items at normal prices.

Lost Account Ratio - a measure used to evaluate salespeople in which the salesperson's ability to keep prior accounts as active customers is calculated.

Lottery - a form of consumer sales promotion in which purchasers are offered to win prizes if their names are drawn from a barrel; a game of chance. Also called a Sweepstake.

Low-Involvement Products - products which are bought frequently and with a minimum of thought and effort because they are not of vital concern nor have any great impact on the consumer's lifestyle.

Low-Touch Service - customer service characterized by a low level of personal contact with customers; low-touch customer service is primarily automated or provided by vending machines, such as automatic telling machines at banks, self-service petrol pumps at garages, etc.

Loyalty Objective - one of three possible aims or objectives (with loading objective and trial objective) of a consumer sales promotion; purchasers are offered incentives to stay loyal to a particular brand.

M    K    L

Macro-environment - the major uncontrollable, external forces (economic, demographic, technological, natural, social and cultural, legal and political) which influence a firm's decision making and have an impact upon its performance.

Macro marketing - the study of marketing decision-making from a societal perspective..

Macro model - a descriptive model, designed to communicate, explain or predict some real system or process, in which there is a dependent variable and a relatively small number of independent, determinant variables. See Model; Micro analytical Model.

Macro segmentation - the division of a market into broadly defined groups, each with its particular needs and wants, prior to further division or segmentation on the basis of more narrowly defined needs and wants.

Mail Order House - a retailing organization which uses catalogues rather than sales force to promote its goods to customers; also called a Catalogue Retailer.

Mail Order Selling - a system of retailing in which customers order merchandise, usually from a catalogue, by mail; the goods are shipped direct to the customer's home.

Mail Order Wholesalers - wholesalers who use catalogues to sell to retailers too small for full-service wholesalers to serve profitably in the normal way.

Mail Surveys - a relatively inexpensive method of obtaining data in a marketing research study; mail surveys keep interviewer bias to a minimum, but they require considerable time to conduct and response rates are generally low.

Maintenance Marketing - marketing activity intended to maintain the current sales level in a highly competitive situation.

Maintenance Selling - generating sales volume from existing customers.

Maintenance Strategy - a planning or decision-making tactic appropriate for an organization when growth opportunities are low but the firm is in a relatively strong position in the market; a maintenance strategy implies that the firm will continue to invest in the business, in a limited way, to maintain the current volume of business.

Majority Fallacy - the erroneous belief that the biggest segment of a market will be the most profitable one for a firm to enter; competition will usually be keenest in the biggest segment.

Make or Buy Decision - a choice sometimes faced by a manufacturing company when considering the acquisition of a new product - to lease or purchase a product or to manufacture it internally.

Mall Intercept - a type of marketing research interview; typically, respondents are chosen in shopping centres.

MAN - acronym used in selling for qualifying new prospects. Does the prospect have the Money to pay? Does the prospect have the Authority to buy? Does the prospect have a Need for the product? Also referred to as PAN - Pay, Authority, Need.

Management by Objectives - an evaluation and control system in which individual salespeople set goals and objectives for themselves that are acceptable to management; progress towards these goals and objectives is reviewed periodically.

Managerial Judgment - a forecasting method in which predictions about the likely level of sales for a specified future period are made by experienced senior managers.

Manipulative Selling Techniques - selling practices in which the salesperson attempts to overwhelm the prospective buyer; high-pressure methods.

Manufacturer's Brand - a brand owned or controlled by an organization the primary commitment of which is to production rather than distribution; also called a National Brand.

Manufacturers' Agent - an agent or representative used by manufacturers to supplement or even replace their own sales staff.

Marginal Analysis - the determination of the change in total revenue and total cost those results from the sale of one more unit.

Marginal Cost - the change in total cost those results from producing an additional unit.

Marginal Profit - the change in the total profit that results from the sale of an additional unit.

Marginal Revenue - the change in total revenue that results from selling an additional unit.

Marital Status - whether an individual is married, single, divorced or widowed; an important variable in demographic segmentation.

