Glossary: Chapter 22



	Glossary Chapter 22: Marketing Planning and Forecasting Sales Potential Jump to a chapter's terms: 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| 10 \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| 15 \| 16 \| 17 \| 18 \| 19 \| 20 \| 21 \| 22 \| 23 \| 24 Break down approach An approach that derives a company's sales potential from the general economic forecast and the estimate of market potential. p. 704 Build up approach An approach that measures the sales potential for a product by first calculating its market potential and then estimating what proportion of that potential the company can expect to obtain. p. 704 Correlation methods Attempts to find a relationship between past sales and one or more variables such as population, per capita income or gross national product. p. 708 Customer forecasting survey A method of asking customers what types and quantities of products they intend to buy during a specific period of time. p. 705 Cycle analysis A forecasting technique that analyses a company's sales figures over a period of three to five years to ascertain whether sales fluctuate in a consistent, periodic manner. p. 708 Delphi method A centralised forecasting method that takes into account the views of managers, sales personnel and individual participants; aggregates them; and modifies them. p. 707 Executive judgement A way of forecasting sales based on the intuition of one or more executives. p. 705 Expert forecasting survey A survey prepared by outside experts such as economists, management consultants, advertising executives or academics. p. 707 Generic competitive strategies Strategies that help companies achieve industry success, including cost leadership, differentiation and focus. p. 698 Long range plans Plans that extend beyond five years. p. 692 Market potential The total amount of a product that customers will purchase within a specified period of time at a specific level of industry-wide marketing activity. p. 702 Market test An experiment in which a product is made available to buyers in one or more test areas, after which purchases and consumer responses to its distribution, promotion and price are measured. p. 708 Marketing audit A systematic examination of the marketing group's objectives, strategies, organisation and performance. p. 709 Marketing objective A statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. p. 696 Marketing plan A document or blueprint detailing requirements for a company's marketing activity. p. 691 Marketing planning A systematic process of assessing marketing opportunities and resources, determining marketing objectives and developing a thorough plan for implementation and control. p. 691 Marketing planning cycle A circular process that runs in two directions, with planning running one way and feedback the other. p. 691 Medium range plans Plans that usually cover two to five years. p. 692 Random factor analysis An attempt to attribute erratic sales variations to random, non-recurring events. p. 708 Sales forecast The amount of a product that the company actually expects to sell during a specific period of time at a specific level of marketing activities. p. 704 Sales potential The maximum percentage of market potential that an individual company can obtain for a specific product or service. p. 703 Salesforce forecasting survey A method of asking members of a company's salesforce to estimate the anticipated sales in their territories for a specified period of time. p. 706 Seasonal analysis The study of daily, weekly or monthly sales figures to evaluate the degree to which seasonal factors influence the company's sales. p. 708 Short range plans Plans that cover a period of one year or less. p. 692 Surveys A method of questioning customers, sales personnel or experts regarding their expectations about future purchases. p. 705 SWOT analysis Analysis that determines a company's position by examining four factors: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. p. 698 Time series analysis A forecasting technique that uses a company's historical sales data to discover a pattern or patterns in the company's sales over time. p. 707 Trend analysis Analysis that focuses on aggregate sales data over a period of many years to determine whether annual sales are generally rising, falling or constant. p. 707