Branding -- is a promise, a pledge of quality. It is the essence of a product, including why it is great, and how it is better than all competiting products. It is an image. It is a combination of words and letters, symbols, and colors.

Marketing -- the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, and people to create exchanges that will satisfy individual and organizational goals.

Marketing Mix -- the blend of product, place, promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce satisfying exchanges with a target market.

Market Research -- the process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to marketing decision-making. Using a combination of primary and secondary research tools to better understand a situation.

Personal Selling -- persuasive communication between a representative of the company and one or more prospective customers, designed to influence the person's or group's purchase decision.

Place -- the process of getting a product from the place it was manufactured into the hands of consumers in the right location at the right time.

Positioning -- developing a specific marketing mix to influence potential customers' overall perceptions of a brand; to develop a specific image of the brand in the minds of consumers.

Price -- the money or other compensation or unit of value exchanged for the purchase or use of a product, service, idea, or person.

Product -- a good, service, person, or idea consisting of a bundle of tangible and intangible benefits that satisfies consumers' needs and wants.

Promotion -- any type of persuasive communication between a marketer and one or more of its stakeholder groups. Promotional tools include advertising, personal selling, publicity, and sales promotion.

Strategic Marketing Planning -- the process of managerial and operational activities required to create and sustain effective and efficient marketing strategies, including identifying and evaluating opportunities, analyzing markets and selecting target markets, developing a positioning strategy, preparing and executing the market plan, and controlling and evaluating results.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) -- the one thing that makes a product different than any other. It's the one reason marketers think consumers will buy the product even though it may seem no different from many others just like it.

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