Mark Down - if a firm reduces an item to sell it at below its original retail price, the difference between the original price and the reduced price is called the mark down.

Mark Down Ratio - the difference between the original selling price of an article and the price to which it is reduced in order to sell it, expressed as a percentage of the reduced price; that is, if a firm sells an article originally priced at $20 for a reduced price of $15, the mark-down is $5 and the mark-down ratio is 33.3 per cent, $5 being one third of $15.

Mark Up - the amount added by a wholesaler or retailer to the cost of a product to determine the selling price to the customer.

Mark Up Ratio - the difference between the buying price of an article and its selling price, normally expressed as a percentage of the selling price; that is, if a firm buys a product at $72 and sells it for $90, the mark up is $18, and the mark-up ratio is 20 per cent, $18 being one-fifth of $90.

Market - all the buyers and potential buyers of a product who profess some level of interest in it and who can afford it.

Market Attractiveness - the degree to which a market offers opportunities to an organization, taking into account the market size and growth rate and the level of competition and other constraints.

Market Challenger - a company holding a major market share and competing vigorously with the market leader for outright leadership.

Market Development - a strategy by which a company seeks growth by taking its existing products into new markets.

Market Diversification - a strategy in which a company seeks growth by adding products and markets of a kind unrelated to its existing products and markets.

Market Driven Economy - an economy controlled by market forces rather than by government action.

Market Dynamics - changes that occur within the market, but external to a company which influence its decision-making and impact upon its performance.

Market Entry Barrier - any circumstance or feature of a market which inhibits or deters a firm from entering it; the greatest market entry barrier is the presence of a firmly entrenched competitor with a significant competitive advantage.

Market Expansion - a growth strategy in which an organization targets existing products to new markets; market development by targeting new geographic markets, new demographic or psychographic segments, or totally new users.

Market Factor - any external variable affecting the level of a company's sales.

Market Follower - a company content to maintain its existing market share behind an established market leader. See Market Challenger; Market Leader; Market Nicher.

Market Forecast - the anticipated sales for a market as a whole during a given period, taking into account prevailing environmental circumstances.

Market Growth Rate - the rate, commonly expressed as a percentage per annum, at which a market is increasing in size.

Market Index - a combination of market factors used to predict the likely level of sales.

Market Leader - the company whose products hold the largest market share.

Market Minimum - the level of sales that a firm can expect to achieve in a market without promotional effort of any kind.

Market Niche - a small but profitable segment of a market unlikely to attract competitors.

Market Nicher - a company whose products serve segments too small to be of interest to firms with larger shares of the market; also called market specialists, threshold firms or foothold firms.

Market Opportunity - a newly identified market or product gap within a market which a company can exploit.

Market Opportunity Evaluation - the matching of an identified market opportunity to an organization’s objectives and resources.

Market Penetration - a growth strategy in which a company concentrates its efforts on its target market in order to attract a higher percentage of users of its product.

Market Penetration Pricing - an approach to pricing in which a manufacturer sets a relatively low price for a product in the introductory stage of its life cycle with the intention of building market share.

Market Positioning - marketing activity intended to place a product into a desired position in a market and to have it perceived in that way by consumers.

Market Potential - the size or value in dollars of a total market should all those who profess a level of interest in a product, and can afford to buy, purchase it.

Market Research - the systematic gathering of information about a market by means of survey, observation or experimentation

Market Segment - a group or sector within a heterogeneous market consisting of consumers or organizations with relatively homogeneous needs and wants; those within a market who will respond to a given set of marketing stimuli in a particular way.

Market Segment Expansion Strategy - one of four possible market segmentation approaches (with concentrated segmentation strategy, product line expansion strategy and differentiated segmentation strategy) available to a firm in relation to the segment or segments it wishes to target; in a market segment expansion approach a firm targets one product to several segments of the market, thus expanding the market for one product.

Market Segmentation - the division of a totally heterogeneous market into groups or sectors with relatively homogeneous needs and wants.

Market Segmentation Organization - the organization of a firm's marketing activities so that a separate division is responsible for each of its major market segments. Market Share - a company's sales expressed as a percentage of the sales for the total industry.

