Jargon Johal

Strategy 21

B2B (business to business)

Selling to other businessesYour customer is a business, but a person still makes the decision.Who's the actual person deciding to buy?

B2C (business to consumer)

Selling to the publicSelling straight to everyday people.Which everyday people, exactly?

BOFU (bottom of funnel)

People ready to buySummit Day. Make it easy for them to say yes.What's stopping people who are ready from buying today?

Brand awareness

How many people know you existStep one. Nobody buys from a business they've never heard of.How will we measure awareness, and what's it worth to me in sales?

Content pillars

The few topics you always talk aboutThree to five topics, so you're known for something.What are my three to five topics, and why those?

Customer journey

Every step from hearing of you to buying againMap it once, and you'll see where people get lost.Can you show me the journey on one page, and where we lose people?

Funnel

The journey from stranger to customerTop: they've just heard of you. Middle: they're comparing. Bottom: they're ready to buy.Which stage of the funnel is this for, and how will we measure it?

Go-to-market (GTM)

How you'll launch and sell itWho you're selling to, what you'll say, where, and for how much.Who, what, where and how much? One line each.

Growth hacking

Cheap experiments to win customersSmall, cheap tests. Keep what works, bin what doesn't.What's the test, what does it cost, and how do we know if it worked?

ICP (ideal customer profile)

The customer you most wantThe customer who pays well, stays long and sends their friends.Who's my ideal customer, and how many are there near me?

MOFU (middle of funnel)

People comparing their optionsThey know they've got a problem. They're working out who to trust.What are we giving people who are comparing us?

Omni-presence

Being there when they lookNot everywhere. Just everywhere that matters.Which places matter most for my customers, and why?

Omnichannel

The same experience everywhereWhether they call, click or walk in, it feels like the same business.Which channels, exactly? List them.

Persona

A sketch of your typical customerA made-up person built from real data. Useful, as long as it's real data.What real data is this persona built from?

Positioning

Where you sit in customers' mindsCheap and cheerful, or the best in town? You can't be both.Where do customers put us today, and where do you want them to?

SME (small and medium-sized enterprise)

A small or medium-sized businessYou, probably. The backbone of every economy.Have you worked with businesses my size before?

Strategy

The thinking behind the planStrategy is why and where. A plan is what and when. Most people sell you a plan and call it a strategy.What's the strategy behind this plan, in one sentence?

TOFU (top of funnel)

People who've just heard of youNot the bean curd. The people at Base Camp, just curious.How many new people are we reaching each month?

Touchpoint

Anywhere a customer meets your businessYour website, your invoice, your phone manner, the sign out front.Which touchpoints are you changing, and which are you leaving alone?

USP (unique selling proposition)

The thing only you offerIf a competitor could say it too, it isn't unique.Could my competitor say the same thing? If yes, what's actually unique?

Value proposition

Why anyone should choose youThe one reason a customer picks you over the business down the road.What's my value proposition in one sentence, and does a customer agree?

Numbers 23

AOV (average order value)

What the average sale is worthWant more money without more customers? Lift this.How will you lift my average sale?

Attribution

Working out what led to the saleTough, but achievable. If they say it's impossible, they haven't tried.How do you know which activity actually brought in each sale?

Bounce rate

People who left straight awayThey knocked, looked in and left. Find out why.Which pages do people leave fastest, and what will you fix?

CAC (customer acquisition cost)

What it costs to win a customerEverything you spent to win them, divided by how many you won.Is my cost to win a customer going up or down?

Conversion

Someone did what you wantedThey bought, booked, called or signed up.What counts as a conversion for us, and how many did we get last month?

Conversion rate

How many visitors actually did itOut of everyone who turned up, how many did the thing.What's my conversion rate now, and what's a realistic target?

CPA (cost per acquisition)

What each new customer costsThe real price of a customer. Watch this one.What does each new customer cost me, all in?

CPC (cost per click)

What each click costs youYou pay every time someone clicks, whether they buy or not.What's my cost per click, and what's my cost per sale?

CPL (cost per lead)

What each enquiry costsCheap leads that never buy are expensive leads.What's my cost per lead, and how many of those leads became customers?

CPM (cost per thousand)

What 1,000 showings costThe M is Latin for thousand. You pay to be shown, not to be clicked.Why are we paying to be shown rather than paying for results?

CRO (conversion rate optimisation)

Getting more visitors to say yesFix the leaky bucket before you pour more water in.What will you change on my site, and how will we test it?

CTR (click-through rate)

How many people clickedOut of everyone who saw it, how many clicked.Clicks are nice. How many of those clicks bought something?

