Common Terms and Jargon in the Retail Industry

Before seeking employment in the retail industry, what do you really know about common terms and jargon in the retail industry?  Perhaps this list will help you to be more prepared for that first interview or job experience.

Pay-per-click Advertising: Pay-per-click advertising is used by retailers for marketing their products and/or brand. It is a sponsored link usually found on the right side or at the top of a Web page. When using pay-per-click advertising, you only pay when a person actually clicks through to your website.

Above the Line (ATL): A mass media technique used in advertising such as cinema, TVC, radio and search engines. These are used to promote brands. Since this type of communication is basically conventional, it is often considered to be impersonal by customers. However, it does help to establish your brand’s identity. Typically, it is everything you do before a customer actually enters your retail outlet.

E-mail Marketing: This is a marketing strategy in which the retailer sends customers e-mails including newsletters, friendly reminders or announcements of special events.

Brand Equity: Brand equity is the power of a brand gotten through its goodwill (link) and recognition earned over time of its name. This goodwill and recognition results into both a higher sales volume as well as higher profit margins against the competition.

Allowance: An allowance is a price reduction allowed for many different reasons such as merchandise being slightly defective or not being delivered when promised.

Break Even Analysis: A break even analysis is a tool used by marketers to forecast what the minimum sales volume must be for a company to make a profit. The factors used to forecast the point in which a company will realize a profit are the product’s price and both the fixed cost and variable costs of the product.

Profit and Loss Statement (P&L): A profit and loss statement is an account report highlighting the following: the total net profit, the cost of goods sold and revenues.

EDLP (Everyday Low Pricing): EDLP is a strategy in pricing in which the consumer is promised to always be offered the lowest available price without the use of coupons, discount promotions or comparison pricing. This strategy is believed to build shopper loyalty. However, its advantages also include the elimination of manufacturers’ cost to distribute and process coupons as well as retailers’ periodic expense and time of price markdowns.

Free on Board (FOB): When the shipping costs are totally the retailer’s responsibility and not the vendor’s, it is said to be free on board.

E-Marketing: Any form of marketing that is a digital technology such as mobile phones, Internet and email is known as e-marketing.

Bottom Feeders: If customers buy only clearance merchandise, they are referred to as being bottom feeders.

Forecast: Future demand of a specific product over an explicit time period is estimated in order to develop a forecast. The forecast is determined by market trends, historical data, feedback of the sales force and marketing data.

How to use Direct Response Marketing to Make More Profits Online

What is Direct Response Marketing?

The design of direct response marketing is one that compels prospects to take specific actions.  The actions prospects are called upon to take include calling for additional information by phone, choosing to opt in with an email address, the placement of an order, or going to a specific web page.  This type of marketing makes a call to action delivery possible as well as instant response and feedback through online or direct interaction.

Since the marketer and consumer interaction is pretty much on the spot, marketers are able to understand their products or services performance without having to endure a waiting period.

The key elements of direct response marketing include:

·        A proposal pitch

·        Enough information to allow the customer to consider the product or service

·        A call to action that is clear

·        Response options such as email, toll free phone number or visiting an online Web page

Examples of this type of marketing include both TV commercials and infomercials.  Usually a TV commercial will range from a thirty seconds duration to two minutes.  However, the format of a long infomercial is normally around thirty minutes.

The use of traditional media such as radio, newspapers or magazines may also be used to produce direct responses, but when they are compared to the interactive mediums of today, they are far less likely to receive adequate rates of responses.

By leveraging offline and online marketing tactics combined, Brian Kurtz created tens of millions in revenue for Boardroom Inc. with this type of marketing. 

What Kind of Marketing is best for Small Businesses

Of the basic types of marketing, branding is the one used by big corporations.  If you’ve seen Coca Cola, apple and Nike ads on TV, you’ve seen examples of branding.  The idea of branding is to run lots of ads about your brand in order for your brand to be the one more people recognize because it is in their consciousness due to the large number of ads when making a decision to buy a product.  This type of marketing is very expensive and only large corporations are able to afford it.

On the other hand, direct response marketing that compels prospects to take one of many options to respond to the marketing ads is more cost effective if you use the right strategies.