Market Share Protection Strategy - marketing decisions and actions taken by a firm to protect its current market share from competitors.

Market Skimming Pricing - a pricing approach in which the producer sets a high introductory price to attract buyers with a strong desire for the product and the resources to buy it, and then gradually reduces the price to attract the next and subsequent layers of the market.

Market Testing - introducing a new product and marketing program into a market on a limited basis in order to test both before a full launch.

Market-Based Marketing Organization - a marketing structure of an organization in which staff specialists have responsibility for particular markets (rather than for particular products of the organization); an appropriate structure when the needs of each market served by the firm differ widely.

Marketing - the systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

Marketing Advantage - the competitive edge that can be gained by more accurately identifying customer needs and wants and by developing products which deliver superior satisfactions, or by being more effective and efficient in positioning, promotion or distribution.

Marketing Audit - the periodic, orderly, objective review, analysis and evaluation of an organization’s marketing structure, goals, strategies, action plans, performance and results.

Marketing Budget - the amount allocated for expenditure on marketing activities in a specified period.

Marketing Channels - the path or route taken by goods and services as they move from producer to final consumer; in addition to the goods and services themselves, title, information, promotion and payment also move along the marketing channels carry. Also called Channels of Distribution.

Marketing Communications - the formal and informal messages that sellers transmit to buyers; the systematic (planned) as well as the unsystematic (unplanned) promotion by a firm of its products to its markets.

Marketing Concept - a business orientation or philosophy that holds that organizational success is dependent upon the efficient identification of the needs and wants of target markets and the effective satisfaction of them.

Marketing Consultants - independent marketing specialists hired by companies, usually on a short-term contract basis, to advise on a wide range of marketing matters, including marketing planning and management, marketing research, marketing communications, etc.

Marketing Control - activities involved in checking that marketing action plans are producing the desired results, and the taking of corrective action if they are not.

Marketing Controller - an individual, usually with training in finance and marketing, responsible for analyzing and evaluating a company's marketing expenditures.

Marketing Cost Analysis - a tool used in marketing planning in which the costs associated with selling, billing, warehousing, promoting and distributing of certain products or product groups, or to certain customers or customer groups, are examined to assess their profitability.

Marketing Database - data brought into an organization through marketing research projects or a marketing information system and used as an aid to decision making. See Database Marketing.

Marketing Department - a division within a company with responsibility for the planning and co-ordination of all marketing activities.

Marketing Department Marketing - a term used to refer to the orientation of an organization which has established a separate department to look after its marketing activities but which is not totally imbued with the marketing philosophy.

Marketing Environment - the internal and external influences which affect marketing decision-making and have an impact on its performance. See Macro-environment; Micro-environment.

Marketing Era - the period following the end of the Second World War which saw the emergence of the marketing concept as the prevailing trend in business.

Marketing Ethics - the standards or moral principles governing the marketing profession.

Marketing Expense To Sales Ratio - a marketing control measure used to determine whether the cost of the marketing activities engaged in to produce the level of sales in a given period was excessive; total marketing expenses are expressed as a percentage of total sales revenue.

Marketing Implementation - the activities involved in putting marketing strategies into action in order to achieve marketing objectives. See Marketing Management.

Marketing Information System - an organizational section or entity whose purpose is to gather, organize, store, retrieve and analyze data relevant to a firm's past, present and future operations on an on-going basis in order provide support for management's marketing decisions; its four major components are an internal records bank (internally generated marketing information); a marketing intelligence bank (information from external sources); an analytical bank (statistical techniques and mathematical models); and an "ad hoc" marketing research bank (research into non-recurring problems).

Marketing Intelligence - information gathered from sources external to the firm for use in decision-making.

Marketing Intermediaries - independent firms which assist in the flow of goods and services from producers to end-users; they include agents, wholesalers and retailers; marketing services agencies; physical distribution companies; and financial institutions. Also referred to as Middlemen.

Marketing Management - the analysis, planning, organization, implementation and control of the marketing activities of the firm.

