Business Unit 1

• income elasticity of demand


  a measure of the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to changes in income,

  
• brand


  a name, term etc. that allows consumers to identify goods and services of a business

  
• credit crunch


  a lack of funds is available in the credit market resulting in banks charging higher interest raits and loaning less money

  
• e-commerce

  the use of electronic systems to sell good and services

  
• EV


  electric vehicle
• liquidation


  the act of clossing a company by selling the sings belonging to it to pay its debts

  
• market


  any arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things

  
• marketing


  the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return

  
• market share


  a company's product sales as a percentage of total sales for that industry

  
• mass market


  a very large market in which products with mass appeal are targeted

  
• niche market


  a smaller market, usually within a large market or industry

  
• online retailing / e-tailing


  the retailing of goods online

  
• payday lending


  a type of short-term borrowing where an individual borrows a small amount at a very high rate of interest.
• unsecured loan


  a loan that doesn't require any collateral
• consumer panels


  groups of customers are asked for feedback about products over a period of time
• database


  a collection of organized data that allows access, retrieval, and use of data

  
• focus groups


  a group of people who are asked about their attitude towards a product, service, advertisement or new style of packaging

  
• market research


  the activity of gathering information about consumers' needs and preferences.

  
• primary research / field research


  the gathering of 'new' information which does not already exist

  
• qualitative (research)


  (research of) data in the form of words

  
• quantitative (research)


  (research of) data that is in numbers

  
• quota sampling


  a nonprobability sampling technique in which researchers divide the population into groups and then arbitrarily choose participants from each group

  
• random sampling


  a sampling technique where respondents are chosen at random

  
• respondents


  people or organisations that answer questions in a survey
• sample


  a small group of people that must represent a proportion of a total market when carrying out market research
• secondary research / desk research


  the collection of data that is already in existence

  
• stratified sampling


  a method of quota sampling in which respondents are chosen at random

  
• target population


  the total number of consumers in a given group
• adding value


  offering extra features when selling a product, such as high-quality customer service, which helps to exceed customer expectations.
• competitive advantage


  an advantage that enables a business to perform better than its rivals in the market

  
• market maps / perceptual maps


  typically a two-dimensional diagram that shows two of the attributes or characteristics of a brand and those of rival brands in the market

  
• market oriented


  an approach to business which places the needs of consumers at the centre of the decision-making process
• market positioning


  the view consumers have about the quality, value and image of a product in relation to those of competitors
• market segments


  parts of a whole market where a particular customer group has similar characteristics

  
• product differentiation


  a positioning strategy that some firms use to distinguish their products from those of competitors

  
• product oriented


  an approach to business which places emphasis upon the production process and the production itself
• reposition


  change the view consumers have about a product by altering some of its characteristics
• socio-economic groups


  division of people according to social class

  
• unique selling point / proposition


  the aspect or feature of a product that clearly distinguishes it from its rivals

  
• complementary goods


  products and services that are used together. When the price of one falls, the demand for the other increases (and conversely).