Bplans GlossaryBplans Glossary

Bplans Glossary

At Bplans, it's our goal to make it easy for you to start and run your business. The Bplans glossary of common business terms will help you learn about key small business and entrepreneurship topics.

Recent Articles Published by Bplans Glossary

planning

What Is Valuation?

Used as a noun, valuation is what a business is worth, as in, “this company’s valuation is $10 million.” This would mean that a company is valued at $10 million, or worth $10 million. The term is used most often for discussions of sale or purchase of a company; it’s valuation is the price of... Read more »

planning

What Is a Back End (Website)?

Back end and front end describe website program interfaces relative to the user. The front end of your website is how it looks and how a user interacts with it: the graphic design and HTML portion—some people call this the user interface or UI. In contrast, the back end handles the dynamic parts of the... Read more »

planning

What Is Distinctive Competency?

A distinctive competency is an organization’s strengths or qualities including skills, technologies, or resources that distinguish it from competitors to provide superior and unique customer value and, hopefully, is difficult to imitate. To help determine your strengths, download our free SWOT Analysis Guide and conduct a SWOT analysis on your business.   Read more »

planning

What Is Dual Distribution?

Dual distribution is the practice of simultaneously distributing products or services through two or more marketing channels that may or may not compete for similar buyers. For more on defining your market and target customers, check out How to Do Market Research, Market Research Resources for Entrepreneurs, and How to Define Your Target Market. Read more »

planning

What Are Early Adopters?

Early adopters are one type of adopter in Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovations framework that describes buyers that follow “innovators” rather than be the first to purchase. Read more »

planning

What Is a Limited Liability Partnership (U.S., U.K., Japan)?

A limited liability partnership is a form of business organization combining elements of partnerships and corporations, in which both managing and non-managing partners are protected from liability to some degree, and have a different tax liability than in a corporation. Although this form of business is available in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan, legal... Read more »

planning

What Is a Market Development Strategy?

A market development strategy is a product-market strategy whereby an organization introduces its offerings to markets other than those it is currently serving. In global marketing, this strategy can be implemented through exportation licensing, joint ventures, or direct investment. For more on defining your market and target customers, check out How to Do Market Research,... Read more »

planning

What Is a Political, Economic, and Social Trends (PEST) Analysis?

PEST is a popular framework for situation analysis, looking at political, economic, and social trends. Analyzing these factors can help generate marketing ideas, product ideas, and so on. A similarly helpful tool is a SWOT analysis. To learn more about SWOT analysis, start with our article explaining what a SWOT analysis is, see our SWOT analysis examples,... Read more »

planning

What Is Capital Input?

Capital input can also be called investment, or new investment. It is new money being invested in the business, not as loans or repayment of loans, but as money invested in ownership. This is also money at risk. It will grow in value if the business prospers, and decline in value if the business declines.... Read more »

planning

What Is Trading Up?

Trading up is the practice of improving an offering by adding new features and higher quality materials or adding products or services to increase the purchase price. For more on pricing (specifically for businesses in the SaaS industry, but the advice is applicable across industries) check out The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Pricing Strategy for... Read more »

planning

What Is Concentrated Target Marketing?

Concentrated target marketing is a process that occurs when a single target market segment is pursued. For more on target marketing, see our articles: Target Marketing: What Is It? and How to Define Your Target Market.   Read more »

planning

What Is an Early Majority?

An early majority is one type of adopter in Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovations framework that describes those interested in new technology that wait to purchase until these innovations are proven to perform to the expected standard. Read more »

planning

What Is Net Worth?

Net worth is the same as assets minus liabilities, and the same as total equity; other short-term assets. These might be securities, business equipment, and so on. Read more »

planning

What Is Interest Expense?

Interest expense is interest that is paid on debts, and interest expense is deducted from profits as expenses. Interest expense is either long-term or short-term interest. For further reading on small business financials, check out The Key Elements of the Financial Plan, as well as How to Read Your Business’s Balance Sheet, What Is an Income Statement? and... Read more »

planning

What Are Laggards?

Laggards are one type of adopter in Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovations framework describing the risk adverse group that follows the late majority that is generally not interested in new technology and are the last group of customers to buy. Read more »

planning

What Is Brand Equity?

Brand equity is the added value a brand name identity brings to a product or service beyond the functional benefits provided. For example, Apple benefits from the fact that its brand name is a household name in smartphones and computers. Apple built a brand that seems fundamentally different from all other computers and smartphones. See... Read more »

planning

What Are Dividends?

Dividends refers to money distributed to the owners of a business as profits. For further reading on small business financials, check out The Key Elements of the Financial Plan, as well as How to Read Your Business’s Balance Sheet, What Is an Income Statement? and How to Forecast Cash Flow. Read more »

planning

What Is Guerrilla Marketing?

The term guerrilla marketing comes from Conrad Levinson’s book Guerrilla Marketing, which refers to marketing via events and stimulated media coverage rather than paid advertisements. Our article on the outline for a marketing plan can help you plan your advertising and marketing efforts. Read more »

planning

What Is Trade Margin?

Trade margin is the difference between unit sales price and unit cost and each level of a marketing channel usually expressed in percentage terms. Read more »

planning

What Is the First Mover Disadvantage?

These factors can turn first-mover advantages into weaknesses. They include: Resolution of technological uncertainty Resolution of strategic uncertainty Free-rider effect—others duplicate based on the leader’s success Complementary assets to exploit core technological expertise Read up on the first mover advantage too, and for more on defining your market and target customers, check out How to... Read more »