Marketing Mix - the major controllable variables - product, price, promotion and place (distribution) - that the firm blends to produce the desired market response; also called the Four Ps.

Marketing Models - computer based simulations of realistic marketing situations which allow alternative decisions to be tested for optimum results.

Marketing Myopia - short-sightedness in marketing; a failure by a firm to define its mission broadly enough result in the over-emphasis of product and the under-emphasis of customer needs and wants.

Marketing Objectives - specific, measurable aims or expected outcomes of marketing activity to be achieved in a given period.

Marketing Opportunities - circumstances in the external environment which offer an organization the chance to satisfy particular consumer needs and wants at a profit.

Marketing Opportunity Analysis - the systematic examination and evaluation of the firm's external environment in order to identify market needs and wants which it can satisfy profitably.

Marketing Organization - the structure of the marketing function within the organization; the two most commonly used approaches to organizing the marketing effort are a product-based organization and a market-based organization. See Market-Based Marketing Organization; Product-Based Marketing Organization.

Marketing Plan - a detailed, written account and timetable of the objectives, methods to be used by a firm to achieve its marketing goals.

Marketing Planning Process - a systematic approach to the achievement of marketing goals. Steps in the process include situation analysis; setting of objectives; strategy formulation; development of action programs; implementation; and control, review and evaluation.

Marketing Program - the combination of all of an organization’s marketing plans.

Marketing Research - a formal, planned approach to the collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting of information required for marketing decision-making.

Marketing Research Brief - a document prepared by a company for an independent market researcher which provides background and sets one what it requires - objectives, budget, terms, timing, etc.

Marketing Research Objectives - the aims or purpose of a marketing research study; objectives are often a expressed as hypotheses to be tested.

Marketing Research To Sales Ratio - a marketing control measure used to determine whether the amount spent on marketing research in a given period was excessive in relation to its sales; total marketing research expenditure is expressed as a percentage of total sales revenue.

Marketing Services - services which are produced or purchased by a marketing organization for use in the production, pricing, promotion and distribution of products which they themselves market. Services commonly produced or purchased by organizations for use by their own marketing departments include market research, advertising and promotion.

Marketing Services Agencies - independent companies providing assistance to firms in getting products to their target markets; they include marketing research agencies, advertising agencies, sales promotions specialists, marketing consultants, etc.

Marketing Strategy - the determination of a firm's objectives, the selection of its target markets, the development of an appropriate marketing mix for each, and the allocation of the resources necessary to achieve its goals..

Marketing Synergy - the principle in marketing that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts; putting the marketing mix variables together in a way that achieves maximum effect.

Marketing Oriented Company - one which subscribes to the philosophy that to survive and prosper it must satisfy the needs and wants of its target markets more effectively and efficiently than its competitors.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - a theory propounded in 1954 by Abraham Maslow, a U.S. psychologist, who hypothesized that some innate human needs are more pressing than others, and must be satisfied before any less pressing ones can be attended to. He arranged human needs into five categories in ascending order - Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Belongingness and Love Needs, Esteem Needs and Self-Actualization Needs.

Maslow's Theory of Motivation - the theory that human needs are hierarchical in nature and that a person must satisfy lower-order needs before higher-order needs can be attended to; thus, when a lower-order need is satisfied it ceases to be a motivator..

Mass Marketing - a marketing philosophy in which the seller views the market as a homogeneous whole, and, therefore, has only one marketing program (the same product, the same price, the same promotion and the same distribution system) for everyone; also referred to as Unsegmented Marketing or Undifferentiated Marketing.

Mass Media Advertising - advertising in a non-selective way by means of the popular media in order to reach the widest possible audience.

Material Management - a relatively recent organizational trend in purchasing in which some companies combine several functions - purchasing, inventory control, production scheduling, traffic, and the like - into one high-level function under the control of a materials manager.

Materials Handling - the activities involved in the physical handling and moving of inventory.

Mathematical Forecasting Techniques - mathematically stated relationships or models used to derive forecasts from historical data.