Direct Response Marketing Strategies

• Track Your Ads: You should track your ads in order to know which generate responses.  With brand marketing, you don’t know which of your ads brought a response.

• Measure the Ads’ Effects: You will always know how effective an ad has been since you will know which of your ads have had responses as well as how many sales were made from each of your ads.  This information allows you to know which ads you should drop because they are not giving you a return on your investment.

• Make an Offer: The offer you make in your ad must be an irresistible offer.  You want your target to believe what you have to say is important to them because it is in their best interest.  The idea is not to try to sell anything but rather to get the prospect to take the next action.  For instance, the next action could be to request a free report.

•  Your Headline Should be a Killer: Most people or 99.9% are too busy to pay attention to online ads.  Therefore, you must make your ad stand out, and, for that reason, your headline is the most important element of your ad.  According to David Ogilvy, the number of people who read an ad is far less, five times less, than those that read only the headline.  Instead of mentioning the product you’re trying to sell in the headline, you need to say something that will get the prospect to continue reading.  For example, Ogilvy wrote the following headline “How Women Over 35 Can Look Younger" for an advertisement about face cream.  John Caples suggests a good headline should include these three key elements:
         1. Valuable benefits are promised the reader.
         2.It should be newsworthy.
                              3.It should raise the curiosity of the reader.

•  Call for Action: You should ask the reader to act in some way in response to your ad.  Your call to action should:         

• Ask the reader to do one specific thing after reading the ad.
• Ask the reader to complete an action that is very easy for them to do.

Following this principle, Newsweek sent out a letter offering a special introductory rate as well as a full refund if not fully satisfied.  

Direct One-Shot or Two-Plus Step Approach (Campaign)

Direct One-Shot Approach: After figuring out who your ideal clients are, you create online marketing pieces such as emails or online ads.  The idea is to reach the right people who are most interested in what you are offering.  Your marketing piece must be done so well that your client will take action by making a phone call, clicking a button or placing an order.  An example of success with this approach is the maker of Trainz selling over one million games since 2001 with this approach. 

Two-Plus Step Approach (Campaign): The campaign begins much the same way as the One-Shot.  However, your goal is different with the campaign.  Instead of making a sale with one shot, you simply want to create a list of ideal clients in order to allow you to send out messages over time.  As you provide your clients with information, you strive to move them along from interested to ready to make a purchase.  You won’t have a surge of sales instantly with this approach, but you should make more sales over time.  Two examples of this approach are Groupon and Living Social.  With both TV and online advertising, they were able to drive millions of prospective customers to their websites.  Once the prospects have signed up, they get daily email reminders of specials.  

