The B2B technology copywriting glossary

We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting, and a client keeps using that new buzzword. You nod, smile, and make a mental note to look it up when you get back to the office.

In B2B technology marketing, that’s not uncommon. If you know marketing, you might not know the tech… or vice versa. Especially if you’re new to the sector. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; they both move pretty fast.

Either way, we’ve got you covered.

We’ve compiled an extensive list of every term* you’ll need in the B2B tech marketing world, covering everything from messaging workshops to integrated development environments. These are simple, jargon-free definitions to help you stay up to date with the latest B2B and tech terminology.

*Okay, maybe not every term, but we’ve tried our best.

Jump to: A-B; C-E; F-H; I-K; L-N; O-Q; R-T; U-Punctuation

A

aaS – “As a Service”. As in “Software as a Service”, “Platform as a Service”, “Transport as a Service”, “Trousers as a Service”. Essentially, it lets you subscribe to the thing you want (usually delivering it through the cloud), rather than buying it. It’s convenient, and helps you keep things within your OpEx budget (see below).

A/B Testing – A/B testing is when you compare two versions of a single variable to see which performs better. In marketing, A/B testing is most often used on email subject line options, social seeds and CTAs.

ABM – Account Based Marketing is any marketing that’s specific to a certain account. ABM content is detailed and personalised, and to be effective needs to be well researched and written with authority. Want to learn more? Take a tour of the different types of ABM content.

API – An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of functions and procedures that allow applications to access the features and data of an operating system, other application, or service. Or, in plain English…

Audio blog – Helpful for those commuting, an audio blog is an audio version of an existing blog post. These are a useful way for your audience to access your blog content even when they’re pushed for time. Need an example? Take a look at the B2B Content Audio Blog David’s been putting together.

B

B2B – Business-to-Business describes companies that sell, provide services to, or exchange information with other businesses.

B2C – Business-to-Consumer describes companies that sell products and services to consumers.

Blog – Blogs are a chronological series of posts covering a given topic (hint: you’re reading one, right now). In B2B marketing, this can be a platform to share helpful information, proving to customers and clients that you understand your industry and product area. The best B2B blogs are regularly updated to stay on top of industry trends and maintain a high Google search ranking. Here’s a multipurpose blog post structure.

Buyer persona – These are your imaginary customers. They’re a set of archetypes, developed from market research and data about existing customers. Buyer personas can be a highly effective tool for ensuring your content is always relevant and useful to your audience. If you don’t have a persona to aim for, a persona workshop might help.

BOFU – The last stage of The Marketing Funnel, good BOFU or ‘Bottom of the Funnel’ content helps prospects evaluate different products and services. By the time someone reads BOFU content, they’re usually well aware of the challenges they face and the types of solutions available, so little education is required here. Instead, you need to make the case that your offering is right choice. Case studies, product manuals and other kinds of content that focus on competitive differentiators are often considered BOFU content.

C

C/C++/C# – A popular programming language, C is used to create all kinds of programs and applications across a bunch of platforms. Supported by a wide array of development environments, it can be compiled using relatively straightforward software. C++ and C# are both offshoots of C. They are imperative, object-oriented languages, meaning code describes ‘how’ a program should operate, and focuses on the objects being manipulated by the application, rather than the logic required to manipulate them.

CapEx – Capital Expenditure is money spent up-front on big, chunky things that will have a significant amount of use in the company, usually for longer than one year. These might be computers, servers, office expansions, or big bits of machinery. CapEx often entails significant up-front payments that need to be signed off by Finance, where Operational Expenditure (OpEx) might come under a buyer’s budget control.

Chatbot – Driven by AI, a chatbot is designed to mimic human interaction, answering questions and providing information in a seamless and dynamic way. They either operate using text on screen or voice technology, just like the Alexa in your home. Expect chatbots to feature more prominently in the near future – especially in the world of B2B copywriting, where they need writers for both questions, and answers.

Containerisation – In software development, containerisation is when you take an application and wrap it up in its own container along with all the dependencies it needs to run. By having a complete app – including code, runtime, system tools, libraries and custom configurations – in a single container, it helps simplify migration and deployment across multiple environments, and offers a smaller footprint that improves app security and performance. It’s pretty cool.

