• Banner

A banner is a digital advertising medium that is placed in certain areas of a website. Its aim is to attract the user's attention, get them to click on it and lead them to the advertiser's website. Banners can be static, animated or interactive - or even contain video sequences set to music as rich media banners. The advantage of banners is that their success is easy to measure. Their disadvantage is increasing banner blindness: due to the flood of banners, users hardly notice the individual banner.

▶ Recommended course: Designing banners in Photoshop - 10 modern top designs

• Below the line

In contrast to above-the-line marketing, this refers to non-classical advertising. This includes sponsoring, competitions or product placements, for example. The advantage of below-the-line marketing is that it is not directly recognizable to consumers as advertising and can therefore influence them more subliminally to decide in favour of the brand.

• Benchmark

A benchmark is a measure for comparing certain performances. It is an ongoing, comparative evaluation process that assesses the achievement of certain success or quality targets. For example: How many vehicles does a company produce in a given time? Benchmarking is primarily based on the competition. Measuring oneself against the competition becomes an incentive to scrutinize and improve one's own performance and quality.

• Big data

Big data stands for large, complex and rapidly changing volumes of data that are continuously collected and analyzed. The main characteristics of big data are huge data volumes, a high rate of generation and extreme diversity. The aim of big data is to extract patterns and relationships as well as useful information in order to improve processes in companies.

• Blind test

A blind test is used in marketing to compare one's own brand with another. The basis for this is, for example, the consumer's sense of taste. One example is the Pepsi Challenge, which aims to convince consumers with their eyes closed that Pepsi has a better taste than other drinks. A blind test is therefore ideal for directly consumable goods such as food.

• Blockchain

A blockchain is a public database for everything that has a digital value. The term blockchain means block chain. Blocks are synonymous with the individual data records that are stored one after the other via an open network and create a data record chain. Blockchain is particularly widespread in the area of financial transactions. The best-known example of this is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

• Blog

A blog is something like a public diary or journal that is published online - e.g. on a website. It is kept by at least one person, the so-called blogger. There are no limits to the variety of topics. There are, for example, service blogs, brand blogs or topic blogs. It is essential for a blog to focus on a specific area and to publish regularly over a longer period of time.

▶ Learn how to build a successful blog in the video training

• Bounce rate

The bounce rate reveals how many visitors leave a website after the first visit. The analysis of this key figure provides important information for optimizing the website - e.g. with measures that make the website more attractive and easier to use for users and thus lead to an improved user experience.

• Brand/Branding

Brand stands for the corporate brand. The brand distinguishes a company with its entire portfolio from its competitors. It enables people to clearly perceive the company. Branding, on the other hand, encompasses all activities that promote the brand's image. It shapes the brand so that it stands out from the crowd, focuses on its unique selling points and gives it character and recognition value.

• Break-even analysis

In a break-even analysis, a company determines the threshold value at which it generates a profit from the sale of its products - the break-even point. The analysis allows an investment, a business idea or a new product to be evaluated economically. For the analysis, the company compares the sum of all variable and fixed costs with the sales revenue. The result shows how much turnover the company must achieve with the product in order to cover its total costs.

• Break-even point (BEP)

The break-even point is exactly the point at which the revenue and total costs of a product are equal to zero, i.e. it generates neither a profit nor a loss. This point is determined by the break-even analysis.

• Business plan

The business plan is a written business concept. In it, founders outline all the steps for implementing their business idea. The business plan describes the business possibilities with all their risks and opportunities in order to be successful on the market. It is the prerequisite for obtaining financing from banks, investors or funding agencies.

• Business-to-business marketing (B2B)

When at least two companies enter into a business relationship, this is referred to as B2B marketing. Successful B2B marketing is specifically geared towards the individual needs of the companies involved. In contrast to business-to-customer marketing (B2C), which is aimed at private individuals, B2B customers have a greater need for specialist expertise and invest far more than a private consumer.

▶ Also important: Buying persona in B2B and B2C marketing (video tutorial)

• Business-to-consumer marketing (B2C)

B2C marketing encompasses all measures that promote the relationship between a company and the private end consumer. Important success factors here are, above all, knowledge of the consumer's needs and the resulting individual approach and interaction. The aim of the company is to create a trusting relationship with the consumer - as the basis for a lasting business relationship.

• Buyer persona

This is a fictitious person from a company's target group. It is depicted with a concrete face and described in detail - with its characteristics and expectations, its wishes, interests and habits as well as its professional and private environment. The advantage: buyer personas make the target group imaginable and the typical customer tangible. This means that the goal of satisfying their needs can be achieved in a much more targeted manner.

▶ Course recommendation: Target group identification & buying persona in marketing

• Buying center

The buying center includes all people in a company who are involved in the purchase decision for a product or service. These are employees from different departments - e.g. technicians, financial experts, lawyers, etc. They work together across hierarchical boundaries to form a purchasing committee that consults before important purchasing decisions are made. Their goal: to improve the outcome of the decision through networked knowledge.

▶ Matching video tutorial: Determining the target group - roles & buying center

• Buzz marketing

Buzzmarketing stands for word-of-mouth propaganda. In contrast to its classic counterpart, where word simply spreads about the benefits of an offer, buzz marketing is a targeted marketing technique. It is part of viral marketing, which helps specific information about the brand or product to spread quickly - e.g. via social media channels, which offer a high potential for interaction.