E-Learning Strategies: Integrating Technology in the Classroom

E-Learning Definition Basically, eLearning is learning with the use of electronic technologies in order to access educational curriculum or training outside the customary classroom.  It usually is a course, program or degree that is administered totally online. Other terms used to describe learning that is conveyed online through the internet are computerized electronic learning, Distance Education, internet learning, online learning and many others.  However, eLearning is commonly defined as courses delivered through the internet from a location other than a classroom with a professor teaching.  The course is not conveyed by a CD-ROM, television channel, CD, DVD or video tape.   It can’t be conveyed by these because it should be interactive allowing you to communicate with professors, teachers or other students in your class.  At times, it is conveyed live, and the raising of your hand can be done electronically allowing you to communicate in real times.  It may also consist of a prerecorded lecture.  Nevertheless, a professor or teacher should always be present and available to communicate and interact with you as well as grade your assignments, tests and participation.  Of all the uses of technology, E-Learning is considered to be an effective, up-and-coming method of education and training. Online Classroom Tools One of the ways teachers are integrating technology in classrooms is by using white boards also known as SMART Boards.  The idea behind these electronic SMART Boards is that they are interactive.  The SMART Boards are replacing the dry-erase white boards in the everyday classrooms and are electronic devices that operate along with computer software.  Offering a large variety of color and tools, the SMART Boards allow students and/or teachers to draw or write on the board.  They can also use their hands to draw or move objects.  In addition, just as you can save your work on a computer, you can save your work on the SMART Board. Teaching with technology through the use of apps makes it possible to not only write and sketch on SMART Boards but to also customize them with fun features.  The results of this are that your students will be kept alert and their attention spans will also improve. Apps for the SMART Boards include: ·        Sketchlot:  This free app is designed to be used on any device with a web browser such as an iPad, MacBook or an Android tablet.  Both teachers and students can use it.  Teachers can create their own account and create a list of students within that account as well.  The teacher assigns a password to each student, and the student can then use his or her password to share drawings with the teacher.  After teachers create as many drawings as they want, these drawings can be shared with one student at a time or all the students at the same time.  Science diagrams, math questions or text can be produced by the teacher.  After viewing these, students can reply and interact.  Students can also create their sketches to share with the teacher as well, thus completing the interaction. Teacher sketches can be posted on the class website, tweeted on Twitter, or pinned on Pinterest. ·        Awwapp.com: Using your laptop, desktop computer, Smartphone or tablet, teachers can work on a whiteboard in the classroom.  Without requiring any downloading, this app provides a few tools that are easy to use and have a lot of versatility.  A color tool offers a rainbow of colors for use in a diagram, and a pencil tool offers three different size tips along with an eraser function. Besides using this app with the classroom white board, it can also be used on a classroom or school website.  However, to embed it into a site currently costs $10 a month. ·        PixiClip: With PixiClip, you can doodle, record an audio message and create a video.  On its whiteboard space, besides drawing you can upload images and mark and type onto them as well.  A teacher or student can add elements to their PixiClip whiteboard and while talking record a video.  These videos can be put onto social media for sharing or be embedded into blog posts.  In order to use PixiClip’s service, you don’t have to start an account.  However, creating a free account is necessary in order to save your recording, therefore, allowing you to later edit it and, of course, present it again. ·        Stoodle: With Stoodle, teachers and/or students create collaborative whiteboard space.  For a complete, comprehensive presentation, you are able to draw, type and upload images as well.  While you draw, type and share images, you can converse with your collaborators by connecting Stoodle to the microphone on your computer.  You do not have to create an account in order to use Stoodle.  You simply click “launch a classroom” and name your classroom as well as the URL that has been assigned to your      E-Learning Apps The following apps can be used in classroom as well as business presentations.  The most obvious of the advantages of e-learning provided by them is the inspiration and their captivating elements. ·        Prezi: All teachers at one time or another try to improve their instruction by learning strategies.  Prezi is an app you will find superior to the PowerPoint presentations you most likely have created in the past when presenting your lesson or when making a presentation to parents, other teachers or administrators.  For that reason, it’s time to replace PowerPoint with the Prezi slide show program that will enable you to create spectacular, skyrocketing presentations.  The Prezi app provides users with templates to choose, images to add, text, arrows, frames, videos and more.  Instead of static slides, the zoom, motion and spatial relationships will engross you audience in such a way that they will most likely remember your message.   When your presentation is complete, you have two options.  These include your sending the URL of your presentation to your students for the first option.  For the second, you can download your presentation in order to present it to your students later. Discounts are available for both teacher and students when a school email address is used to sign up. ·        Animoto Video Maker: With the Animoto Video Maker, you can create videos that are both engaging and fun.  You choose a template for the background and a song to create a style for your video.  Your photos, text and videos can be added by you to create the customization of your video.  This app is great for teachers, professionals and photographers.  Teachers can create 30 second videos for their student for free with the Animoto Lite Plan.  The finished videos can be produced and shared via email, messages, Facebook and Twitter. ·        Glogster Edu: Glogster Edu  can be used to create and present interactive posters or as a resource for digital learning.  In creating an interactive poster, you can customize it by adding images, text, arrows, shapes, captions, videos and other media. The Glogpedia Content Library is a digital resource for teachers and students to find both information and inspiration.  This library currently consists of over 40,000 Glogs from classrooms around the globe. Students can create their own Glogs individually or in cooperative groups to present to the class as an assignment or project.  When the Glogs are complete, students should click “save” in order to later present them to the class. ·        Kizoa: With Kizoa, you can create slideshows, videos or animated collages.  In order to create a collage or slideshow, you begin by selecting a picture that will be the background and adjusting the picture so that it blends in nicely.  You then select animations, transitions and music that suit your presentation.  Create and edit the text, and you have a fantastic presentation to share with either a link or email.