Glossary of common marketing terms and acronyms
Here are all the marketing terms and acronyms you might come across in the Microsoft Partner world.
Strategy and planning
GTM (Go‑to‑market)
The plan for how a Microsoft Partner takes a solution to market, including targeting the right customers, aligning with Microsoft priorities and enabling sales teams to sell it effectively.
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
A description of the type of organisation that a Microsoft Partner is best placed to serve, based on factors like industry, size, Microsoft stack, maturity and buying behaviour.
UVP (Unique Value Proposition)
A clear statement explaining why a customer should choose your Microsoft Partner over another Microsoft Partner, focusing on your strengths, expertise and outcomes rather than the Microsoft product itself.
TAM (Total Addressable Market)
The total number of organisations that could theoretically buy your Microsoft‑based solution if there were no limits.
SAM (Serviceable Available Market)
The portion of the market that your Microsoft Partner can realistically target based on geography, sector, services offered and Microsoft specialisms.
SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)
The share of the market that your Microsoft Partner could realistically win over time.
Lead generation and sales alignment
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
A potential customer who has shown enough interest and fits your partner profile, meaning they are worth passing to sales.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
A lead that your sales team has reviewed and confirmed is worth actively pursuing.
BANT
A simple way for Microsoft Partners to check if a lead has budget, authority, need and a realistic timescale before investing sales effort.
ABM (Account‑Based Marketing)
A targeted marketing approach where Microsoft Partners focus on specific named organisations, often aligned to Microsoft accounts or co‑sell priorities.
Lead nurturing
Ongoing marketing that helps a potential customer understand your Microsoft Partner’s value over time, before they are ready to buy.
Digital and performance marketing
PPC (Pay‑per‑click)
Paid online advertising (typically via search engines such as Google and Bing) used by Microsoft Partners to promote solutions and capture demand from people actively searching for related services.
CPC (Cost per click)
The amount a Microsoft Partner pays each time someone clicks on a paid advert.
CPA (Cost per acquisition)
The total cost for a Microsoft Partner to generate a lead or customer through marketing activity.
CTR (Click‑through rate)
The percentage of people who click on an advert, email or link after seeing it.
ROAS (Return on ad spend)
A measure of how much revenue a Microsoft Partner generates compared to how much they spend on advertising.
SEO (Search engine optimisation)
Work done by Microsoft Partners to help their website rank higher when customers search for Microsoft solutions or related services.
SERP (Search engine results page)
The page shown when someone searches online, where Microsoft Partners aim to appear prominently.
Content marketing
The "Full Funnel"
A term used to describe the end-to-end customer buying journey, from education and awareness to consideration and decision.
TOFU / MOFU / BOFU
Top, Middle and Bottom of the funnel. Content used by Microsoft Partners to attract awareness, build trust and support buying decisions.
CTA (Call to action)
A clear instruction telling a potential customer what to do next, such as booking a consultation or downloading a Microsoft solution guide.
UGC (User‑generated content)
Content created by customers of a Microsoft Partner, such as testimonials, quotes or case studies.
Thought leadership
Content that positions a Microsoft Partner as an expert in Microsoft technologies or industry challenges, rather than directly selling services.
Email and automation
ESP (Email service provider)
The platform a Microsoft Partner uses to send marketing emails and manage subscriber lists.
Open rate
The percentage of recipients who open a marketing email from a Microsoft Partner.
Click rate
The percentage of email recipients who click a link within that email.
Drip campaign
A set of automated emails sent over time to educate potential customers about a Microsoft Partner’s services.
Marketing automation
Software that helps Microsoft Partners manage emails, leads and follow‑ups more efficiently.
Websites and conversion
CRO (Conversion rate optimisation)
Improvements made to a Microsoft Partner’s website to increase enquiries, demo bookings or downloads.
Landing page
A focused web page designed to convert visitors into leads for a specific Microsoft service or campaign.
Bounce rate
The percentage of people who leave a Microsoft Partner’s website without taking any action.
UX (User experience)
How easy and clear it feels for someone to use a Microsoft Partner’s website or online tools.
UI (User interface)
The visual layout and design that visitors interact with on a Microsoft Partner’s website or portal.
Measurement and reporting
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A metric used by Microsoft Partners to measure marketing success, such as leads, pipeline or revenue influenced.
Attribution
Understanding which marketing activities contributed to a sale or opportunity for a Microsoft Partner.
Pipeline contribution
The amount of sales pipeline that marketing activity has helped to generate or influence.
ROI (Return on investment)
A measure of how effective a Microsoft Partner’s marketing spend has been.
Brand and communications
Brand awareness
How well a Microsoft Partner is recognised and remembered by its target audience.
Reach
The number of people who see a Microsoft Partner’s content or advertising.
Engagement
How actively people interact with a Microsoft Partner’s content, such as clicking, commenting or sharing.
Tone of voice
The style and personality used by a Microsoft Partner in all written and spoken communications.