Engagement

People doing something with your postLiking, commenting, sharing, clicking. Proof someone's awake.Did any of that engagement turn into an enquiry?

Impressions

How many times it was shownShown, not seen. Big difference.How many real people saw it, not just screens it loaded on?

KPI (key performance indicator)

The numbers that show if it's workingPick a few that matter. Ignore the rest.Which three numbers will you report to me every month?

LTV (lifetime value)

What a customer is worth over timeNot one sale. Every sale, for as long as they stay.What's a customer worth to me over time, and are we spending sensibly to win one?

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

How likely customers are to recommend youOne question: would you recommend us? Then listen to the why.What's my score, and what did unhappy customers say?

OKR (objectives and key results)

Goals with numbers attachedA goal, plus the numbers that prove you hit it.What's the goal, and what number proves we got there?

Reach

How many different people saw itImpressions count every showing. Reach counts people.How many of the people we reached are actually near me or could buy?

ROAS (return on ad spend)

Sales from ads for every dollar on adsROI's little brother. It ignores your costs, so it always looks better.What's my ROAS after your fees and my costs?

ROI (return on investment)

What you got back for what you spentThe only number your accountant cares about.For every dollar I spend with you, what comes back, and how do you know?

Vanity metrics

Numbers that look good but don't payLikes don't pay the rent.Which of these numbers is connected to sales?

YoY / MoM (year on year / month on month)

Compared with last year or last monthCompare like with like. December beats June for most retailers, every year.Compared with the same time last year, is it actually better?

Email and leads 14

A/B test

Trying two versions to see which winsTwo versions, half the people each. Let the customers vote.What are we testing, and how many people before we decide?

CRM (customer relationship management)

Your customer address book, with historyWho they are, what they bought, what you promised them.Who owns my customer data if we stop working together?

CTA (call to action)

The button or line that says what to do nextBook now. Get your audit. One clear ask, not five.What's the one thing we want people to do next?

Deliverability

Whether your emails reach the inboxIf it lands in spam, it never happened.How many of my emails land in spam, and how do you check?

EDM (electronic direct mail)

A marketing emailCall it an EDM if you like. Your customers call it an email. Make it worth opening.What's my open rate and click rate, and what will you change?

First-party data

Information customers gave you directlyThe most valuable list you'll ever own. Look after it.Is my customer list growing each month, and is it mine?

Landing page

A page built for one jobOne page, one message, one button.What's the one job of this page, and how many people do it?

Lead

Someone who might buyA real person who raised their hand. Treat them like one.How many leads did we get, and how fast did we reply?

Lead magnet

Something free in exchange for an emailMy audit is one. No money, just your email, for something genuinely useful.What are we giving away, and is it actually useful to my customers?

MQL / SQL (marketing / sales qualified lead)

Leads sorted by how ready they areMarketing-ready means curious. Sales-ready means call them today.How do you decide a lead is ready for me to call?

Nurture sequence

A planned series of helpful emailsNot spam. A conversation, one email at a time, until they're ready.How many emails, how far apart, and what does each one do?

Open rate

How many people opened the emailPhones fake a lot of opens now. Clicks tell the truth.How many people clicked, not just opened?

Personalisation at scale

Remembering every customerRemembering a customer's name, ten thousand times. AI makes it affordable now, as long as it's done safely, with permission.What customer data will you use, and do we have permission?

Segmentation

Grouping customersSo the right message reaches the right person at the right time.How will you group my customers, and what will each group get?

Digital and AI 28

AEO / GEO (answer / generative engine optimisation)

Getting found and quoted by AIGEO is the same family in a different hat, so don't let anyone charge you twice.When someone asks ChatGPT or Claude about my business, what does it say?

Agentic AI

AI that does things, not just answersIt doesn't just answer the question. It books the table.What will it do on its own, and what needs my OK first?

AI (artificial intelligence)

Software that can write, sort and answerA brilliant intern. 10% your input, 80% its grunt work, 10% your checking.Which job will AI do, and who checks its work?

API (application programming interface)

A way for two systems to talkA waiter between two kitchens. Order goes in, food comes out.Which of my systems will be connected, and who maintains it?

Automation

Software doing a repeat job for youIf you do it every week the same way, a machine should probably do it.How many hours a week will this save me, and what happens when it breaks?

Backlinks

Other websites linking to yoursA vote of confidence from another site. Quality beats quantity.Which sites are linking to me, and are they real?

CMS (content management system)

The software you edit your website inCan you change your own opening hours? If not, ask why.Can I update my own site without paying you every time?

GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

Google's free website statsFree and powerful, if someone sets up what matters.Can I see the three numbers that matter, without logging in to GA4?

