Marketing Jargon, Decoded: Simple Explanations for Terms You Actually Need to Know
Marketers are like moths to a flame when it comes to buzzwords. If you’ve ever been privy to a marketing meeting and were accosted with buzzwords like saliency, positioning, conversion rate, customer journey, and were too afraid to ask what they meant—we feel you.
Understanding these terms isn’t just about being able to ‘marketing speak’—it’s about being able to make confident, informed decisions about your business. Knowing the basics helps marketing feel a whole lot less intimidating and a whole lot more actionable.
So let’s break down the jargon and explain some commonly used terms in plain English.
Saliency: The brand that you think of first
Saliency is really just mental availability. When someone needs a product or service, do they think of yours first?
In a previous blog on saliency, we used a running shoe analogy. Nike and adidas probably pop into your head first when you see ‘running shoes’, even if those aren’t brands you buy. Doesn’t matter—that’s saliency at work.
Building saliency means showing up consistently so you’re front of mind when customers are ready to buy. This can be through regular campaigns, clear messaging and logos, or an active social media presence. Ideally, all of the above.
Positioning: Where you sit on the shelf
Positioning is about defining the unique space you want to occupy in the market and in your customer’s mind. Are you the fast, affordable choice? The luxury, quality-driven one? The quirky, local option?
Making your positioning clear helps everything else fall into place—pricing, messaging, even the type of customers you attract.
Conversion Rate: Turning browsers into buyers
Conversion rate sounds technical, but it’s just the percentage of people who take the action you want them to take—usually, making a purchase.
If 100 people visit your website and 20 buy something, your conversion rate is 20%. If 5 out of 100 sign up for your newsletter, that’s a 5% conversion rate.
Tracking conversion rates help quickly determine what’s working and what isn’t. Perhaps your website has a lot of traffic, but not a lot of buyers. Could your product descriptions be clearer? Is there difficulty at checkout? Small tweaks can lead to big improvements.
Customer Journey: The roadmap of how people buy
The customer journey is simply the path someone takes from ‘I might need this’ to ‘I’ve bought this—and maybe told my friends about it.’
It usually looks something like this:
Awareness—They discover you exist.
Consideration—They compare you with other options.
Decision—They make a purchase.
Post-purchase—They come back or recommend you to others. Or both!
Mapping this journey helps you spot opportunities. Maybe you’re great at attracting attention but weak at closing sales. Or maybe customers buy once but don’t return. Knowing the gaps makes them easier to fix.
Why this matters
Why bother decoding all this jargon? Because knowledge is power. When you understand the language of marketing, you can:
Feel more confident in conversations with consultants or agencies.
Make better choices about where to spend your time and money.
Recognise what tweaks you need to make to grow your business.
You don’t need to know every buzzword; just mastering a few core concepts can go a long way.
The takeaway
Marketing doesn’t have to feel like smoke and mirrors. With a little clarity, the jargon becomes less intimidating and more like a practical toolkit.
Remember:
Saliency is remaining ‘top of mind’.
Positioning is where you sit in the market.
Conversion rate is how many people take action.
Customer journey is the map of how they get there.
Get these basics down, and you’ll be speaking the language in no time—no dictionary needed.