This is the group of uncontrollable forces and conditions facing a person or a company, including demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces.

This is the study of marketing processes, activities, institutions, and results from a broad perspective (such as a nation), in which cultural, political, and social as well as economic interaction are studied.

This is an approach to market segmentation whereby business markets are divided on the basis of broad criteria at the level of the organization, such as firm size. • See Also: Microsegmentation

It stands for Marketing Communications and is the coordinated promotional messages and related media that are used to communicate with a market through one or more channels, such as digital media, print, radio, television, direct mail, and personal selling.

This refers to one of the four growth strategies of the Ansoff Matrix. It occurs when a company penetrates an existing market in which current or similar products already exist through having gained competitors’ customers, attracting non-users of your product, or convincing current clients to use more of your product/service.  
• See Also: Penetration Rate, Penetration Share

There are three market segmentation strategies which a business can adopt:
1.     undifferentiated marketing: going after the whole market with a product and marketing strategy intended to have mass appeal.
2.     differentiated marketing: operating in several segments of the market, dedicating offerings and market strategies to each segment.
3.     concentrated marketing: focusing on only one or a few segments with the intention of capturing a large share of these segments.

The process of subdividing a market into distinct groups of customers who have similar needs, such that a subset of the market (a segment) can be specified as a target market and can be reached through a distinct marketing mix. Markets may be segmented: geographically, demographically, psychographically and/or behavioristically.

This is the percentage of a market (either units or revenue) accounted for by a specific entity. It is a key indicator of market competitiveness;  the comparative performance of a firm in relation to its competitors.

The American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.