Business key terms

The features, design, quality, branding and packaging of the good or service offered to customers.

Deciding a product’s features, function and appearance, including how it can be produced at an appropriate cost.

Developing and promoting features or benefits that set a product apart from competing products.

The way customers perceive a product, including the qualities and values they associate with it.

The transformation of resources, such as materials, labour and equipment, into finished goods or services.

The expense of producing a product, influenced by choices such as materials, features and manufacturing methods.

The ability to adapt production to make different products or meet changing customer requirements.

The amount of output produced per unit of input, such as output per worker per hour.

An understanding of a product’s features, uses and suitability that enables staff to give accurate advice and answer customers’ questions.

The stages a product’s sales typically pass through over time, including introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

The range of products or services offered by a business.

The different products offered for sale by a business.

An action by a business asking for products already supplied to be brought back so a problem can be corrected, for example a safety defect.

A good sent back to a business by a customer, for example because it is faulty or does not meet expectations.

The requirement that a product presents no risk, or only a minimum acceptable level of risk, during normal or reasonably foreseeable use.

An opportunity for customers to try a product, such as through a free sample or taste, before deciding whether to buy it.

The amount left from sales revenue after total costs have been deducted.

The ability of a business to turn revenue into profit, often measured using profit margins.

A financial statement showing a business’s revenue, costs and profit or loss over a period.

Profit expressed as a percentage of sales revenue.

Making the greatest possible difference between sales revenue and total costs.

A scheme that gives employees a share of the business’s profits.

Activities used by a business to inform and remind customers about products, persuade them to buy and influence product image.

The combination of promotional methods used by a business to communicate with customers.

Temporarily reducing prices or offering extra value to encourage purchases.

A plan for communicating with customers using promotional methods chosen to suit the business’s objectives, target market and budget.

In proportion to the hours worked, such as receiving half a full-time entitlement when working half the full-time hours.

A personal characteristic protected by equality law, such as age, sex, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Government action intended to protect domestic businesses from foreign competition, for example by imposing tariffs.

An objective focused on meeting customers’ or users’ needs through the service an organisation offers.