Copywriting – Technically, copywriting is the act of writing text that convinces a reader to take a specific action. Copywriting can take many formats, and features heavily in sales, marketing and PR content. Pretty much all the words you see on infographics and companies’ social media accounts, read in emails, whitepapers and Ebooks, or even hear in videos, are written by copywriters like us.

CTA – Call-to-Action is an important one, as it’s usually the main purpose of the copy. The CTA is the bit (generally a button or text link) that directs the reader to take action. For example, here’s a CTA to a useful piece by George showing you how to write great CTAs: read five ways to write a good CTA, here.

CTR – A Clickthrough Rate measures the percentage of users that click through to the next step of your marketing campaign. It’s often used as a way to measure the success of emails and online ads.

CRM – Companies use Customer Relationship Management software to keep on top of their potential and existing customers. CRM software is useful for keeping track of customer contact details, their level of interaction with a company, and a wide range of other data categories.

CVP – A Customer Value Proposition is the suggested value a customer will receive upon purchasing your service, product or anything else you’re providing. Simply, it’s the reason they want it.

D

Database – A collection of stored data that can often be accessed from a computer system by many users. The database often forms a core part of enterprise applications used in both the back office and customer-facing situations.

Data lake – A data lake is a big, central repository of all an enterprise’s data, including raw copies of data stored in their natural format, used for tasks like reporting, visualisation, analytics and machine learning.

Data warehouse – Similar to a data lake, a data warehouse stores data from operational systems that has been cleansed and categorised. They provide a single source of truth for reporting and data analysis.

DevOps – A process that helps accelerate software development by automating the processes between the software development (Dev) and IT (Ops) teams.

DM – A direct mail or DM is a physical item sent directly to a chosen recipient – normally a key decision-maker or part of the C-Suite – encouraging them to take action. Most often, it’s the physical equivalent of a marketing email. Direct mail pieces often include gimmicks or creative concepts to help them stand out on a crowded desk.

E

Ebook – Ebooks aren’t just something you download to your Kindle; they’re used in marketing every day. Often weighing in at around 2,500 words, content marketing ebooks are a chance to go deep into a subject. Unlike white papers that also explore topics in depth, Ebooks often contain visuals, diagrams and other design features that break up the text and improve readability. Here’s a guide to writing an ebook for a B2B audience.

Edge Computing – When data is processed closer to where it is received, at the edge of your network, it is called edge computing. Data collected by the Internet of Things is processed at the point it’s collected, or very close to it, meaning data can be analysed and used in almost real-time.

EDM – An EDM or electronic direct mail is another term for a marketing email that you may hear crop up from time to time.

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning involves integrating a big company’s main areas of business into a single system. ERP solutions often unite various computer systems or pieces of software within a company, allowing different divisions to communicate and share information more easily.

F

FinTech – FinTech is shorthand for financial technology, a term covering new technologies and innovations that disrupt the traditional way of providing financial services. New, agile FinTech companies are fast becoming major competitors for traditional high street banks.

FinServ – An easy one, this. FinServ is industry shorthand for the financial services industry.

FTP – The File Transfer Protocol is a method of securely transferring files from a server or host machine to a client device over the internet. Seldom used now in favour of cloud storage platforms like OneDrive and Dropbox, some organisations still use FTP to ensure data privacy and security when moving large files.

G

GIF – The Graphics Interchange Format is a form of short video or series of images that automatically plays on your website or email without sound. These can be useful for offering informative video content without requiring your audience to manually start a video. (Fun fact: it’s officially pronounced “jif”, although you’d get funny looks if you said that out loud.)

H

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language is the standard markup language for developing web pages. HTML is what produces colours, graphics, buttons and all the other fancy bits on your website.

HCM – Human Capital Management is the process of managing a company’s people, whether they are future recruits or current employees, to optimise the company’s performance. HCM usually involves using core HR apps, talent management apps, or even a system that contains all of the above, to track employee performance and wellbeing.