What is Product Positioning? Product positioning is a form of marketing that presents the benefits of your product to a particular target audience. Through market research and focus groups, marketers can determine which audience to target based on favorable responses...

What is Product Life Cycle? Product life cycle is the progression of an item through the four stages of its time on the market. The four life cycle stages are: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Every product has a life...

What is Private Label? A private label product is manufactured by a contract or third-party manufacturer and sold under a retailer’s brand name. As the retailer, you specify everything about the product – what goes in it, how it’s packaged,...

Understanding Overhead Costs: A Comprehensive Guide What Are Overhead Costs? Overhead costs, often referred to simply as overhead or operating expenses, are the expenses associated with running a business that cannot be directly linked to the creation or production of...

What is Outdoor Advertising? Outdoor advertising, also known as out-of-home advertising, is advertising that reaches consumers when they are outside their homes. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America says that’s where consumers spend 70 percent of their time. Types of...

Opportunity cost is the potential benefit that is lost when one option is chosen over the next best alternative. Every decision—whether in business, investing, or daily life—requires trade-offs. Because resources such as money, time, and skills are limited, choosing one...

Operating expenses, often abbreviated as OpEx, are the regular costs a business pays to keep its day-to-day operations running. These are necessary expenses that support the core functions of a company but are not directly tied to making products or...

What is Odd-Even Pricing? Odd-Even pricing refers to a strategy that uses the last digit of a product or service price to influence perception. For example, prices ending in odd numerals like $1.99 or $78.25 follow an odd pricing strategy,...

What is a Niche Market? A niche market is a subset of a larger market with its own particular needs or preferences, which may be different from the larger market. For example, within the market for women’s shoes are many...

What is Market Segmentation? Market segmentation is the dividing of a firm’s target market into groups and subgroups. By segmenting the market the firm may then tailor sales campaigns and marketing strategy so as to be specifically aimed at the...

What is Market Research? Market research consists of systematically gathering data about people or companies – a market – and then analyzing it to better understand what that group of people needs. The results of market research, which are usually...

Marginal cost refers to the additional expense a company incurs when it produces one more unit of a product or delivers one more service. It is a fundamental concept in economics and business management because it shows how costs change...

What is Logistics? Logistics is the process of coordinating and moving resources—such as people, materials, inventory, and equipment—from their origin to their final destination. Originally a military practice, it developed into a critical function for modern businesses. Today, companies rely...

What is a Limited Liability Company (LLC)? A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business structure that blends elements of partnerships and corporations. It provides personal liability protection for its owners—called members—while offering management flexibility and tax benefits. As a...

What is Inventory Turnover? Inventory turnover is a metric that shows how often a company sells and replaces its physical products during a given period. It tells you whether your inventory moves quickly or slowly. Therefore, businesses use it to...

What is Human Resources (HR)? Human resources (HR) is the department within a business that is responsible for all things worker-related. That includes recruiting, vetting, selecting, hiring, onboarding, training, promoting, paying, and firing employees and independent contractors. HR is also...

What is Gross Profit? The gross profit of a company is the total sales of the firm minus the total cost of the goods sold. The total sales are all the goods sold by the company. The total cost of...

What is Green Marketing? Green marketing is the marketing of environmentally friendly products and services. It is becoming more popular as more people become concerned with environmental issues and decide that they want to spend their money in a way...

What is FOB Shipping Point? FOB Shipping Point is a shipping term that stands for “free on board.” If a shipment is designated FOB (the seller’s location), then as soon as the shipment of goods leaves the seller’s warehouse, the...

What is ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)? Enterprise resource planning, or ERP for short, is a comprehensive software platform used to help a business run more efficiently and effectively, by automating core processes. An ERP system can take orders from customers,...