Maturity Stage of Product Life Cycle - the third stage (after introduction and growth) in the life of a typical product; in maturity, the product is well-known, has some loyal customers and strong competition.

MBO - abbrev. Management by Objectives

McKinsey 7-S Framework - a framework or model, developed by the McKinsey Company, a leading consulting firm, for maximizing success of the implementation of an organization’s strategic planning; according to the McKinsey experts, companies which are excellently managed have seven elements in common strategy, structure and systems (the three "hardware" elements of success) and style, skills, staffing and shared values (the four "software" elements of success.)

Me Too Products - risk-avoiding products which are not significantly different from those of competitors..

Measurability - one of the four major requirements (with action ability, accessibility and substantiality) for useful market segmentation; Measurability, sometimes referred to as Identifiably, expresses the notion that the size and purchasing power of the segment must be able to be measured. See Accessibility; Action ability; Substantiality.

Media Evaluation - the assessment of the effectiveness of a particular media vehicle.

Media Mix - the combination of media types used to carry the advertiser's message.

Media Plan - a blueprint for a firm's advertising, giving details of the media mix, the specific media vehicles and the media schedule.

Media Schedule - a plan which outlines when and how often a company will advertise.

Media Vehicle - a specific medium for the transmission of an advertiser's message.

Mega marketing - a term coined by U.S. marketing academic, Philip Kotler, to describe the type of marketing activity required when it is necessary to manage elements of the firm's external environment (governments, the media, pressure groups, etc) as well as the marketing variables; Kotler suggests that two more Ps must be added to the marketing mix - public relations and power.

Mega trend - a major movement, pattern or trend emerging in the macro environment; an emerging force likely to have a significant impact on the kinds of products consumers will wish to buy in the foreseeable future. Mega trends evident today include a growing interest in health, leisure, lifestyle and environmental issues.

Merchandise Allowance - a trade sales promotion in which manufacturers offer payments or a quantity of free merchandise to buyers for in-store promotion of their products.

Merchandisers - retail stores which sell finished, non-food items; four types of merchandisers (categorized on the basis of service, price and product line) can be identified: specialty stores (full-service, high-price, limited product line); department stores; mass merchandisers; and discount stores (limited-service, low-price, wide product line).

Merchant - an independent marketing intermediary.

Merchant Wholesaler - an independent marketing middleman buying and taking title to goods and reselling them to retailers or industrial users.

Micro analytical Model - a descriptive model, designed to communicate, explain or predict some real system or process, in which there is a dependent variable and a relatively large number of independent, determinant variables.

Micro environment - the factors or elements in a firm's immediate environment which affect its performance and decision-making; these elements include the firm's suppliers, competitors, marketing intermediaries, customers and publics.

Micro markets - markets in which the volumes of demand are relatively small owing to the fragmentation or splintering of mass markets; markets in which there is great diversity in the needs and wants of customers.

Micro-marketing - the study of marketing decision-making from the perspective of an individual firm or organization.

Micro sales Analysis - the analysis of the sales performance of an organization during a particular accounting period by close examination of the work of individual representatives, or of specific products, regions, territories, etc, which failed to achieve the expected results.

Micro segmentation - the division of a market into smaller groups of customers on the basis of more narrowly defined needs and wants, after having already divided or segmented it on the basis of broadly defined needs and wants.

Middleman - an independent marketing intermediary; an agent, wholesaler, retailer, etc.

Minor Points Close - a closing technique in which a salesperson attempts to get the buyer to agree to the value or usefulness of various smaller attributes and features of a product so that it will be easier to get a favourable response to the bigger decision - to purchase the product.

Mission Statement - the answer to the question "What business are we in?"; the corporate mission statement, with a broad focus and a customer orientation, provides management with a sense of purpose.

Missionary Selling - selling in which the salesperson's role is to inform an individual with the power to influence others to buy a product, rather than to make a direct sale to that person; a missionary salesperson is also known as a Detailer.

Mock Purchase - a tactic in which a person poses as a customer, usually to obtain information about a competitor's product or plans.

Model - a set of variables and their interrelationships which are designed to represent some real system or process.