GBP (Google Business Profile)

Your free listing on Google Maps and searchBack from the dead, and free. Keep your hours, photos and replies up to date.When did we last post on my Google Business Profile or reply to a review?

Hallucination

When AI confidently makes something upIt sounds sure. Check it anyway. Nothing goes live until a human has read it.Who checks the AI's work before it reaches my customers?

Influencer

Someone with a following who promotes youRent someone else's audience. Check the audience is real first.How many of their followers are real, and near me?

IT (information technology)

Computers, networks and the people who run themYou don't need another IT solution. You need a Maverick.Is this a technology problem, or a business problem with technology attached?

Keywords

The words people type into searchUse your customers' words, not your industry's.Which words do my customers actually type?

LLM (large language model)

The engine behind ChatGPT, Claude and the likeTrained on a huge library of text, so it predicts good answers. It doesn't know your business until you tell it.What will it know about my business, and where does that come from?

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

A standard plug for AIThe travel adapter of AI: one plug, every socket.Which of my systems will AI be plugged into, and what can it see?

NAP (name, address, phone)

Your business details, the same everywhereIf Google sees three different addresses, it trusts none of them.Are my name, address and phone identical on every listing?

Organic vs paid

Free reach versus reach you paid forOrganic is earned. Paid is rented. Owned, like your email list, is yours.How much of my growth is paid, and what happens if the budget stops?

Prompt

What you type into AIRubbish in, rubbish out. Smart in, smart out.Can you show me the prompts, so I can use them myself?

Remarketing

Ads for people who've already visitedIf you see my ad after visiting my site, you'll know my work works.Who are we showing ads to again, and for how long?

SaaS (software as a service)

Software you rent monthlyRented software. Add up the subscriptions every year.What do all my monthly subscriptions add up to?

Schema

Labels that help search engines read your siteHidden labels that tell Google and AI exactly what's on the page.Is schema set up on my site, and has it been tested?

SEM / PPC (search ads / pay per click)

Paying to show up in search resultsYou rent the top spot. Stop paying and you disappear.What happens to my enquiries if we pause the ads for a month?

SEO (search engine optimisation)

Getting found on GoogleMaking it easy for Google to understand you, trust you and send people your way.Which searches do you want me to show up for, and where am I now?

SERP (search engine results page)

The page of Google resultsPage one is the shop window. Page two is the back storeroom.Where do I sit on page one for my top searches?

UGC (user-generated content)

Content your customers makeReviews, photos and posts from real customers. More trusted than anything you write.How are we collecting and asking permission to use it?

UTM (tracking tags)

Tags on links that show where visitors came fromA name tag on every link, so you know which post sent who.Are all our links tagged, so we know what's working?

UX / UI (user experience / user interface)

How easy and nice it is to useUI is how it looks. UX is how it feels to use it.Where do people get stuck on my site?

Zero-click

They got the answer without visiting youThe concierge answered, and nobody walked to your shop.How are we making sure my name is in the answer?

Buzzwords 14

Bandwidth

TimeTime. They mean time.How many hours a month are you actually giving my account?

Best practice

What usually worksWhat usually works, for someone else. Test it on your customers.How will we test whether it works for my customers?

Circle back

Talk about it laterTalk later. Maybe.Can we lock in a date for that now?

Deep dive

A closer lookA closer look. Bring snacks.What will you look at, and what will I get at the end?

Disruption

Doing it differentlyDoing what customers wanted years ago, before the rest of the industry caught on.What are we doing that my competitors aren't?

Holistic

Looking at the whole thingLooking at everything together, not one bit at a time. Good idea, if they actually do it.Which parts of my business are included, and which aren't?

Ideate

Think up ideasThink. Usually with sticky notes.When do the ideas turn into a plan with dates and costs?

Leverage

UseUse what you've already got. That's it.What exactly are we using, and is it something I already pay for?

Low-hanging fruit

The easy winsStart here. Always.Which three easy wins are you doing first, and by when?

Move the needle

Make a real differenceIf it doesn't change a number that matters, it doesn't count.Which needle? Name the number and where it should be in three months.

Pivot

Change directionA change of plan with a nicer name.What did the numbers show that made us change plan?

Scalable

Works when you get biggerIt works for ten customers and for ten thousand.What breaks first if we double in size?

Synergy

Working togetherTwo things that work better together than apart. Like your website and your newsletter actually talking to each other.Which two things are working together, and what number goes up because of it?

Thought leadership

Sharing what you knowShare what you know, often and honestly, so people trust you.Who writes it, me or you? And how do we know anyone reads it?