Model Bank - a variety of mathematic models used in a marketing information system to simulate real-life situations to assist in decision making.

Modes of Transportation - the range of methods available for the shipment of goods - air, rail, road, sea, pipeline, etc.

Modified Re-Buy - a buying situation in which an individual or organization buys goods that have been purchased previously but changes either the supplier or some other element of the previous order.

Monadic Rating - a method for measuring consumer preferences in which potential purchasers are asked to rate their liking for each of a certain number of products on a scale; that is, on a seven point scale Product A may be rated as 6, Product B as 4, and Product C as 1. The method allows researchers not only to derive the individual's preference order, but also to know the qualitative levels of their preferences and the approximate distance between their preferences.

Money Based Competitors - other organizations offering products on which a company's potential customers might spend their money.

Monitoring Time - part of the non-monetary price a consumer pays for a product; the time it takes individual to work out that a particular product item needs to be replenished.

Monopolistic Competition - a market situation in which there are many sellers and many buyers of products which can be differentiated on price and other features.

Monopoly - a market situation in which there is only one seller.

Monopsony - a market situation in which there is only one buyer.

Moral Pricing - a pricing method used where the product is socially or politically sensitive and costs are difficult to identify.

Motivation - that which provides the inner drive for a person to act.

Motive - an inner state directing a person towards the satisfaction of a need.

Movie Tie-Ins - a promotional strategy in which a payment is made to a movie company in return for prominent featuring of a particular product in a forthcoming feature film.

Moving Average - a forecasting method using the average volume achieved in several recent sales periods to predict the volume likely to be sold in the next period.

Multi-Channel Marketing System - a system in which a producer uses more that one channel of distribution; commonly, producers who use multichannel marketing systems operate their own retail stores as well as sell through other wholesalers and retailers. Multichannel retailers are also called Merchandising Conglomerates.

Multibrand Strategy - the use of more than one brand within a product category in order to counteract brand switching and to increase shelf space opportunities.

Multichotomous Question - a closed-ended question in a marketing research questionnaire in which a respondent must choose one response from two or more possible alternatives.

Multidimensional Scaling - a multivariate statistical technique concerned mainly with the relationships, differences, similarities, interaction, substitutability, etc. among behavioural data.

Multiform Corporations - highly diversified conglomerates with many unrelated businesses.

Multilevel In-Depth Selling - a tactic used by selling organizations where the buying centre of a large and important company includes many participants; the selling team spends maximum time with company personnel, attempting to reach as many as possible of the decision participants at all levels.

Multilevel Marketing - a form of direct selling in which distributors of a product attempt to locate and sell to end-users and to others who will become distributors.

Multimodal Transportation - some combination of rail, sea, road, air and pipeline services for the shipment of goods.

Multinational Corporation - an organization operating in several countries, often having a substantial share of their total assets, sales, and labour force in foreign subsidiaries.

Multiple Channel System - the use of more than one channel of distribution to sell a product, e.g. direct mail, direct to major retailers, through wholesalers to smaller retailers, etc.

Multiple Exchanges - a term used in non-profit marketing in reference to the fact that non-profit organizations must deal with donors in receiving funds and with their clients in allocating them.

Multiple Marketing Channels - more than one distribution channel serving either a single market or different target markets.

Multiple Niching - a strategy adopted by a company operating simultaneously in more than one market niche.

Multiple Packaging - the practice of placing several units of a product (chocolate bars, soups, yogurt, etc) in one container when offering them for sale in order to increase total sales, to help introduce a new product or to win consumer acceptance.

Multiple Publics - a term used in non-profit marketing in reference to the fact that non-profit organizations must market themselves to their donors as well as to their clients; each target requires a different marketing approach.

Multiple Segmentation Approach - targeting a number of distinct segments in the same market and developing a separate marketing mix for each.

Multiple Sourcing - buying supplies from several vendors so that the risk of any one source being unable to supply is minimized.

Multiple Unit Pricing - offering a lower price per unit for the purchase of two or more products of the same type when bought together than when units are bought singly.

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Last modified: November 21, 2007